In a difficult year for tourism, the Kerry County Museum in Tralee has received news that it has been included in this year's Let's Go Ireland Guide.
The 41 Let's Go guides, published in America, are updated annually by Harvard students. Each year, a small number of establishments from each guide are honoured with a special commendation, allowing them to display the Let's Go Recommends sticker on their premises and on promotional literature. Let's Go is now ranked number one in the budget travel guides market.
The museum has already been praised by Le Guide du Routard in France, the German Hatchette Guide and the Birnbaum Guide in the US. It has managed to increase visitor numbers by 10 per cent on last year's figures, despite the downturn in the market since the September 11th attacks.
Last April, Sir Edmund Hillary officially opened the museum's Antarctica Expedition display, which celebrates the Heroic Age expeditions, and in particular, the achievements of the Annascaul-born explorer, Tom Crean.
At the opening, Sir Edmund, said Crean had been one of his boyhood heroes. The latest honour is a welcome boost during a challenging time for Irish tourism, said museum manager, Mr John Griffin.