Ever needed a good reason to plan an Ireland vacation or even a fairytale honeymoon in Ireland then the readers of the US travel magazine Global Traveler have provided a pretty good one! For the second year in a row Ireland has been awarded as the best tourism destination by the travel magazine.
With 2013 coming to a close and the The Irish Gathering enters its final days, there’s some good news for the Irish tourism industry with increased numbers seeking Ireland vacation packages. Ireland saw off some stiff competition to be ranked as the best tourism destination in a survey of more than 22,000 readers of a US travel magazine.
Travel industry bosses were presented at the award last night in Los Angeles by Global Traveler magazine, which asked frequent travellers to select their favourite destinations, airlines and hotels.
It is the tenth year of the Global Traveler awards and the second year in a row that Ireland has come out on top. More than one million people from North America visited Ireland this year, which Tourism Ireland says contributed around $1 billion (€730 million) to the Irish economy.
The summer months were the best for travel to Ireland in the last six years, according to the Central Statistics Office , with more than 2.2 million trips to Ireland between July and September.
The head of Tourism Ireland said the award was good news for Ireland in the face of tough competition.
“Travellers nowadays have tremendous choice, which makes it more important than ever for us to ensure the island of Ireland stand out from other destinations – so this award is really good news, particularly as we prepare to kick off our extensive 2014 promotional drive in the all-important US market,” said Niall Gibbons.