The Waterford Greenway is in the running to be named "Best Tourism Initiative" this weekend.
The 46km off-road trail from Waterford to Dungarvan has been shortlisted at the All Ireland Community and Council Awards, which take place at Croke Park on Saturday (Febuary 3rd).
The Greenway was officially opened on March 25th last year and has attracted over 250,000 visitors with 94% of them rating it either excellent or good, according to a report published at the end of 2017.
Winning the 'Best Tourism Initiative' category, which is sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, would be a huge boost and a massive coup, Waterford City and County Council Mayor, Cllr. Pat Nugent, said.
"We're very proud of the Waterford Greenway and great credit has to go to the staff who have developed and maintain it, to the surrounding communities who have embraced it and promoted it and to the 247,000 plus visitors who used it between March and early December of last year.
"The competition is formidable and other finalists are drawn from Wicklow, Tipperary, Leitrim, Mid-Ulster and Mayo. But being shortlisted is a huge honour and helps us bring the Waterford Greenway message to an even wider audience through the Awards."
Chief Executive with Waterford City and County Council, Michael Walsh, is hopeful that they may scoop the coveted award.
"It will be great to fly the Waterford flag in Croke Park for the Awards and we're hoping it will be a good omen for great things to come for Waterford in 2018. The data we gleaned from the pre-Christmas report on the Greenway was extremely encouraging and it was fantastic to see the Greenway being used for so many purposes and by so many age groups right throughout the year."
