For the ninth year in a row, the American travel publication has ranked Ireland number one on the list of Europe’s top travel destinations.
Travel Weekly named the winners of its 20th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards at a gala dinner and ceremony on December 14 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Ireland has won first place among the best tourist destinations in Europe. Among the participants representing Europe were other countries: Italy, Greece, Spain, France, and Croatia.
Ireland received a total of 900,000 foreign visitors in September this year, down nearly 9 percent from last year, according to figures recently released by the Irish Tourism Industry (ITIC).
In addition, despite a significant improvement in the tourism industry, the volume of tourists continues to remain below pre-pandemic levels. The North American market has traditionally been the leader in tourist flow to Ireland this autumn. In 2019, the Americans brought 1.6 billion euros to the country’s economy.
According to ITIC, the energy crisis, rising inflation, as well as remaining travel restrictions are hindering the improvement in the industry.
“Hotels and restaurants are reporting that electricity bills have skyrocketed to unsustainable and unprecedented levels and their profitability has come under severe pressure,” said ITIC CEO Eoghan O’Mara Walsh.
This year’s Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards featured 82 categories.