Tourism Ireland wins 'Travel d'Or' gong at French awards ceremony 

TOURISM Ireland has scooped the top prize for ‘best foreign tourist board’ at the French hospitality industry’s ‘Travel d’Or’ awards.

Beating off stiff competition from four other tourist boards – including VisitBritain, Destination Canada, Turespaña (the Spanish Tourist Board) and Mauritius Tourism – Tourism Ireland was voted number one by around 67,000 voters across France and by a panel of travel industry experts.

This is the sixth time that Tourism Ireland has won a Travel d’Or award – considered the ‘Oscars’ of the travel and tourism industry in France.

Speaking about the win, Monica MacLaverty, Tourism Ireland’s manager Southern Europe, said: “We are delighted that Tourism Ireland has been singled out for this prestigious award. After what has been a challenging and unpredictable time for travel and tourism, this is some really positive news.

“Accolades like this help to shine a spotlight on Ireland for all the right reasons and, while we know there are still challenges ahead, Tourism Ireland’s aim is to restart overseas tourism and restore growth in French visitor numbers.”

France is one of the top four markets for tourism to the island of Ireland and in 2019 we welcomed 557,000 French visitors to the island of Ireland.

Ms MacLaverty continued: “We are rolling out our Green Button campaign in France right now – urging French travellers to ‘press the Green Button’ and book their trip to the island of Ireland this year.

“Our message is that Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back visitors from France.

“We’re telling prospective French visitors that a warm welcome awaits them when they travel to Ireland, despite the disruption of the last couple of years.”