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    Turning Tidy Towns into 'Tourism Towns'

    Tidy towns logoBackground

    Fáilte Ireland has invited the top 100 Tidy Towns from 2011 to apply for the very first ‘Tourism Towns Award’ – a new support scheme which aims to enhance visitor experience of Irish towns.
    This new award is part of the 2012 Tidy Towns Competition.

    It will focus on the following key tourism areas:

    1. Sense of place - How does the town tells its own unique story to visitors, what’s special about it, and what distinguishes it from other towns?  
    2. Local involvement - How well does the local community work together to provide an authentic visitor experience?
    3. Tourism products available - What unique products or experiences has the town developed to offer visitors?
    4. Development and promotion - Has the town taken a unified approach to marketing and developing itself into a “tourism town”

    Speaking about the new award, Kevin Kidney, Destination Development, Fáilte Ireland, emphasised:

    “A strong tourism sector can contribute greatly to the economic viability of a local area. This new award will help Irish towns and villages provide visitors with a welcoming and enjoyable experience while boosting local business.

    We have taken great care in drawing up the criteria by which this award is assessed. The aim is to ensure that participants will have enhanced the experience of their visitors, improved their local ‘tourism offering’ and encouraged community-wide participation in the development of local tourism.
     
    Following a review, we hope to begin looking at entry qualification for the 2013 competition later this year.    "                          

    Next steps

    Written applications from participating towns were due on 25th May 2012. Once evaluated, ten towns will be shortlisted to go on to compete for an overall prize.

    The ultimate winner will be decided following a series of mystery shopper experiences over the summer period. A visit by external assessors will take place in the autumn, which will further explore and expand on each town’s application.

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