Titanic Belfast named world's best tourist attraction at Tourism Oscars

Titanic Belfast has been crowned best tourist attraction in the world.

The interactive museum beat Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, the Las Vegas Strip and Peru’s Machu Picchu at a ceremony for the World Travel Awards in the Maldives. 

Opened in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking, it has nine galleries and features full-scale reconstructions and special effects.  

 

It is the first time any attraction from Ireland, north or south, has won in the 23-year history of the awards, dubbed the Tourism Oscars

Tim Husbands, Titanic Belfast's chief executive, said they were delighted.

'The Titanic story captures hearts and minds throughout the world and at Titanic Belfast this is no exception.

'Our interpretation of the story and ability to engage with visitors on many different levels has been fundamental in winning this award.

'With the award, we hope to attract more tourists to Northern Ireland to discover it.

'A huge thank you to our staff and all our supporters that voted, locally and across the world, to help us reach this iconic goal of being the world's leading tourist attraction.'

The new title puts the Belfast landmark on a par with previous winners such as the Taj Mahal in India and the Egyptian pyramids.