Mayo tourism businesses honoured at CIÉ Tours Annual Awards of Excellence

Three Mayo tourism businesses were honoured at the CIÉ Tours Annual Awards of Excellence. CIÉ Tours, the largest carrier of US visitors to Ireland every year, held its annual awards of excellence, celebrating Irish hoteliers and tourist experience operators who have been singled out by the 30,000 visitors who came to Ireland with CIÉ Tours in 2025. 

Westport Walking Tour was awarded gold for ‘best walking tour’ at this year’s awards ceremony. Set up by brothers, Stephen and Alan Clarke, Westport Walking Tours give guests the chance to learn about the heritage of Westport while also showing visitors around the town.

Knockranny House Hotel and Westport House also received Merit awards in the hotel and visitor experience categories. Pictured above, from left: Stephen Cotter, Managing Director of CIÉ Tours, Catherine Connolly, Westport House; Geraldine and Adrian Noonan, Knockranny House Hotel; Biddy Hughes, Westport House with Stephen and Aisling Clarke, Westport Walking Tours.

Seán Canney, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, acknowledged the commitment of tour operators across Ireland and paid tribute to the award recipients: “These awards are a testament to the high standards of quality that each operator holds and is a well-deserved recognition of their work in welcoming CIÉ Tours visitors to Ireland, providing them with unique and unrivalled experiences”.

“Tourism is a vital part of the Irish economy, impacting every town and village across the country and is a key source of employment for people in many rural communities. The government recognises the importance of the sector and recently launched a National Tourism Policy Statement which sets out a clear ambition to enhance tourism’s economic contribution, support regional development, and ensure the industry remains inclusive, sustainable, and adaptable to future challenges.  This is supported by the provision of €233 million in Budget 2026 for the Tourism Services programme which aims to drive regional development and employment in the sector”.

Aidan Murphy, Chairman, CIÉ Tours said: “CIÉ Tours has been playing a leading role in promoting Ireland as a tourist destination for almost 95 years and continues to perform at a high level on the international stage which has had a significant impact on the Irish economy. As a market leader in the USA, one of the most competitive markets in the world, CIÉ Tours has helped to increase the number of U.S. visitors to Ireland, who contribute to 31% of visitor spend, which amounted to €1.87 billion in 2024.”

Stephen Cotter, Managing Director, CIÉ Tours said; “2025 was another landmark year for CIÉ Tours, when we booked over 250,000 bed nights throughout Ireland.  That we can offer a unique experience unrivalled by any other country is due in no small part to our many partners who work closely with us, taking the feedback from our visitors and continuously refining their offering.”

“Our support for tourism destinations is bringing vital revenue to towns and villages across the country. We are continuously developing our offering, developing new and sustainable tours that will allow our visitors to experience the very best that Ireland has to offer.”

CIÉ Tours is the leading inbound tour operator for North American visitors to Ireland for over 90 years and in that time has brought over 3 million visitors from North America to Ireland.

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