FG: Races' success proves tourism potential
The success of the Galway Races proves Irish horseracing has massive potential to increase tourism revenues, it was claimed today.
With more than 120,000 punters expected to attend this week’s festival and 50,000 horseracing tourists travelling to the country each year, Fine Gael said international marketing of the sport should be stepped up.
The party’s tourism spokesperson, Jimmy Deenihan, said the estimated €125m bet at the festival and €70m generated for the local economy showed the potential of horse racing.
“Given that there are over 300 race meetings taking place around the country every year, generating €23m in gate receipts and over €110m in consumer revenue, there is a massive opportunity to build the numbers of tourists coming to Ireland for race meetings from the current level of 50,000 a year,” he said.
“Not only that but a report prepared by Horse Racing Ireland indicates that horse racing is a key attraction for visitors from Great Britain, a market which has experienced some worrying declines in recent times.
“Positive British press coverage of Irish racing meets, such as those on this year’s Listowel Festival, shows there’s a real opportunity to develop this area to attract more of our nearest neighbours, especially in light of the fact that there are 5.5m attendances at British race meetings annually.”
Mr Deenihan said tapping into this market would represent a significant boost in spending on accommodation and entertainment and the potential to develop valuable corporate entertainment packages.
“Recent tourism reports have shown that, while tourists continue to visit Dublin in high numbers, operators in the regions, and especially the west, are struggling to survive,” he said.
“I have been calling for some time for the Government to recognise the need for innovation and new product development as well as a balanced regional tourism strategy but it has continued to turn a blind eye.
“Our busy horse racing calendar presents an ideal, innovative opportunity to attract international visitors to meetings across the country, from Killarney to Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Roscommon, and provide a boost to tourism revenues in the regions and the economy overall.”
