Druids Glen wins top golf resort accolade

An Irish venue was today voted European Golf Resort of the Year for 2005.

Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue said Druids Glen in Co Wicklow could receive no better Christmas gift than to be awarded the distinguished accolade by golfers themselves.

Mr O’Donoghue said 165 members of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators from 32 countries surveyed their clients to determine the winner.

“It was from this intense competition that Druids Glen was chosen as the top golf resort in Europe,” he said.

“Obviously, as is usually the case when deciding such important matters, the criteria for qualification for such an award were many and varied.

“However, I was particularly pleased to hear that the golf clients’ emphasis on value for money was the real deciding factor when it came to giving the award to Druids Glen.”

Mr O’Donoghue said he had often emphasised the importance of value for money in attracting visitors to Ireland and ensuring they return since he became tourism minister.

“Value for money is very much a matter for public discussion now, and indeed the public debate is to be welcomed,” he said.

“It is encouraging that this outside judgment shows that, in golf at least, and especially in Druids Glen, we are still able to give that value for money in addition to our friendly and excellent customer service.

“The attraction of many world-class golf events to Ireland, with the massive media coverage that automatically follows has put Ireland on the sporting map in a big way as we look forward to hosting the Ryder Cup in 2006.”

Mr O’Donoghue said the award, which came in the wake of Ireland being named Golf Destination of the Year in 2003, confirmed the country’s central role in world golf.

“Golf tourism offers us a significant and invaluable contribution to Irish life and remains one of the key components of the Irish tourism product today and will continue to be in the future,” he said.

“In 2003, we had 133,000 golf visitors to Ireland generating revenue of 126m euro. In fact, 83% of those visitors stated that golf was an important factor in choosing Ireland as their holiday destination.”