American travel magazine Global Traveler has named Ireland as the “Best Tourist Destination” for the second year in a row. More than 22,000 readers named Ireland as their favorite overall destination in a survey carried out earlier this year.

Global Traveler asked its business and luxury travelers to choose their favorite destination, airline and other travel related products and services.

Businessandleadership.com quoted Tourism Ireland CEO Naill Gibbons, “We are delighted that Ireland has been signaled out once again for this accolade by the readers of Global Traveler magazine.”

Gibbons continued, “Travelers nowadays have tremendous choice, which makes it more important than ever for us to ensure the island of Ireland stands out from other destinations – so this award is really good news, particularly as we prepare to kick off our extensive 2014 promotional drive in the all important US market.”

Between June and August 2013, the number of visitor from North America increased by twenty percent to 437,900. The overall number of trips to Ireland increased 6.7 percent compared with the same period in 2012. The Gathering 2013 is credited with the increase in American tourism.

The Global Traveler awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Dec 10.