October 2015 - Invest Derry Strabane

Derry voted best Hallowe’en destination in the world!

19^th October 15

A leading US publication – USA Today has named Derry as the Best Hallowe’en destination in the world, outdoing the competition from locations such as Transylvania, Sleepy Hollow and Salem, Massachusetts.

When it comes to celebrating the most haunted night of the year, Derry scooped the majority of online votes.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, said the announcement would significantly boost the city’s reputation as a top Hallowe’en visitor experience.

“The event is always a huge visitor attraction in terms of drawing people from all over the world to the city, and it’s a major contributor to the local economy. Topping the poll is an extra endorsement from the public for the fantastic programme of events which takes over the city each year, and the transformation to Scary Derry.

Derry secures Runner-Up position in Foodie Town Competition!

13^th October

Derry has been announced as one of Ireland’s leading Foodie Towns in a prestigious national competition organised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland.

In a close fought battle for the title of Foodie Town of Ireland, the city was marginally beaten by the Burren, who took the top spot on the list of ten shortlisted food destinations. The judges introduced a special runners up category recognising Derry’s performance and the closeness of the final decision.

Derry emerged second out of ten of the country’s best known food tourism hotspots and secured a top position on the fine food map; with a total of 30 towns applying for the coveted title this year.

The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, said she was delighted that the city had been among the front runners to win the coveted title. “I think we put in a fantastic effort and to be placed second is a great endorsement of Derry as an exciting new food tourism destination and one that will really raise the city’s profile in terms of the quality of our restaurants and our local produce.

The outcome of the competition was decided by both an online public vote and the Restaurants Association judges, both having equal weighting in the final decision.

Following the awards the Restaurants Association paid tribute to the local campaign tipping the city as a big contender for next year’s awards, and confirmed that Derry had gained the biggest number of public votes in the competition.

Archive for month: October, 2015