Fáilte Ireland is searching for emerging destinations providing a ‘health and well-being’ tourism experience as part of the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) Awards. With the deadline in two weeks, the National Tourism Development Authority is encouraging destinations in Ireland offering a sustainable and well-developed health & well-being tourist experience characteristic of their region, to get their applications in by Friday 27th September.
EDEN is an EU project promoting sustainable tourism development across the European Union and is currently held every two years in 29 member states. Previous Irish winners include Scattery Island, (Cultural & Heritage), the Burren Food Trail (Tourism & Local Gastronomy), the Great Western Greenway (Tourism & the Regeneration of Physical Sites) and Loop Head (Aquatic Tourism).
The National Tourism Development Authority, is looking for applications from businesses along the Wild Atlantic Way, Irelands Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and Dublin that offer a variety of health and well-being tourism activities, including yoga and meditation, sport and fitness, and nutritional programmes provided by various services and facilities from spa resorts to activity providers.
Full competition details are available HERE or email eden.helpdesk@failteireland.ie
Speaking about the competition Fiona Monaghan, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Product Development – Activities, said:
“We believe Ireland has a wealth of ‘health and well-being’ tourism experience destinations so we are encouraging each destination to get their applications in before the end of the month. The EDEN competition not only draws attention to emerging tourist destinations, it also shines a light on businesses using sustainable practices to provide unique tourist experiences that extend the traditional tourist season – this aligns perfectly with what Fáilte Ireland is trying to achieve.
“This year’s theme of health and well-being tourism experiences will give those destinations offering an authentic health and well-being offering linked with their local culture and natural assets a chance to gain recognition for their experiences on the European stage and we encourage those eligible to submit an application.”
The 2019 winning destination will receive a photo shoot of the destination, a certificate of achievement and an awards ceremony. In addition, all applications will receive a written report on their application with expert feedback from the adjudicators. Also, the EU will offer the winner in each Member State international promotion of the destination through the EDEN web-portal (www.edenineurope.eu), a short promotional visual presentation, and participation in the EU EDEN network.