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: 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: Ireland, People, Places, tourism | Tags: Galway, holidays, rainfall, tourism, travel, weather forecasting
Rainfall in July was heavier than normal in most areas, with extremely heavy downpours in parts of Limerick and Cork on the last day of the month, leading to widespread flooding.
Cork was the wettest part of the country during the month, with the highest July rainfall since 1975 recorded at Cork airport. The combined total for rainfall recorded there for June and July was more than twice the normal rainfall for those months. The station at Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford, had similar rainfall amounts.
The highest average temperature recorded was 15.7 degrees at Shannon airport, which also recorded the warmest day of the month – 25.2 degrees on July 24th.
The lowest July air temperature since the early 1970s was at Mullingar, where it was 3.6 degrees on July 5th. This was part of a trend which saw temperatures lower in the first half of the month and rising during the second half.
The greatest level of sunshine was in the east, with Dublin airport enjoying 156 hours while the lowest level of rainfall was recorded at Belmullet, where just 54mm fell during the month.
Perhaps the best place to have spent July was in the west, with Belmullet also recording high levels of sunshine and above average temperatures.
Though Met Éireann insisted yesterday that a wet summer was an integral part of the Irish climate, the significance of the bad weather during July was not lost on the tourism industry.
Rural tourism has struggled to stave off the effects of the weather on top of other factors, with some operators saying visitor numbers are down between 10 and 15 per cent so far this year.
Filed under: Ireland, People, Places, tourism | Tags: accommodation, cso, five star hotels, tourism, travel, visitors to ireland
Galwaytourism.ie reports that Some of the Ireland’s finest hotels are slashing rates as tough times descend. Tough competition now means more affordable rates at 5 star hotels.
The number of hotel rooms in the state has more than doubled in ten years to 58,000 with a hotel-building boom fuelled by economic growth and lucrative tax breaks.
There are 35 five-star hotels in the country, while the number of four-star hotels has almost trebled in two years, from 80 to 231. With the slowdown in the Irish and world economies, however, some observers are asking what the future holds for the high-end hotel sector.
Last year, occupancy rates at Ireland’s five-star hotels were 69 per cent – the highest occupancy rate of all hotel categories. The occupancy rate for four-star hotels was also good, coming in at an average of 66 per cent last year, according to figures from the Irish tourist industry.
With the domestic economy also slowing, it is widely accepted that 2008 will be a challenging year for the hotel sector. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some hotel owners are taking action to address the situation, with a number of high-profile five-star hotels reducing their room rates – some by as much as 50 per cent.
Some hoteliers believe that the opening of so many tax-driven hotel initiatives in recent years will place additional pressure on existing players
New figures released from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that almost one million overseas visitors came to the Republic in the first two months of this year. The figures represented an increase of 1 per cent on the same period last year. While it is early days in terms of the tourism season, the figures will provide some encouragement to hoteliers already concerned about the impact of difficult market conditions and economic uncertainty on their bottom line in 2008.
Filed under: GPS, Ireland, People, tourism | Tags: comedy festival, failte ireland, travel, U.S credit crunch
Galway Tourism is ‘holding up’ well against the effects of the US credit crunch and remains Ireland’s number one destination accroding to Failte Ireland. These assurances come as rumours that many five star hotels in the west of Ireland are planning to slash prices by offering ‘euro for dollar’ rates in a bid to attract American tourists who have been discouraged by the weak dollar.
It is understood that the plan will be announced in the next forthnight and will only include five star accommodation, however it may be expanded to include three and four star hotels in the wes at a later stage. A spokesman for Failte Ireland acknowledged that hoteliers and businesseswho are reliant on the US market would have concerns about the weakening U.S dollar, however he added that ‘Galway is in the best position at the moment’.
‘It is the destination in Ireland that can withstand the pressures of the U.S credit crunch. It is the most solid destination we have. There’s the big festivals and the races, the comedy festival has been a huge hit. It’s been a strong year because it is not just reliant on one market, it appeals to the young and the old and it is the spring board to Connemara. However, if a business is reliant on the U.S market we would encourage them to broaden their appeal.
‘Overall in the west, over the last few years there’s been a mix of business, the main market is domestic then there’s the UK and continental Europeans and then the U.S. There’s a good spread. In the north American market there will be more challenges because of the credit crunch and because consumer confidence is low and travel is normally down in general election time. Most Businesses will take that into account’ according to Failte Ireland.
The number of overseas visitors coming to Ireland has jumped by more than 70,000 in 12 months, according to Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures.
From a report recently announced by Galwaytourism.ie, in November 2007 there were 569,300 overseas trips to Ireland, compared with 497,500 in November 2006, an increase of 71,800. Trips to Ireland by residents of Britain increased by 36,600 and there was an increase of 33,300 in the number of trips to Ireland by residents of other European countries. Trips to Ireland by residents of North America increased by 3,800, while trips from other areas fell by 1,800.
British travellers accounted for 53 per cent of all overseas trips to Ireland, followed by residents of USA at 10 per cent.
There were 509,700 trips by Irish residents to other countries in November 2007 compared with 488,500 in November 2006, an increase of 21,200.
