Tralee and Lismore named best tourism towns in Ireland for 2015

Counties Kerry and Waterford are the big winners as Tralee and Lismore have been named as the best tourism towns in Ireland for 2015.

Tralee picked up the top prize as Fáilte Ireland’s Ireland’s best national large tourism town while Lismore took the national small tourism town accolade.

They were both chosen from a shortlist of 10 towns, all of which received certificates of merit.

Apart from the top pair, the eight towns highly commended were Cobh, Co Cork; Killarney, Co Kerry; Kilkenny City; Ardmore, Co Waterford; Adare, Co Limerick; Clonakilty, Co Cork; Kenmare and Sneem in Co Kerry.

Kieran Ruttledge of Tralee Chamber Alliance and Tralee Tidy Towns said the award was a major vote of confidence for everyone working in tourism in Tralee.

Cpbh were also winners

“In Kerry, tourism is everybody’s business and in Tralee almost 1,000 people are now directly employed in tourism-related enterprises.

“Collaboration between the local community, business sector and local authority is the key to success and Tralee is a shining example of this approach,” he said.

Secretary of Lismore Tidy Towns Mary O’Brien said the award would be hugely positive for tourism and business in the coming year.

“Lismore has a great sense of community and pride of place among the businesses, residents and the many voluntary groups.

“The people of the town are constantly looking for ways to make the tourism experience as inclusive as possible and to encourage exploration of Lismore town and the general west Waterford area,” she said.

Michael Ring, the minister of state for tourism, said both towns put tourism at the centre of everything they did and were worthy winners.

“The people of Tralee and Lismore truly understand tourism and value their visitors. Ultimately, this shows in the quality of what they have to offer and in the warmth of their welcome,” he said.

The Tourism Towns Award was designed by Fáilte Ireland to promote towns and villages which are working hardest to enhance their appeal to tourists visiting their local area.

As overall winners, Tralee and Lismore both received winning certificates along with a €5,000 grant each towards further developing itself as a tourism destination.

Meanwhile, new figures from the CSO show the number of overseas trips to Ireland in the year to October increased by 13% compared to the same period last year.

The number of British visits increased by 11%, while north American visitor numbers were up by 13%. Trips to Ireland from mainland European countries increased 14% for the year to date while visitor numbers from all other long-haul areas rose by 14%.

Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn said the figures were “mirrored by strong local performances and a buoyant sense of optimism on the ground” but said that Ireland needed to continue to offer value for money in order to grow as a tourist destination.