A Council tourism subsidiary firm, Clare Tourism Development DAC, operates the visitor attraction and a council spokesman confirmed that visitor numbers last year represented 84% of 2019 visitor numbers of 1.6 million.

The spokesman said today that visitor numbers for 2024 to the end of May were 440,000 and are in line with 2023.

The confirmation of the surge in 2023 revenues coincides with the council commencing public consultation on its long anticipated draft Cliffs of Moher 2040 Strategy on the future development of the attraction over the next 20 years. The visitor attraction generates the bulk of its income from entrance fees.

The spokesman said: “Price benchmarking with iconic sites indicates that the pricing at the Cliffs of Moher Experience is at the lower median of overall price ranges.” He said that “price ranges from €7 per adult online to a €12 gate rate with kids going free up to 12 years old”.

At peak season 170 people are employed at the Cliffs of Moher. The draft strategy outlines the need for a complete overhaul of facilities at the visitor attraction.

It states that “over the past 10 years, visitor numbers have far exceeded those which the site was originally designed to cater for. This has significant negative impacts on both the quality of the visitor experience and the special qualities and environment of the site”.

It adds that the restricted cliff-edge paths “also create health and safety issues, resulting in erosion of the cliff-edge itself as visitors go beyond the designated pathways”. The draft strategy states that “the paths beyond the visitor experience are considered to be a major safety hazard due to their proximity to the unstable cliff edge and unpredictable weather conditions”.

It says that “visitors rarely heed the warnings in situ and try to get as close to the edge as possible for photograph opportunities”. It further states that “the design of the current visitor centre, retail and catering spaces does little to mitigate the impact of crowds and are under-scaled for the current needs and expectations of visitors at a world-class experience”.

The council spokesman said that the Fáilte Ireland-supported Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 “is a long-term roadmap for the sustainable development of the site and its environs and is founded on four pillars, namely spreading the economic benefit to the wider local area and county, enhancing environmental protection, delivering integrated sustainable transport and optimising the visitor experience”.

On the current visitor centre, the draft strategy stated that the building “is undersized to cope with the volume of visitors at peak times”. It says that “a significant area of the existing visitor centre is underutilised in the exhibition space, thereby putting excessive pressure on the entrance sequence and the restaurant”.

The draft strategy says that “all of the existing economic benefits of the Cliffs of Moher will be significantly increased as the 2040 strategy is implemented”. It states that “there will be enhanced benefits at local, regional and national level from the major capital investment and from the enhanced future operation of the site”.

On the future economic benefits of the 2040 strategy, it states that “the Cliffs of Moher site is projected to generate an overall income of €36m from visitor spend and employ more than 300 people. This expenditure will help support over 900 tourism jobs and generate over €8m in tax revenue.

The draft strategy can be viewed online and the closing date for submissions is July 26.