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THE Skellig Ring drive in Co Kerry has been named one of the Top Ten Regions in the world to visit in 2017 by Lonely Planet. The leading travel media company has unveiled the accolade in the prestigious Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017 – its collection of the world’s hottest trends, destinations and experiences for the coming year. On the southwest tip of the Wild Atlantic Way, The Skellig Ring is a coastal drive that is an extension of the Ring of Kerry, which Lonely Planet describes as “a wild and emerald stretch of coastline”.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross said: “I am delighted that The Skellig Ring is being internationally recognised as a place of rugged and ethereal beauty. An integral part of our Wild Atlantic Way, it is a place both wild and majestic. The early monks who settled in this area believed they had reached the edge of the world and anyone who has travelled The Skellig Ring can appreciate the co-existing impressions of timelessness and mortality the landscape evokes. When George Bernard Shaw visited there in 1910 he wrote; ‘I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in; it is part of our dream world’, and anyone who visits today could not but agree.”

Welcoming the news, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “The inclusion of The Skellig Ring in the Top Ten Regions in the world in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017 is wonderful news and will surely help to inspire travellers everywhere to put the Wild Atlantic Way on their holiday wish-list for 2017. It is another well-deserved accolade for Ireland, which provides Tourism Ireland with a great hook to continue to promote the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland around the world as a ‘must visit’ destination.”

Tourism Ireland will take every opportunity to maximise this latest accolade for the Skellig Ring and the Wild Atlantic Way over the coming weeks – spreading the word through its promotions around the world. Activity will include:
- a new video highlighting the beauty of The Skellig Ring drive; click here to view;
- a specially created page on Tourism Ireland’s international website, Ireland.com, which attracted more than 16.6 million visitors last year;
- extensive social media activity, including posts on Facebook (Tourism Ireland has 3.7+ million fans worldwide) and on Twitter (almost 368,000+ followers);
- a major PR and publicity push to Tourism Ireland’s 20,000 international media contacts (including an article on the organisation’s online press room); and
- highlighting the accolade at major travel fairs like the upcoming World Travel Market in London, the largest B2B event in the global travel and tourism calendar.

 
Above: Taking a breath along the Skellig Ring, along the Iveragh Peninsula and Wild Atlantic Way, were Maureen Cournane, Killarney Cycling Festival, Gleneagle Hotel, with Fionnbar Walsh, LiveLife Foundation, Adam King, Champion Hammer Thrower and Neilie Fitzpatrick, Ballinscelligs. PICTURE: VALERIE O'SULLIVAN