WHY IT RATES: Earning an award from a substantially large tour operator like CIE Tours is important. It builds strong relationships between client and operator. - Rich Thomaselli, TravelPulse Senior Editor
PHOTO: Some of the award hardware handed out. (Courtesy CIE Tours Intenrational)
CIE Tours International staged its 26th annual Awards of Excellence at Dublin Castle, where 98 winners from across Ireland were presented plaques and given well deserved recognition.
CIE Tours brought 44,000 visitors to Ireland during the past year and generated revenues of €83 million. The prestigious awards were presented by CIE Chairman Vivienne Jupp.
The main category Awards of Excellence went to:
Best 5 Star Hotel: The Dunloe Hotel, Killarney
Best 4 Star Hotel: The Brehon Hotel, Killarney
Best 3 Star Hotel: Benners Hotel, Dingle
Best Hotel Accommodation: Dromoland Castle, Co. Clare
Best Hotel Dinner: Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel, Killiney
Best Hotel Service & Hospitality: Kee's Hotel, Co. Donegal
Best Event Dinner/Entertainment: An evening of Food, Folklore and Fairies, Brazen Head, Dublin
Best Dinner Feature: Killeen House Hotel, Killarney
Best Tour Feature: Glen Keen farm, Co. Mayo
Best Walking Tour: Don & Barry's Kinsale Historic Stroll
Best Visit: Slieve League Cliffs, Co. Donegal
Best Lunch: Davitt's, Kenmare
National Heritage Award: Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim
SEE MORE: CIE Tours, Your Ireland And Britain Experts
The category winners from around the country were chosen according to customer feedback. CIE Tours International customers were most impressed by the Slieve League Cliffs in Co. Donegal.
Other attractions that highly impressed were the Cliffs of Moher, which had the most visitors, Blarney Castle, Blarney Woollen Mills, and the Skellig Experience, now featured in the new "Star Wars" movie, the Titanic Belfast, Waterford Crystal Factory, Trinity College's Book of Kells and the Giant's Causeway.
The Managing Director of CIE Tours International, Brian Stack, told the gathering: "Last year was another strong year when our 44,000 customers booked in the region of 350,000 bed nights. They made a major contribution to Ireland's record year for tourism when eight million tourists visited our country. We are pleased to say that bookings for 2016 have been going well and we are looking forward to exceeding 2015 levels of business despite external matters such as global terrorism threats and market fluctuations. The feedback which we have received from over 28,000 customers surveyed was very positive and from these our Awards of Excellence were chosen in this, the 26th year of the Awards."
READ MORE: See Where Shakespeare Lived With CIE Tours
The winners of the Awards of Excellence are chosen from an independent valuation of feedback surveys completed by over 28,000 CIE Tours International customers. The list includes both category winners as well as those who have received a merit award, which is awarded to those who have achieved over 90% in customer feedback.
"The response from our hotels and visitor attractions to the feedback we gave them has also been extremely well received-and acted upon. However, our wish list for 2016 would include the resumption of training and accreditation for tour guides and for development of urgently required hotels for the main tourism hubs, in particular Dublin," Stack said.
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