Ireland has won a major travel award in the United States – ‘best destination in Europe’ – for the eighth year in a row. The award was presented to Tourism Ireland last night (16 December), at the 19th annual Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards in New York.
Ireland took the number one spot in the ‘best destination in Europe’ category – beating off tough competition from England, France, Greece, Iceland and Italy. Travel Weekly is the leading weekly newspaper for American travel agents and travel professionals and thousands of its readers voted in the various categories earlier this year.
Ireland has won this award every year since 2014.
Welcoming the news of the award, Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “We are delighted that Ireland has been singled out for the eighth year in a row for this prestigious award. At the end of what has been another challenging and unpredictable year, this is some really positive news. Accolades like this help to shine a spotlight on Ireland for all the right reasons and, while we know there are still challenges ahead, Tourism Ireland’s aim is to roll out a really extensive and targeted programme of promotions in 2022.”
Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our travel trade partners across the United States – who continue to play a hugely important role in helping us promote the island of Ireland. Our message for our US travel trade partners is that we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome their clients back for a fantastic vacation experience in 2022.”
Paul McDonagh, Tourism Ireland (left), accepting the award from Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly.
