The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin has claimed the title of Europe’s leading tourist destination at the World Travel Awards in Sardinia, Italy.

During a night which also saw Russia’s St Petersburg named best tourist city in Europe and Disneyland Paris awarded the title of Europe’s leading themed resort, the Guinness Storehouse beat out the likes of Paris’s Eiffel Tower, the Roman Colosseum and London’s Buckingham Palace as the best tourist attraction to visit on the continent.

The Storehouse, which is Ireland’s most-visited tourist attraction, tells the story of the 250-year-old Guinness brand, with more than 13 million people visiting the attraction since it first opened in 2006. According to recent statistics, 92 per cent of all visitors to the attraction are not from Ireland, with the top five nationalities of those visiting being American, British, French, German and Italian.

“Today is a very proud day for the Guinness Storehouse team. We were honoured to have been shortlisted amongst such iconic attractions but to be voted by the public as ‘Europe’s leading tourist attraction’ goes beyond anything we could have imagined,” said Paul Carty, managing director of the Storehouse.

“We wish to claim this as a victory for Irish tourism. One in every two holidaymakers to Dublin visits the Guinness Storehouse and we are very aware and very proud of our position at the front line of the warm Irish welcome. This award is a great acknowledgement of the team’s dedication to providing an unforgettable, world-class visitor experience.”

Along with winners in other categories, the Storehouse will now move forward to the World Travel Awards Grand Final, which is due to to take place at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort in El Jadida, Morocco, on 12 December.

For the full list of European WTA winners, click here.