Ireland gets the cover story of top US travel magazine

Some happy news for the Irish tourism industry this week as a top US travel magazine has put Ireland front and center on its latest cover. National Geographic Traveler, an off-shoot of the famous National Geographic, gives the cover and top story to Ireland, with a piece entitled ‘Return to Ireland, A Journey Home’. The gorgeous cover photo is of Ross Castle, Killarney in Co. Kerry, taken by David Yoder. The article is written by Andrew McCarthy, an Irish American tracing his roots back to the village of Lacca West, Kerry.

The article is a lovely rumination on the benefits of finding out about your family's past and of embracing your roots. On his journey to find his Irish relatives McCarthy partakes in some wonderful activities, including climbing Carrauntoohill, visiting local pubs and towns before the eventual reunion. This isn’t the first time Ireland has been featured in National Geographic Traveler, with an article entitled ‘Going Home’ from 2013 and numerous articles and lists about touring Ireland.

Many working in Irish tourism will be hoping that such a positive endorsement from a top travel publication will lead to a continued growth of the industry. After resounding success of The Gathering in 2013, Ireland enjoyed another record year in 2014, with 7.6 million trips made to Ireland last year. National Geographic are not the only publication to applaud Ireland, with Dublin recently named as the second best city in the world for Americans to live.

You can find out more about National Geographic Traveler here.