2014 competition opens for Ireland’s tourism town

2014 competition opens for Ireland’s tourism town
Kilkenny - 2013 winner of Best Large Tourism Town

Award scheme returns to recognise local tourism effort

Fáilte Ireland today opened applications from eligible towns across the country for the 2014 Tourism Towns Award – eligible towns are those ranked in the top 100 TidyTowns for 2013 and the closing date for applications is Thursday 22nd May 2014. 

The award, now in its third year, is all about recognising Irish towns and villages where the local community goes the extra mile to enhance their appeal to tourists.  Last year Kilkenny took home the overall crown with Portmagee the inaugural award in 2012. 

Officially opening the call for applications, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring said –

“This award is all about recognising Irish towns and villages which have really gone the extra mile to make Ireland even more attractive for tourists.  Tourism isn’t just a business, it’s a community industry and that’s why the whole community has a role in supporting tourism.  I would encourage all the eligible towns to apply this year and look forward to hearing the overall winners later in the year.”

The award will continue to focus on how participating towns have developed their local area in the following key tourism areas:

• Sense of Place – How the town tells its own unique story to visitors, what’s special about it, and what distinguishes it from other towns.   
• Local Involvement - How the local community works together to provide an authentic visitor experience.
• Tourism Experiences – What the town has to offer visitors.
• Promotion of the town – How the town takes a unified approach to marketing and promoting the town into a “tourism town”.

Fiona Buckley, Head of Experience Development with Fáilte Ireland emphasised the important characteristics of a tourism town and the how the award scheme seeks to recognise them:

“For us a good tourism town is all about the role of the community in welcoming visitors and telling the story of the local area which all add significantly to the enjoyment that visitors have.”

“We have taken great care in drawing up the assessment criteria, ensuring that towns receiving an award have enhanced the experience of their visitors, improved their local ‘tourism offering’ and encouraged community wide participation in the development of local tourism.”

In a change to previous years, the 2014 process will honour two overall winners – Best Small Town and Best Large Town each winning €5,000 along with marketing and development supports from Fáilte Ireland.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Louise Tolerton - Press Officer
086 6086578/01 8847135

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