The GDA is also the communications capital of Ireland. The Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) sector is leading Ireland’s smart economy with 7 of the world’s top 10 ICT companies located in the GDA. Many companies have their European headquarters in the region. These companies rely on fast broadband services to run their global distribution, sales and financial service networks. For example in 2010 Kellogg’s expanded its European headquarters in Swords, County Dublin. Telesales is a growth sector in theGDAas a result of its broadband
Fig. 16 Dublin Port Tunnel
facilities. Hertz has located its European call centre in Swords, County Dublin. Google has two centres in Dublin. The City West
business campus is the location for Ireland’s National Digital Park. This park is being developed as a centre for e-commerce and technology companies who need high-speed digital communications.
Tourism
The tourismand hospitality sector continues to be amajor economic force in the Irish economy, providing up to 200,000 jobs. In 2010 tourism generated €4.6 billion for the Irish economy. There were over 5.6 million overseas visitors to the Republic of Ireland in 2010 –a
decrease of over 11% on numbers for 2009 mainly due to the world economic recession. Two in every five Euros spent in Ireland by overseas visitors are spent in the Dublin region. Thirty-three per cent of tourists to the Dublin region are from mainland Europe, 25% are from the UK. The GDA is easily accessible through Dublin Airport with over 79 airlines operating to 207 destinations and over 450 flights per day. Ferry passengers use Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ports. The opening of Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport will be a further boost for Irish tourism.
Fig. 17 Temple Bar in Dublin city, a popular tourist attraction 346