French and Scandinavian yachts are the summer's most popular visitors to Dun Laoghaire Marina as Ireland's marine leisure capital sees a significant increase in visiting yachts since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
The visitors included one of the world's biggest 'leisure boats', the Cook Islands-flagged forty-metre Phoenix in May, continuing a pre-COVID trend of superyacht visits to the south Dublin town.
"French yachts, in particular, are arriving in record numbers, as are the Scandinavians", according to the marina's General Manager Paal Janson.
The brand new 40-metre Italian superyacht Phoenix arrived in Dun Laoghaire Marina in May, one of the first such visitors to Ireland's largest marina this season
Built in 2001, the Marina on Dublin Bay is industry rated as a 'Five Gold Anchor' marina and is Ireland's largest marina facility, with 800 berths for both local and visiting craft.
French yachts into the harbour have increased by 82%, from 62 in 2019 to 113 this season.
Dun Laoghaire Marina is a popular destination for international yachting visitors with its local attractions and transport links Photo: Peter Barrow
The early visitor figures – a crucial indicator of Ireland's high-spending marine leisure tourism – also show a drop so far in UK boats, even though, as Janson notes, 'British sailors can avail of Common Travel Area freedoms for hassle-free entry to Ireland'.
UK visits were 219 in 2019 and are 198 to date. There were no Finnish visitors at all in 2019, but four have arrived this summer so far.
Paal Janson, General Manager of Dun Laoghaire Marina Photo: Afloat
"These visitors stay local and spend in the shops and restaurants of Dun Laoghaire town, adding further importance and value to the local community," he said.
A comparison between 2022 and 2019 visitors (pre and post-covid) reveals some buoyant increases.
What's more, the data for 2019 is over six months while 2022 is over 4.5 months; therefore, the positive figures continue to increase with 1.5 months of the 2022 season left.
