Races set for major bounce in crowds

The only dead cert next week will be the massive boost to the local economy, particularly tourism and hospitality related businesses.

The Galway Racing Summer Festival, which goes to post on Monday, will once again trigger a €60 million plus boon to the city and its environs, as up to 150,000 punters are expected on the annual pilgrimage to Ballybrit.

City hotels are reporting a spike in bookings with one hotel already erecting the ‘no vacancy’ sign, as the full week is booked out for the first time in years. Bars and restaurants are also taking on additional part-time staff as the hospitality industry prepares for its busiest seven days of the year.

Galway Racecourse manager, John Moloney, said tickets sales for the Races are already up this year compared with 2012. Corporate hospitality bookings are up by around 30%, he said, proving the festival is resilient and as popular as ever.

Last year attendances at the Galway Races took a bit of a hammering compared with the previous year and naturally the turnover in the Tote and on-course bookies also fell in line with the crowds.

However, Mr Moloney is confident this year will surpass last year’s event – which still attracted over 132,000 punters through the gates – and he is hopeful that if the weather holds up, Ballybrit crowds could return to 2011 levels.

A report in 2005 said the festival was worth €60 million to Galway, and Mr Moloney believes that figure still holds true today, except its importance to Galway is probably worth more now than then because of the current economic situation and businesses need the boost more.

 There will be 52 races (all are sponsored) over seven days with some €1.6 million in prize-money.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.