Tourism body Fáilte Ireland is to name Ireland’s 'top town for visitors' in its latest initiative aimed at luring tourists into the country’s towns.
Irelands Top Town for Visitors award, the winner of which will be selected from a short list of ten towns, is being piloted as part of the Tidy Towns Competition.
The shortlist is:
* Ballyvaughan, Co Clare;
* Clonakilty, Co Cork;
* Dundalk, Co Louth;
* Ennis, Co Clare;
* Kilkenny, Co Kilkenny;
* Killarney, Co Kerry;
* Letterkenny, Co Donegal;
* Portmagee, Co Kerry;
* Trim, Co Meath;
* Westport, Co Mayo
The shortlist was compiled from a list of 46 towns, each of which featured in the top 100 Tidy Towns in last year's competition. The entrants were invited to take part in the competition.
Fáilte Ireland hopes the competition will help promote towns and villages which are making efforts to enhance their appeal to tourists. The overall winner will be announced at a ceremony in Dublin at lunchtime today and will receive a €10,000 grant towards developing itself as a tourism destination.