Limerick.ie has been named as one of the world’s Top 25 best tourism websites for 2017.
The list has been compiled by US-based Skift, the largest industry intelligence platform providing media, insights and marketing to key sectors of travel across the globe.
Limerick.ie is the only website in Ireland to be chosen for the 2017 list and is one of only four in Europe.
Among the others on the list include the national tourism websites for Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Bermuda, Tanzania Fiji, Korea and The Faroe Islands, along with Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Cape Town.
In choosing Limerick.ie as one of the world’s Top 25 tourism platforms, Skift said: “We like how Limerick, Ireland draws attention to the different reasons why people travel to Limerick whether it’s for school, leisure or business. It also gives you a sense of what it’s like to live in the city and has helpful resources for locals to understand why they should be involved in the city’s tourism industry.”
Limerick.ie underwent a major re-launch last April [2017], making it one of the most advanced local authority digital platforms in the country. There are thousands of pages to explore in what is the biggest single online portal for any council in Ireland.
Central to the new Limerick.ie is allowing user generated content to be integrated seamlessly into the website.
The site has been designed around its users so that each have their own private log-in in a ‘My Limerick’ section. This enables them to create an individualised profile of interests, build itineraries on what to see and do in Limerick and upload their own stories about being visitors to Limerick.
The new platform is fully mobile ready and features more than 2,000 attractions, services, community groups and businesses with more than 1,000 Limerick events currently listed on the site, from social events to council meetings, while an estimated 2,000 new Limerick events will be published on the site every year. There is also a feedback option on each page so that the local authority can continuously improve the service.
Limerick City and County Council’s Head of Marketing and Communications, Laura Ryan said: “We are delighted that Limerick.ie is in such great company with some of the world’s top tourism websites, some of which we benchmarked ourselves against when designing the new site.”
“As visitors now have a huge amount of online resources to help them plan their trip, our aim was to build the best possible platform for Limerick to showcase all that our city and county has to offer.”
“One of the key assets of Limerick.ie is that the people of Limerick can generate content for the site allowing them to have a role themselves in promoting their own areas and providing a real and authentic experience for the visitor. It’s a great boost that all the hard work by the Limerick.ie team has been rewarded with this achievement and the investment in providing such a strong platform for Limerick has been recognised internationally.”
Limerick City and County Council Director of Economic Development, Dr Pat Daly said: “Our key aim this year is to internationalise Limerick and build on the momentum around the real change and innovation that’s happening here at the moment. The digital experience that is Limerick.ie reflects our competitive, modern, vibrant and exciting location for living, doing business and visiting.”
“What better way to achieve this than by having Limerick.ie, our main channel for promoting Limerick worldwide, being recognised as one of the world’s best. Great credit is due to all involved on the Limerick.ie project and in presenting Limerick in such a clear and imaginative way that has attracted the attention of one of the world’s largest tourism intelligence companies.”
The full list of 2017 winners can be viewed here.
