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, 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: 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: People, Places, Volvo Ocean Race, tourism | Tags: galway ireland, summer festivals, tourism, visit galway, visitors to ireland, Volvo Ocean Race, west of ireland
Tourism chiefs in Galway remain bullish about the prospects of the industry locally this year in spite of the global economic recession which saw a significant drop in overseas visitor numbers for the first time in seven years. Visitor figures for last year show a worrying decline in two of Galway’s three biggest overseas visitor markets, American and UK, but Irish Tourism groups remain confident Galway city and county can buck the trend this year and outperform all other regions in Ireland outside of Dublin. The tourism organisation said a combination of the Volvo Ocean Race in early summer and upcoming aggressive marketing campaigns in mainland Europe, UK, US and in Ireland will help to ensure Galway and the West ‘holds its own’ in 2009. New statistics released yesterday reveal tourists from America and UK dropped by 9% and 5% respectively in 2008 compared to the preceding year. The American tourists who came here in 2008 spent 18% less than the previous year while British tourists spent 2% less resulting in an overall decline in national tourism revenues of around 2% to €6.3 billion.
Filed under: Ireland, Places, tourism | Tags: galway arts festival, galway races, summer festivals, tourism galway
Well established festivals like the Galway Arts Festival and the Galway Races have probably saved what would have been an average tourist season this year.
Fáilte Ireland and many others involved in the tourist business in Galway City and County have put the draw of the two internationally renowned events as being a life saver for urban and rural tourism.
Traditionally July and August were the height of the tourist season but experts in the industry are now saying that the few weeks surrounding those festivals are the highlight – in other words if those depending on tourism don’t make their money in those few weeks, it’s a struggle the rest of the year.
If other cities could replicate this model they could weather the most difficult tourist seasons.
Filed under: Ireland, People, Places, tourism | Tags: galway arts festival, galway tourism, summer festivals
World-renowned artists, including the likes of Philip Glass ensemble, Joni Mitchell, Blondie, the New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Druid Theatre, Bill Viola and Omara Portuondo of the Buena Vista Social Club are among the artists taking part in this year’s Galway Arts Festival which runs
from July 14-27.
Over four hundred writers, artists, performers and musicians from Australia, Africa, Europe, North America and Ireland are taking part in Festival 2008, which also sees the introduction of an exciting new venue, the Festival Big Top, located in the Fisheries Field. There is also the possibility thathe Saw Doctors will hold 2 shows in the Big Top too.
Galway will also welcome South Africa’s Farber Foundry (pictured) , making their Irish debut with Molora, an exploration of apartheid and its legacy through reworking the Greek classic, The Oresteia.
Filed under: Ireland, People, Places, tourism | Tags: Galway, galway arts festival, Music, summer festivals
Blondie, the legendary New York new wave band led by the charismatic Debbie Harry, will be one of the top attractions at this year’s Galway Arts Festival.
The world tour coincides with the re-release of the band’s classic 1978 album Parallel Lines which produced the hits ‘Heart Of Glass, ‘One Way Or Another’, Hanging On The Telephone’, and ‘Sunday Girl’. These songs will doubtless be heard when Blondie play Galway on Thursday July 24.
The venue has yet to be confirmed but there is speculation that Blondie’s show may be one of those taking place in the Big Top Festival Tent which will return for this summer’s festival.
Taking to the stage on the night will be the band’s iconic frontwoman Deborah Harry, guitarist and main songwriter Chris Stein, keyboardist and songwriter Jimmy Destri, drummer Clem Burke from the band’s classic line up, as well as Paul Carbonara and Leigh Foxx.
“We are looking forward to seeing new and old fans out there this summer,” said Chris Stein. “We have been doing pretty much the same show for several tours now, and this time we have more rehearsal time than usual and we are going to try to take it a bit further.”
The band began life in New York in the mid 1970s as Angel & The Snake, but changed their name to Blondie in 1975 in reference to the shouts Harry received from customers at a bar she worked in and truck drivers.
The band became part of the influential set of acts such as Talking Heads, Television, and the Ramones, which played the CBGB venue in the Bowery region of New York. Although born from US punk, the band’s music evolved into a more new wave sound which also incorporated pure pop, early hip hop, reggae, and hard rock.
