Winners of the third annual Gulliver Ireland Tourism Accommodation Awards 2006 were revealed with The Clarion Hotel Dublin Airport to be awarded the overall honour. The Gulliver Ireland Awards recognise online marketing excellence demonstrated by Hotel, Guesthouse, B & B and Self-catering accommodation suppliers around the country through their partnership with Gulliver Ireland.

The awards announcement made as Gulliver-owned GoIreland.com, reported strong growth in online regional tourism bookings around the country. Outside of Dublin, the MidlandsEast and North West (both 58 per cent); South East (48 per cent) and West (37per cent) were the top four regions recording the most online booking growth last year.

Apart from Dublin, the South West region captured the most online tourism bookings in 2006 with nearly 7,000 bookings. Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Clare, Kilkenny, Donegal, Waterford, Wexford and Limerick were the top ten counties respectively for online tourism bookings in 2006. The Aghadoe Heights Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry was awarded the special goireland.com award for excellence.

The winners were chosen based on a number of criteria, particularly for effective online sales management, a skill that is becoming ever more vital to tourism enterprises of all sizes.

Dr. Stewart Stephens, Managing Director of Gulliver Ireland said, Online marketing effectiveness is a `must-have` for Irish tourism providers today. Having a website is not enough. The tourism sector must develop its online sales and marketing skills to be relevant with Internet savvy tourists.

The focus of these Awards is to highlight and encourage excellence in online accommodation marketing. The Clarion Hotel Dublin Airport is the deserved winner of this year`s overall award. Its commitment to online sales and marketing and the returns it has delivered shows how the tourism industry can profit from excellence in Internet marketing, said Dr. Stephens.

The awards were broken down into seven geographic regions with four category awards in each region.

The winners are as follows:

Overall Winner: Clarion Hotel, Dublin Airport

GoIreland.com Winner: Aghadoe Heights Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry

Dublin Region

• Bed & Breakfast - Saint Anns, Dun Laoghaire



• Guesthouse - Gate Lodge, Parkgate Street



• Hotel - Clarion Hotel Dublin Airport



• Self-Catering - The Cottage, Kilternan

South West Region

• Bed & Breakfast - Griffins Palmbeach Country House, Castlegregory, Kerry



• Guesthouse - The White House, Kinsale, Cork



• Hotel - Waters Edge Hotel, Cobh, Cork



• Self-Catering - Viking Wharf, Kinsale, Cork

Shannon Region

• Bed & Breakfast - Inchiquin View, Corofin, Clare



• Guesthouse - Aaron House, Birr, Offaly



• Hotel - Magowna House Hotel, Ennis, Clare



• Self-Catering - Bell Harbour Cottages, Ballyvaughan, Clare

South East Region

• Bed & Breakfast - Killurin Lodge, Killurin, Wexford



• Guesthouse - Portree, Waterford City



• Hotel - Carrolls Hotel, Kilkenny



• Self-Catering - Glencove, Courtown, Wexford

North West Region

• Bed & Breakfast - Ave Maria Farmhouse, Templeboy, Sligo



• Guesthouse - Ceol na Mara, Enniscrone, Sligo



• Hotel - Yeats County Inn, Curry, Sligo



• Self-Catering - Hillcrest, Burtonport, Donegal

Midlands East Region

• Bed & Breakfast - The Old Coach House, Avoca, Wicklow



• Guesthouse - Keernaun House, Dundalk, Louth



• Hotel - Ramada Woodland Court Hotel, Bray, Wicklow



• Self-Catering - Granabeg Self Catering, Hollywood, Wicklow

Ireland West Region

• Bed & Breakfast - Seaview, Clifden, Galway



• Guesthouse - Byrne Mal Dua House & Restaurant, Clifden, Galway



• Hotel - Anno Santo Hotel, Salthill, Galway



• Self-Catering - Kilronan Cottage, Ballyconneely, Galway