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Elen Lewis talks to Paul Carty, Guinness Storehouse's general manager, about how the tourist attraction impacts the Guinness brand. Ultimately a good experience could make ambassadors out of your visitors.
The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is shaped like a giant pint of Guinness. Once visitors have progressed through the six-storey former brewery, they can enjoy a complimentary pint of the "black stuff" in the gravity bar, the head of the pint, which has 360 degree views of Dublin.
Since its launch in 2000, the E40m (pound 28.4m) Guinness Storehouse has grown to become Ireland's number one tourist attraction, welcoming its one millionth visitor in September 2002. This compares with the 500,000 tourists who seek out The Book of Kells annually.
"Around 42% of all holidaymakers to Ireland come to the Guinness Storehouse," proclaims Paul Carty, the attraction's general manager. "This compares to our estimate of 38% of London tourists who visited Madame Tussaud's."
The Storehouse attracts around 700,000 visitors a year, 60% from the UK and 20% from the US. It also lures an additional 100,000 corporate clients and operates as the site for Diageo's...