Gathering keeps west on track for record level of US visitors
The West is on course for a record year in terms of the numbers of North American tourists visiting, according to tourism chiefs, who are bullish about growth in the tourism industry again next year.
A combination of the Gathering and greater accessibility through increased routes into Shannon has boosted Galway and the West’s tourism year. “The North American market has been very, very strong and we are on target for a record year,” said Fiona Monaghan, head of operations Fáilte Ireland West.
“Ireland is back in vogue. The Gathering has really put Ireland back in the shop window. It created awareness about Ireland as a destination and it encouraged people who were thinking about coming to Ireland in the next few years to actually make the booking and come this year.
“It started last year with the Notre Dame American Football match in Dublin in September and it has continued ever since. It’s also a reflection that America is exiting recession and recovering quicker than we are here and they are travelling again. Consumer confidence has returned to the North American market,” she said.
But it’s not just the Americans who flocked to Galway and the West this year – the numbers of Germans and French visitors also increased so far in 2013.
The rugged landscape, the people and the culture and heritage of Galway and the West were attracting the Germans back to these shores, she said.
This positivity is borne out in the latest official CSO figures. At over 5.4 million visits, overall trips to Ireland were up 6.4% in the first nine months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. For the three-month period from July to September 2013, overseas trips to Ireland increased 7.8% to 2.26 million trips. This is the strongest performance in the third quarter in terms of visits since 2008.
Visits from mainland Europe grew by 5.1% for January to September 2013, to 1,935,400 visits and by 1.2% for the July to September period (786,200 visits). North America registered an increase of 14.6% for January to September 2013 (934,600 visits) and of 13.6% in the July to September 2013 period (415,000 visits). Visits from the UK were up by 3.5% for January to September 2013 (2,201,800 visits) and by 9% for the three months from July to September 2013 compared to the corresponding period of 2012 (904,700 visits).
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune