On the international front, it appears to be good news for Ireland and indeed County Clare as not one but two of our countries main tourist attractions, The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, both located in county Clare, have been short listed for the World Tourism Awards 2014.
One of the highest accolades in the international travel and tourism industry, the World Tourism Awards acknowledges and awards tourist regions or attractions that demonstrate a commitment to both supporting and delivering a range of sustainable tourism practices. Whilst the two world famous natural attractions both based in Clare made it to the top 18 finalists (from an initial list that included applicants from 56 countries), both unfortunately lost out on the top prize which went to Costa Navarino of Greece.
However for a single county in such a small country like Ireland to have two entries in the top 18 challenging for the main prize is a great achievement and a major compliment to both Clare and Ireland’s sustainable approach to tourism. Despite narrowly missing out on the top prize, the fact that they featured in the top 18 will give much needed international attention to two of County Clare’s (and Ireland’s) most popular naturally formed and sustained attractions for vacations in Ireland.
The Burren and The Cliffs of Moher Geopark was shorlisted for The World Tourism Awards 2014. There were 18 finalists for this years awards and Costa Navarino in Greece took the top prize in the awards recently.
The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher have been short listed for the World Tourism Awards 2014. (Image: Sean Tomkins)
The World Tourism Awards are one of the highest accolades in the travel and tourism industry worldwide. The finalists are chosen for showing commitment to supporting and delivering sustainable tourism best practices in their destinations.
The Irish Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar said:
“The Burren is a national treasure. It’s a unique ecological landscape, and a top tourism attraction.”
“In my view it deserves to be even more famous, and making this shortlist will help us to promote it even more widely”.
The CEO of Fáilte Ireland, Shaun Quinn added that:
“This is fantastic news not just for the Burren Geopark but for County Clare and Ireland in general.
“To be acknowledged at this global level is a remarkable achievement and shows the clear benefits of collaboration across the public agencies.”