EPIC has been voted Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction at the prestigious World Travel Awards, beating Buckingham Palace, the Roman Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower
We are delighted to announce that EPIC has been voted Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2019 at the 26th annual World Travel Awards, Europe’s most prestigious global travel industry accolade. The World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony 2019 was held at Belmond Reid’s Palace Madeira, Portugal on 8th June 2019.
EPIC accepted the distinguished award last night, just three years after opening its doors to the public at The chq Building in Dublin, surpassing many long-standing tourist attractions such as Greece’s Acropolis, Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, Portugal’s Ribeira do Porto and Rome’s Colosseum.
Speaking about the award, the founder of EPIC Irish Emigration Museum Neville Isdell said:
‘It is truly an honour to receive an award of this magnitude; we are delighted to be named Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction for 2019. We have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming the tens of thousands of people who have visited us both from Ireland and overseas each year and look forward to welcoming many more.
I have always believed that the story of Irish people around the world was worth telling, and so, I founded EPIC. When we opened in 2016, we had a vision to create a local museum that could connect globally. It’s very important that we honour the Irish diaspora abroad and recognise the vital contributions and monumental impact Irish people have made worldwide. It’s wonderful to be recognised for this award today, thank you to those that made this possible through hard work and dedication, and to those who voted for us.’
EPIC has welcomed over 300,000 visitors this year, and we proudly show the far-reaching influence of Irish people and 1,500 years of Irish history. The galleries tell the powerful story of 10 million Irish people who travelled abroad to start a new life, including the contributions they have made, and the enormous influence they had and continue to have on the world. The Dublin museum takes visitors on a journey of emigration from Ireland, to the far corners of the globe including America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Our 20 interactive galleries illustrate the incredible global impact Irish emigrants have had on areas such as sport, music, dance, creativity, charity, politics, science and technology. Visitors get hands-on with Irish culture and its past – swiping through video galleries, dancing through motion sensor quizzes, listening to remastered audio from 100 years ago and watching videos that bring Irish history to life. Other highlights include a gallery of infamous Irish rogues, a whispering library featuring some of Ireland’s most prominent Irish writers, a celebration of Irish music and dance, which includes Riverdance, and an Irish Family History Centre where visitors can consult with a genealogy expert to learn more about their own family history.
The World Travel Awards, celebrating their 26th anniversary this year, are renowned as the most prestigious and comprehensive in the global industry. Previous winners of the award include the Guinness Storehouse and the London Eye. Each year, the World Travel Awards ceremonies are regarded as milestone events in the industry calendar, attended by the industry’s key decision makers and figure heads, as well as trade and consumer media. The WTA brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.