Cork's Spike Island has beaten off competition from the likes of The Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis, the Colosseum and Buckingham Palace to win the title of Europe's leading tourist attraction at this year's World Travel Awards.
As reported by The Irish Times, this is the latest of several distinctions the island has received since reopening in June of 2016, following nominations for a Chamber's Ireland tourism award and in the best leisure tourism innovation category at the 2017 Irish Tourism Awards.
World Travel Awards organisers praised the island for having a "rich history that is authentically retold using guides and interpreted spaces, the variety of day and night tours and varying ways to enjoy the attraction, and the strength of its visitor feedback."
Commenting on the win, Cork mayor Declan Hurley said it "serves to cement the island's position as the jewel in the crown of Cork and Ireland's tourism."
Spike Island's win arrives in the wake of Titanic Belfast's win at the 2016 World Travel Awards and the Guinness Storehouse's success in 2015. Dublin's Sandymount Hotel and the Convention Centre were among other Irish winners at this year's awards, taking home the trophies for Europe's leading green hotel and Europe's leading meetings and conference centre, respectively.
