The Irish Museum of Time has been selected as the only Irish finalist in a set of coveted international tourism awards.
The Waterford museum made the shortlist for this year's British Guild of Travel Writers International Tourism Awards, with the winners to be announced next month.
Award-winning global travel writer and guild member Isabel Conway selected the Irish Museum of Time, which only opened last year, following her visit during the summer.
It has since undergone a rigorous judging process by members of the guild and is one of six attractions or projects in the running for the Best Tourism Project in the UK and Ireland category.
"When we heard the news earlier this week," Waterford Treasures Director Eamonn McEneaney said.
"We were absolutely bowled over. Being shortlisted for these awards a couple of months ago was, to us, a really wonderful achievement but to now be listed in the top six visitor attractions in the UK and Ireland is a real feat and we are overjoyed."
Other finalists in that section include the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum in London; the Blacksmiths Shop in Gretna Green and Ethiopian Flavours in Shepherd’s Bush.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 6 November on the eve of the World Travel Market which attracts key figures from the international tourism industry.
The awards provide an opportunity for around 340 ambassadors, ministers, travel and tourism CEOs and executives, PR professionals and travel editors and writers to meet and exchange news.
Ms Conway said the Waterford museum's achievement in reaching the final is "a real testament to the wonderful visitor attraction that is the Irish Museum of Time" and added that the category was "the most hotly-contested" this year.
"It is an amazing overall tourism attraction. The Viking Triangle and the Waterford Treasures collection of museums really put Waterford on the map as a destination to visit and write about for our UK and overseas travel writer members, including those who don’t know Ireland or Waterford, all of which will secure invaluable future publicity," she said.
The Irish Museum of Time opened to visitors in 2021 and it is the fifth museum as part of the Waterford Treasures suite in Waterford.
