Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: galway tourism, visit galway, volvo ocean race galway
Figures released today show that the Galway stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, last summer, had a major economic impact on the city to the tune of just under €56m.
Galway hosted the race competitors for two weeks in late May and early June. Over that period some 650,000 visits were made to the race village and Salthill.
The stopover was watched by a TV audience globally of 1.3 billion and had a radio listenership of 234 million.
Filed under: Events, Festivals, Ireland, People, Places, tourism | Tags: failte ireland, Galway, Galway Bay, galway ireland, galway tourism, Ireland, Irish Tourism, summer festivals, tourism galway, travel, visit galway, visitors to ireland, Volvo Ocean Race, west of ireland
Volvo ocean race galway
The organisations behind a high-profile event held earlier this year in Galway have yet to pay some of their suppliers and are in talks with a number of them in a bid to get their bills discounted or rescheduled.
Businesses which supplied Volvo Race in Galway say that they have yet to be paid by the organisations behind the event.
The Volvo Ocean Race have offering 70 per cent of the total that they owe with the prospect of further payments in the future.
The owner-manager of one of the suppliers pointed out that he has over 30 staff who have to be paid every week, and added that his business cannot afford to operate in a situation where it is not being paid.
The stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, a round-the-world sailing event in Galway, was billed as a huge success. It was originally estimated that it would attract up to 140,000 spectators or “visits” over a two-week period.
Ultimately, it was estimated that it drew some 600,000, with a considerable spin-off for the city and the region.
A spokeswoman for Let’s Do It Galway, the group behind the organisation of the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway, confirmed that it has a number of creditors who supplied goods and services to the event that have yet to be paid.
She said that the organisation had contracts with about 1,000 suppliers, and was dealing with debts running to a “double-figure number”.
The spokeswoman said that it was seeking discounts and attempting to reschedule payments to these suppliers.
State tourism agency Fáilte Ireland pledged €8 million to the Volvo Ocean Race. The spokeswoman explained that the body is not due to pay this money until Let’s Do It Galway completes a number of audits and reports on which it is currently working.
It also has to collect some sponsorship money due from smaller, local backers.
Filed under: Events, Festivals, Ireland, People, Places, tourism | Tags: galway ireland, galway races, galway tourism, Ireland, summer festivals, tourism galway, visit galway, west of ireland
The Galway Races Summer Festival organising committee are hopeful that despite the recession attendances at this year’s flagship event will hold steady, with a ‘late burst of bookings’ indicating that between 180,000 and 200,000 are likely to flock to Ballybrit from Monday next. Galway City businesses are keeping their fingers crossed too that the remarkable pulling power of the annual pinnacle of Galway’s tourism season will rescue what has been a difficult Summer so far by pumping an estimated €70 million or €80 million injection into the local economy.
Last year around 175,000 paying customers went through the stalls at Ballybrit over the seven days with an estimated 30,000 or so more in the free area and funfair area adjacent to the entrance tunnel opposite the stand and although Mr Moloney said the numbers could be down 10% this year, he is hopeful numbers will hold steady.
Filed under: Ireland, Places, tourism | Tags: galway film fleadh, galway tourism
Veteran actress Anjelica Huston is set to be honored at the 21st Galway Film Fleadh. The Oscar Award-winning star will be presented with the inaugural Galway Hooker award, named after the famous local fishing boat.
The festival spokesperson, Felim MacDermott said, “It is very fitting that Anjelica is our guest of hhonor in our 21st year, as in our very first Fleadh, in 1989, she featured with her father John in a documentary about the local Galway Blazeers hunt.”
“Anjelica will also introduce some of her films, such as James Joyce’s ‘The Dead,’ which was directed by her father, during a mini-retrospective of her work at the Fleadh.”
The 57-year-old actress, who won an Academy Award for her performance in 1985’s “Prizzi’s Honor,” will be participating in a public interview in the Town Hall Theater on July 12 so audience members can ask her questions.
Huston serves on the board of directors at the NUI Galway’s John Huston School of Film and Digital Media, named after her father.
The Galway Film Fleadh will be held from July 7 to 12.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: arthouse cinema, cinema galway, Galway, galway arts festival, galway tourism, technology, visit galway, west of ireland
The planned “cultural quarter” in Galway has taken a giant leap forward with confirmation that a building project is due to commence soon on a €4m arthouse cinema. The 350-seat cinema will be developed on Merchant’s Road, close to the docks. The project has been initiated in partnership with Solas, comprising Galway Film Society, Galway Film Fleadh, Galway Film Centre and Galway Arts Centre.
Initial works will begin next month and construction is due to begin in June just after the departure of the Volvo Ocean Race. Three cinemas are incorporated in the design, a 176 seater at basement level, a 77-seater on the second floor
Galway Arthouse Cinema
and a 105 seater on the third floor including 28 seats on the balcony. The cinemas, equipped for 35mm and digital projection, will screen films of the “widest cultural diversity and will offer programmes that are innovative in form and challenging in content.
The project was earmarked in the current Galway city development plan which recognised a deficit of culture and arts infrastructure in the city. The authority has acquired additional property in the area as part of its “cultural quarter” plans, incorporating the new cinema and the existing city museum. The development will include a cafe and a bar area, a book and DVD shop and an online archive link to the National Film Archive and specialist online cinema resources.
Filed under: Ireland, People, Places, Volvo Ocean Race, tourism | Tags: Galway, galway tourism, Ireland, Irish Tourism, Oceans, Sailing, summer festivals, tourism galway, travel, visit galway, visitors to ireland, Volvo Ocean Race, Waves, west of ireland
Work is expected to begin within the next week on demolishing giant oil storage tanks at Galway docks which are regarded by visitors and locals alike as an eyesore in the city centre. The demolition has been accelerated to ensure that Galway puts its best foot forward for the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in the city next month. Up to 150,000 visitors are expected to head to the western capital for the event, which takes place between May 23 and June 6 and which will have a television audience of 1.8 billion. The removal of the 11 tanks will facilitate a massive Volvo Ocean Race tented village which will be constructed along the dockside, allowing maximum viewing access for the expected massive crowds. The stopover is expected to generate a spend in the region of €40m across the wider Galway area, with the Government, under the aegis of Failte Ireland, stumping up €8m to promote the event.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Galway, Galway Bay, galway tourism, Irish Tourism, Oceans, Sailing, tourism galway, travel, visit galway, visitors to ireland, Volvo Ocean Race
Volvo Ocean Race Galway
After months of prolonged negotiations it was finally announced this week that the oil tanks on the Docks will be removed in time for the arrival of the Volvo Ocean Race in May. The decision paves the way for the Galway Volvo Ocean Race Village to be included as originally planned on the site of the tanks, ensuring a connection between the village and Eyre Square via Victoria Street.
Making the announcement Galway Harbour Master, Brian Sheridan said he was delighted to see that all parties involved had finally reached a decision. Work on the decommissioning of the tanks in due to begin in the very near future and the expected month of work should be completed in plenty of time for the arrival of the tented village from Rio de Janeiro on Monday 11 May. According to Topaz, who will manage the decommissioning of the tanks, the work should be completed by the end of April allowing the race village be constructed in ample time.
Filed under: Internet, Ireland, Places, TV, tourism | Tags: Galway, galway tourism, twitter
Galway Tourist information updates are now available on Twitter. So now you can keep updated through our ‘tweets’ about what’s happening in Galway throughout the year.
For those who are not familiar with the service ‘Twitter’ is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. You can follow us by going to – twitter.com/galwaytourism
Filed under: Ireland, People, Surfing Ireland, Volvo Ocean Race, tourism | Tags: Galway Bay, galway ireland, galway tourism, Ireland, Sailing, summer festivals, tourism galway, visitors to ireland, Volvo Ocean Race, west of ireland
TOURISM bosses have issued a stark warning to Galway hotels, bars and other businesses in the hospitality sector not to jeopardise the city’s reputation abroad by overcharging and ‘cashing-in’ during the Volvo Ocean Race this Summer. Up to 140,000 visitors are expected to visit Galway for the two week festival in May and June which represents a unique opportunity to showcase Galway and get repeat tourism business.
Fáilte Ireland have warned businesses that if they overcharge and fail to offer a warm welcome, the city’s reputation will be sullied which could cause damage to the long-term future of the tourism sector in Galway and the West.
Already 30 hotels have signed up to the ‘Galway accommodation charter’ where they have agreed to offer fair pricing during the stopover, and others have been urged to follow their lead as there are fears that negative publicity internationally about poor service and overcharging could damage Galway city’s bid to hold the stopover again in four years time.
Filed under: GPS, Ireland, People, Places, Volvo Ocean Race, tourism | Tags: galway tourism, Volvo Ocean Race, volvo race galway
The Volvo Ocean Race will visit Galway in the summer of 2009. On the 23rd of May 2009 the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) will arrive in Galway following the transatlantic leg, racing from Boston, and it will stay in Galway for a two week stopover before leaving on the next leg to Göteborg in Sweden.
The Volvo Ocean race, also known as the Round the World Race, is run every four years and will cover 39,000 miles. It begin in Alicante, Spain and will visit around eleven ports including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China, India and Boston. In-port racing will take place in all ports as well as the race around the world. The Galway leg of this race begins in June 2009.
The Volvo Ocean Race is expected to be Ireland’s biggest ever sporting/festival so far, with Galway city expected to welcome over 300,000 people and generate approx €100 million in revenue over the course of the two weeks.
Visitors to Galway will get a chance to experience the spectacle of the VO70 sailing boats including in-port racing and enjoy everything special that the West of Ireland has to offer.
