Popular Kilkenny spot awarded CIE Tours Excellence Merit Award for its visitor experience

The well-known and popular artisan Sullivans Taproom in Kilkenny City has been awarded a CIE Tours Excellence Merit Award at a prestigious ceremony in Dublin.

The CIE Tours Awards of Excellence were presented by Stephen Cotter, Interim CEO of CIE Tours.

The awards recognise Ireland’s hospitality ambassadors, the people and businesses throughout the country who put Irish tourism on the global stage through the warmth of welcome and quality of service provided to our international visitors.

Congratulating Sullivans Tap Room on achieving a CIE Tours Merit Award for a visitor experience, Mr Cotter said huge effort is being made by to improve and enhance offerings based on the feedback CIE provide to their partners from our annual visitor surveys.

“The dedication and commitment help to maintain Ireland’s reputation as a leading destination for US visitors,” he said.

“We are delighted to recognise Shane Daly and the team at Sullivans Tap Room for their contribution to Irish tourism, and the contribution they make to the local community in terms of jobs and wealth creation.”
Mr Cotter said that CIE Tours now employs over 125 people in Ireland, the US and the UK and bookings in 2024 are ahead of expectations.

EXPERTISE
“Our more than 90 years of coach tours in Ireland gives us unrivalled expertise as evidenced by our overall customer satisfaction rating of more than 95%,” he said.

Mr Cotter shared that in 2024 and beyond CIE Tours will continue its commitment to sustainability launched last year with the establishment of a Responsible Tourism policy.  The company is implementing a carbon strategy and will be hiring a dedicated sustainability manager to work with tourism partners to identify projects that will benefit the environment and local communities. 

“We are also looking at ways to reduce our own impact and I am delighted to announce that this year we are operating a coach powered by biofuel on the more than 60 departures for our Irish Gold Tour. It is an example of the innovation we see across the sector as it adapts and responds to the need to reduce environmental impact while continuing to deliver an exceptional experience to visitors,” said Mr Cotter.