The first ever stop over of the Volvo Ocean Race generated Euro 55 million for the West of Ireland according to a Failte Ireland report to be published this morning. The key findings and a link to the full report is over the fold. In this morning's Irish Times marine correspondent Lorna Siggins breaksdown breaks down the benefits here and sailing correspondent David O'Brien says the stop over highlights this coastline's potential here.
An economic impact analysis delivered by Deloitte reported a significant economic impact of €55.8m, the highest recorded at a Volvo Ocean Race stopover port and comparable to the Race departure from Galicia, Spain in 2005 was achieved. This impact was 30% greater than projected figures from the advance report commissioned in 2007 despite the fact that spend per head estimates were lower than anticipated due to the economic climate. Spend of €36.5m by non-local spectators provided a real boost to the local tourism sector.
The key points of the report are:
€55.8m economic impact on Galway and Ireland
€36.5m of spending by race spectators from outside the local region
650,000 visits to Race Village and Salthill
TV audience globally of 1.327 billion and Radio listenership of 234 million
99% of international visitors would recommend Galway as a holiday destination
The full report is available for download here.
A full report on this mornings press conference will follow on afloat.ie later
