Visit Waterford and Taste Waterford collaboration recognised for putting Waterford’s food, drink, tourism and visitor experience firmly on the national stage
Waterford has been named Regional Destination of the Year 2026 at the prestigious Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards, recognising the city and county’s outstanding food, drink, hospitality and tourism offering and the growing collaboration behind its promotion as a visitor destination.
The coveted award was presented by renowned food writer and broadcaster Georgina Campbell at the annual awards ceremony at the InterContinental Dublin on Tuesday, September 22nd, celebrating the very best of Ireland’s food, hospitality and tourism industry.
Waterford enjoyed a hugely successful showing at this year’s Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards, with five honours going to the city and county across tourism, food and hospitality. The Waterford winners were:
- Waterford City & County – Regional Destination of the Year 2026
- Paul and Marie Flynn, The Tannery, Dungarvan – Hospitality Hero Award
- Everett’s, Waterford City – Bijou Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
- The Hat Maker, Dungarvan – Boutique Hotel of the Year
- The Strand Inn, Dunmore East – Restaurant-Bar of the Year
Speaking at the Irish Food & Hospitality Awards in Dublin’s InterContinental Hotel on Tuesday afternoon, food and hospitality writer Campbell warned of a loss of “good hospitality” in Ireland as businesses increasingly lean on technology.
“In many places we visited, we could see how warm human interaction is being replaced by cold digital transactions. The very qualities that once defined good hospitality, such as knowing a guest’s name, offering a cup of tea, or simply taking the time to have a good conversation, are becoming less common,” said Campbell. Her latest awards celebrate the human touch, she added.
At the awards, Georgina highlighted the strength of Ireland’s mid-market food offering, which she described as “grown-up” everyday food. Businesses from independent bakery-cafes to pubs, neighbourhood restaurants and more ambitious hotel restaurants are becoming “hospitality jewels”, according to Campbell.
The award for Waterford comes after the launch of a new collaboration between Visit Waterford and Taste Waterford in January 2026, bringing together the city and county’s tourism and food businesses with a shared focus on showcasing Waterford as a destination for exceptional experiences, local produce, food, drink, culture and hospitality.
The result has been a year of increased collaboration across the tourism, hospitality and food sectors, with businesses and attractions working together to create a stronger and more compelling visitor proposition for Waterford.
On hand at the InterContinental Dublin to accept the award on behalf of Waterford were Paul and Marie Flynn of The Tannery in Dungarvan and Maria Kyte of Visit Waterford.
The Georgina Campbell recognition comes at an exciting time for Waterford’s tourism sector, with the city and county continuing to build its reputation around its distinctive combination of heritage, landscape, outdoor adventure, culture, food and drink; for more, see www.visitwaterford.com
