Award scheme returns to recognise local tourism effort
Fáilte Ireland today published the shortlist of 15 towns and villages from across the country that are being considered for the 2014 Tourism Towns Awards. The competition, now in its third year, is designed to recognise Irish towns and villages where the local community goes the extra mile to enhance their appeal to tourists. The selected towns will now be subject over the next few weeks to a series of unannounced inspections from a crack team of independent ‘secret shoppers’ who will visit each location and assess the quality of visitor experience to be had.
Kilkenny took home the overall crown in 2013 however 2014 will see a change to the format of the competition with titles awarded to Best Large Town and Best Small Town. The top ten “Highly Commended Tourism Towns” will be announced at the National Tidy Towns Awards later in year with the overall winners, Best Large and Best Small, to be announced by Fáilte Ireland in November.
Speaking about the competition, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring said -
“This award is all about recognising Irish towns and villages which are working hard to make Ireland even more attractive for tourists. This important work brings benefits to local communities and local economies across Ireland. I am looking forward to hearing who has made it into the top ten and the overall winner later in the year. Best of luck and sincere thanks to all those towns and communities involved.”
Tourism Towns Long-list
1 Glengarriff, Cork - Small Town
2 Kinsale, Cork - Small Town
3 Rosscarbery, Cork - Small Town
4 Portmagee, Kerry - Small Town
5 Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim - Small Town
6 Blackrock, Louth - Small Town
7 Beal an Mhuirthead, Mayo - Small Town
8 Ardmore, Waterford - Small Town
9 Lismore, Waterford - Small Town
10 Ennis, Clare - Large Town
11 Cobh, Cork - Large Town
12 Killarney Kerry Large Town
13 Kilkenny, Kilkenny - Large Town
14 Westport, Mayo - Large Town
15 Trim, Meath - Large Town
The 15 towns will now be visited by a team of assessors who will look at how each town presents itself to visitors and tells its story. In particular, they will look for evidence of a high quality visitor experience and of involvement by the local community and businesses in delivering this experience. They will look at the quality of its attractions and sites of interest and how well the town promotes what they have to offer.
Paddy Mathews from Fáilte Ireland emphasised the important characteristics of a tourism town and the how the award scheme seeks to recognise them -
“These are towns that have already performed well in the Tidy Towns Competition in 2013, so we know that they are clean and well presented. Now we want to know how well they present themselves to their visitors.
“A great tourism town is one that provides visitors with an unforgettable experience. It is a town where the local businesses and the local community all contribute to shaping and delivering this experience. It also tells its story of its heritage and culture in an engaging way.”
Now in its third 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 Products Available – What the town has to offer visitors.
• Development and promotion of the town – How the town takes a unified approach to marketing and developing the town into a “tourism town”.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Alex Connolly – Head of Communications
086 7966320/01 8847884
Louise Tolerton - Press Officer
086 6086578/01 8847135
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