Visit Derry has been voted the Best Local Tourist Board in Ireland, scooping a major award for the city’s destination management organisation at the Irish Travel Trade Awards 2021 held recently in The Medley in Dublin.
The awards, which were chosen by reader vote, recognises the best tourism providers and operators across the island of Ireland and internationally. Visit Derry secured the top spot in the local tourist board category and was recognised among other award winners from Ireland including Dublin Airport, Aran Island Ferries and Galway Bay Hotel.
A key component in the award win was Visit Derry’s new state-of-the-art visitor information centre which opened in 2020. Located beside the iconic city walls at Waterloo Place, the Visit Derry Visitor Information Centre is a vital information hub for visitors to the Walled City and North West region. The centre offers a full range of visitor services including expert advice, digital information kiosks, interactive maps and videos, tourism literature, tickets, and gift shop. Visit Derry also recently launched the Visit Derry Pass, an innovative integrated digital ticket. As the first-of-its-kind digital pass to be launched in Northern Ireland, the Visit Derry Pass provides visitors with access to 10 attractions and activities, making it even easier for visitors to plan a trip to the Walled City.
As the city’s destination marketing organisation, Visit Derry promotes the city and region to leisure and business visitors and is supported by Derry City and Strabane District Council and Tourism Northern Ireland. Visit Derry is a public/private membership organisation representing more than 200 local tourism businesses. The organisation is responsible for communicating the city’s brand to national and international audiences and delivers the provision of visitor services, before and during a visit to the destination.
Odhran Dunne, Chief Executive at Visit Derry, said:
“We are delighted to have won Best Local Tourist Board at this year’s Irish Travel Trade Awards and are grateful to all those who voted. This win recognises the work and passion that goes into the promotion of the city and region and, of course, the excellent partnerships we have with our industry. We are continually looking at innovative and engaging ways to raise awareness of the destination and to provide world-class visitor servicing when visitors arrive here. As tourism recovery continues into 2022, the award is an endorsement in the work we do, as the city’s destination management organisation, to support our 200 industry partners.
Welcoming the award, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Graham Warke, commented:
“This is fantastic news for our tourism sector. Whether it’s our strong cultural heritage offering, unique sense of place or leading foodie scene, Derry~Londonderry offers a vibrant destination for visitors. As a crucial cog in the tourism ecosystem, I would like to congratulate Visit Derry on their recent award win. The performance of Visit Derry is vital to supporting the tourism industry as it recovers, and this award reinforces the city’s position as a must-visit destination.”
