Ireland has been named the Best Destination in Europe at a major US tourism award ceremony – for the 9th year in a row – proving that a multi-year pandemic, rising costs and other assorted bits of madness that we live with on a daily basis haven’t dimmed the love that Americans feel for Ireland.
Tourism Ireland picked up the ward at the 20th annual Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards in New York this week.
Ireland beat off tough competition from Italy, France, Greece, Spain and Croatia to win the award yet again. Travel Weekly is the leading weekly newspaper for American travel agents and travel professionals and thousands of its readers voted in the various categories during the summer.
Accepting the award in New York, Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, said: “We are delighted that Ireland has been singled out for the ninth year in a row for this prestigious award. Travellers, nowadays, have tremendous choice, which makes it more important than ever for us to ensure the island of Ireland stands out from other destinations – so this award is really good news, as we prepare to kick off another extensive and targeted promotional drive in 2023.”
The US remains an extremely important market for tourism to the island of Ireland. In 2019, the country welcomed 1.7 million American visitors, whose visits delivered €1.6bn for the economy.
Alison Metcalfe continued: “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. I would also like to acknowledge the hugely important contribution of our tourism partners from the island of Ireland, who joined us on the ground in the US this year, helping to spread the word about why Ireland is such a great choice for a vacation. We look forward to working together again in 2023.”