Go City Acquires The Dublin Pass to Expand Ireland Offerings

Published: July 18, 2024
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The Dublin Pass joins the company's portfolio of over 25 destinations worldwide, as Go City initiates further expansion into the country.

DUBLIN, March 29, 2022 -- Go City®, the world's largest multi-attraction pass business, has purchased The Dublin Pass from Fáilte Ireland (Ireland's National Tourism Development Authority) by way of open market sale. Recently recognized in the Sunday Times Top Track 250, Go City plans to continue to expand its offerings in the market, leveraging its app-based technology to deliver a more enhanced customer experience.

The Dublin Pass grants visitors discounted and flexible entry to the top attractions, museums and tours in Dublin. It was created in 2004 as a collaborative project between Dublin Tourism and key industry partners to promote and sell the Dublin experience to sightseers. Ownership of the pass moved to Fáilte Ireland after it merged with Dublin Tourism in 2012.

While Go City has managed The Dublin Pass operation under a concession agreement on behalf of Fáilte Ireland since 2015, this move will see Go City own The Dublin Pass in its entirety.

Go City operates in more than 25 of the most iconic cities in the world, and delivers approximately 12 million paid attraction visits annually, worldwide. The Dublin Pass includes 35 of the city's most popular attractions, tours and experiences, including the Guinness Storehouse, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and many more. This acquisition will broaden the company's offerings in Ireland and provide Dublin's attraction partners with a wider range of marketing capabilities and technology solutions.

"We are delighted to welcome The Dublin Pass into the Go City portfolio of passes to the world's best cities. Customers love the savings, flexibility and wide variety of experiences that The Dublin Pass offers, allowing them to unlock the city. Our aim is to build on that success and expand our offerings further into Ireland," comments Jon Owen, CEO of Go City.

Paul Keeley, Fáilte Ireland's Director of Regional Development adds, "The Dublin Pass will continue to be an important product for Dublin in the future, as it helps visitors access the city's unique attractions, and experience Dublin's rich history, heritage and culture."

Go City will continue to work closely with the local community of attraction partners and Fáilte Ireland to deliver incremental visitation to Dublin, opening up exciting opportunities in the city for the year ahead.

 

ABOUT GO CITY

Go City is the most popular multi-attraction pass in the U.S and operates in over 28 cities across the globe. Partnering with over 1,000 attractions, tours and activities worldwide, Go City allows customers to experience everything a destination has to offer, while attraction partners receive incremental visitation and revenue.

Offering choice, convenience and savings, Go City enables customers to lock in savings ahead of travel, while retaining flexibility to make plans as they go. All delivered digitally, the Go City app provides contactless entry at attractions by scanning the pass straight from a smartphone device. Go City transforms the way people experience the world's greatest destinations. They simply scan and enjoy, all at their own pace for a fraction of the retail cost.

For more information, or to experience Go City please visit www.gocity.com.

 

ABOUT FÁILTE IRELAND

As the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland's role is to support the long-term sustainable growth in the economic, social, cultural and environmental contribution of tourism to Ireland. Tourism is of critical importance to the national economy and to regional development and employment. Pre-coronavirus, the sector generated revenue of €7.5billion annually and supported 260,000 jobs nationwide while contributing €1.7billion to the Exchequer.

Fáilte Ireland works in partnership with Government, State agencies, Local Authorities, representative groups, Marketing tools and industry, to develop tourism across Ireland by creating destination development plans and networks, investing in infrastructure, activities, visitor attractions and festivals. Fáilte Ireland also provides consumer and buyer insights, mentoring, business supports and training programmes' and buyer platforms to help tourism businesses innovate and grow.

In addition, Fáilte Ireland supports Business Tourism, managing the bidding for and securing of larger conferences, meetings, and events to be hosted in Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland is also responsible for domestic holiday marketing across its four regional experience brands: Dublin, Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East, and Ireland's Hidden Heartlands.

Evangeline Leeder
Go City Travel Expert

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New year fireworks in Dublin.
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Things to Do on New Year's Eve in Dublin

Dublin is one of those cities that was born to party. St Paddy’s Day, pay day, your nan’s birthday: every one of them a valid excuse for a good time. And New Year’s Eve is no exception, as the city erupts with parties, concerts and fireworks galore. But that’s not all: there’s also plenty to keep you occupied before you make a beeline for Temple Bar in the evening, from Grafton Street’s Boxing Day sales to medieval literary artifacts and bracing walks in the chill winter air. Indeed, Dublin has so many great attractions that there’s absolutely no way you can see them all in one day. With that in mind, here’s our guide to some of the best things you can do on New Year’s Eve in Dublin. In the Morning...Trinity College If you’re only going to tick off one or two of Dublin’s bucket-list landmarks today, make Trinity College one of them – trust us when we say your IG feed will thank you for it. We’re talking atmospheric cobbled quadrangles that once rang with the footsteps of such illustrious alumni as Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, Aisling Bea, Jack Gleeson and, um, Chris De Burgh. Hum The Lady in Red to yourself as you admire the ultra-photogenic neoclassical architecture of the buildings that flank the courtyards and dot the grounds. Buildings like the Campanile, said to portend exam failure for any student who happens to be passing beneath its arches when the bell tolls. And the ornate Museum Building, packed to its rafters with soaring marble columns and eye-popping carvings. A guided tour of the Old Library is pretty much essential while you’re here. Step into a Hogwarts-esque world of towering bookshelves and imposing marble busts of writers, philosophers and scholars that include Jonathan Swift, Ada Lovelace and Mary Wollstonecraft. It’s here you can view the Trinity College harp, an oak-and-willow beauty that dates back to the 15th Century and, of course the extraordinary Book of Kells, surely the most astonishing preserved medieval manuscript on the planet. Grafton Street Stop by to say hi to Molly Malone of ‘Cockles and Mussels’ balladry fame, who presides over Suffolk Street (in bronze statue form), then it’s onwards to Grafton Street. This shoppers’ paradise of big brands and iconic Dublin department stores like Brown Thomas and Weir & Sons will be in full Boxing Day sales mode on New Year’s Eve, so it's a great time to pick up that designer handbag or leprechaun fridge magnet you’ve always dreamt of. There are plenty of good lunch spots here, too. Or grab a takeout and eat on the go, catching some of the many buskers along the street on your way – Bono and Damien Rice kicked off their careers right here on Grafton Street dontcha know. In the Afternoon...St Stephen’s Green Exit the festival atmosphere of Grafton Street and make a beeline for the relative peace and tranquility of St Stephen’s Green, one of Dublin’s most celebrated open spaces. This lush Victorian idyll is all manicured lawns, formal gardens and cute duck ponds. Hug a cup of hot chocolate on a bench or wander the park’s 27 acres, spotting statues of Dublin’s great and good along the way: an abstract memorial to W.B. Yeats by sculptor Henry Moore, an imposing bust of James Joyce, and a fittingly grand monument to Sir Arthur Guinness, who bought, drained, redeveloped and landscaped the marshland that became St Stephen’s Green, before bequeathing it to the public. What a guy. The Guinness Storehouse Speaking of Guinness, no trip to Dublin would be complete without sampling a drop of the black stuff on its home turf. Of course, every single bar in Dublin serves Guinness, each accompanied by the bravado claim that theirs is the most perfectly poured pint in town. If you want to cast aside all doubt on that front, hit up the Guinness Storehouse on the site of the original St James’s Gate Brewery for a potted history of Ireland’s most famous export and a tipple or two in the space-age 7th-floor Gravity Bar, with its stunning 360-degree city views. But, as you consider that third pint, remember: New Year’s Eve is a marathon, not a sprint. And you haven’t even set foot in Temple Bar yet... In the Evening...Temple Bar Temple Bar is one of Dublin’s most iconic areas, a dense network of cobbled lanes lined with independent boutiques, cool galleries and rabble-rousing traditional Irish pubs. In terms of how hectic those pubs will be, New Year’s Eve is probably rivaled only by St Patrick’s Day as this neighborhood’s busiest night of the year. The most iconic pub here is the Temple Bar itself, with its colorful hanging baskets and distinctive red facade, but there are dozens of (probably marginally less busy) Irish bars to choose from. Expect welcoming craic, fine indie and folk music shindigs, and lots of hugging come midnight. And try to remain good-humored about the long queues to get a drink. As for getting a table: you’ve got no chance. National Concert Hall For a calmer kind of celebration, Dublin’s magnificent National Concert Hall hosts its annual performance from the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on New year's Eve, usually a rousing mix of well-loved pop hits, jazz standards, movie themes, and favorites from the musicals. There will be singing, laughing, hugging and, critically, a complimentary glass of bubbles and Auld Lang Syne sing-along as the clock strikes midnight. Advance booking for this musical extravaganza is, of course, essential. New Year’s Festival Dublin’s New Year Festival seems to grow bigger and better by the year. At time of writing it’s up to four days across three venues, with around 40 acts expected to perform. But you’ll probably want to be at Dublin Castle in the evening on New Year’s Eve, where you can expect live music from some of the biggest names involved, plus food trucks for much-needed sustenance and, of course, bars serving up more of the near-mandatory black stuff (other beverages may be available). It all rounds off with a spectacular countdown to midnight complete with epic firework display. Save on things to do in Dublin Of course the activities and attractions we’ve suggested are a mere snapshot of the myriad things you can do in Dublin on New Year’s Eve. There’s also a medieval castle, two picture-perfect cathedrals, umpteen world-class museums and a glut of whiskey distilleries to explore, as well as literary tours, botanic gardens and much more. Sticking around for a few days? A Dublin pass from Go City can save you money when visiting multiple attractions, including many of those mentioned above.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

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