by Alan Jacques
FOYNES Flying Boat and Maritime Museum is on cloud nine after winning another prestigious award based on customer feedback.
After recently securing the coveted TRIPADVISOR Travellers Choice Award, placing it in the top one per cent of visitor attractions, the Limerick tourist hotspot came out on top once more this week at the 25th CIE Tours International Awards of Excellence.
The award winners are chosen from an independent valuation of feedback surveys completed by over 30,000 CIE Tours International customers. The only aviation museum in Ireland and the only dedicated flying boat museum in the world, Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum was praised for consistently exceeding holidaymakers’ expectations.
Museum curator Margaret O’Shaughnessy, who has been involved in promoting tourism in Foynes for 30 years, said, “CIE are one of the biggest operators of coach tours in Ireland and they send us thousands of clients who all greatly enjoy their visit. This award is very important to us and confirms how special the museum is and how highly regarded it is worldwide.”
Plans are currently underway in Foynes for its 2015 Air Show this summer. The 2014 event attracted 20,000 spectators to the West Limerick port town and was worth an estimated €1million to the local economy.
CIE Tours International Quality control executive Ciaran McCormack said that what makes the award scheme so special is that it rewards suppliers for their relationship with the clients themselves.
“Our clients are the ones who score our suppliers based on their own personal experience. Last year, we received over 3,000 responses for Foynes with an average score of over 90 per cent. This is a testament to their hard work and consistency in maintaining those high standards,” he explained.
Local independent councillor Emmett O’Brien was also among those to congratulate the Foynes Flying Boat Museum on its latest success.
“Since its modest beginning in the late 1980s the museum has gone from strength to strength and is one of the leading flag bearers of tourism in County Limerick. The onset of the new Foynes Port Road will connect two of Limerick’s great tourist centres Adare and Foynes to the Wild Atlantic Way. I will work to ensure Limerick City and County Council promote County Limerick as a real tourist destination and stop giving it lip service,” said Cllr O’Brien.
