County Roscommon hotel honoured at CIE Tours of Excellence Awards
Pictured are Stephen Cotter, Interim CEO, CIE Tours; Muhammad Aly, Kilronan Castle Estate and Spa, and Lorcan O’Connor, Group CEO of CIE.
Kilronan Castle Estate and Spa in North Roscommon was presented with a CIE Tours of Excellence Award for Best Hotel Accommodation at an awards ceremony in Dublin last week.
CIE Tours, the largest carrier of US visitors to Ireland every year, presented 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.
The CIE Tours Awards of Excellence were presented by Stephen Cotter, Interim CEO of CIE Tours.
Congratulating Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa, Mr Cotter said: “Year on year huge effort is made by our partners to improve and enhance their offerings based on the feedback we provide to them from our annual visitor surveys. Their dedication and commitment help to maintain Ireland’s reputation as a leading destination for US visitors. Each of these businesses make an important contribution to Irish tourism, and to their local communities in terms of jobs and wealth creation. We are delighted to recognise Kilronan Castle and Andrew McGovern and his team, both in terms of their contribution to Irish tourism, and their contribution to the local community in terms of jobs and wealth creation.”
Mr Cotter said that CIE Tours now employs over 125 people in Ireland, the US and the UK and bookings in 2024 are ahead of expectations.
He added that in 2024 and beyond CIE Tours would continue its commitment to sustainability launched last year. He announced that this year they are operating a coach powered by biofuel on the more than 60 departures for the Irish Gold Tour. "It is an example of the innovation we see across the sector as it adapts and responds to the need to reduce environmental impact while continuing to deliver an exceptional experience to visitors," he said.
