Five of Galway’s best known tourist attractions have been recognized at this year’s CIE Tours Awards of Excellence which took place in Dublin last week.

Kylemore Abbey, Killary Harbour Cruise, Corrib Princess Cruise, Dan O’Hara Homestead and Dun Aonghasa were last night recognized for their success in promoting Irish tourism.

The five popular attractions received a CIE Tours Merit Award for the high level of visitor satisfaction among CIE Tours visitors.

And while each attraction offers a different experience, they collectively give visitors an unforgettable experience, whilst highlighting the hospitality and unique heritage of Galway.

CIE Tours presents its annual awards to the hoteliers and tourism experiences which achieved approval ratings of over 92% from the 25,000 tourists who travelled to Ireland with the company in 2023.

The Awards recognise Ireland’s hospitality ambassadors, the people and businesses throughout the country who put Irish tourism on the global stage through the warmth of welcome and quality of service provided to our international visitors.

Meanwhile there was cause for celebrate too in Ashford Castle as the five-star hotel retained its top-rating gold standard in the annual Forbes Travel Guide Awards.

The annual Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards (FTG) rates the world’s most luxurious properties and is the world’s only independent rating system.

Ashford Castle was Ireland’s first hotel to achieve a Five-Star ranking in the annual honours list (2020), the top rating possible and the ultimate gold standard in hospitality.

The Spa at Ashford Castle was also the first and remains the only hotel spa in Ireland to receive a Five-Star ranking, so there was a double celebration at the hotel today when it was announced that The Spa had retained the highest ranking possible from FTG’s 2024 awards.

Pictured: Stephen Cotter, Interim CEO of CIE Tours, presenting the award to Catherine O’Neill, Sean King, and Marguerite Foyle from Kylemore Abbey.