Tourism boom as Galway visitor numbers up 10%

Galway has enjoyed a tourism boom this Summer, with the number of visitors to the city and county up around 10% on 2013.

And last year itself was a particularly strong-performing year for the hospitality sector here, with thousands of extra tourists flocking to Galway for events organised for The Gathering.

Events such as the Film Fleadh and Galway Races, as well as the sell-out Galway International Arts Festival are continuing to act as the biggest revenue-generators here.

The Wild Atlantic Way – 2,500 kilometres covering nine counties and more than 1,500 activities – is also proving a major visitor attraction, with the majority of tourists coming from continental Europe.

Official figures from the Central Statistics Office for the first six months of the year show visitor numbers are up 10.3%, while local hoteliers are reporting an increase in occupancy of around 8%.

Michael Fitzsimons of Fáilte Ireland Galway said the organisation is “very happy” with the increase in visitors. “It’s a really good position to be in, but we can not be complacent. Early indications for August and September are very healthy. Figures are well up, so we’re very happy.

“The hotels reported a strong summer with occupancy up around 8%; August and September are looking very strong too. Overseas up and the weather is helping domestic figures too.

“We knew we were going to be growing, but we still have plenty more room to grow, and there will be a lot of progress for the Wild Atlantic Way in 2014/15, so we’re hoping that will increase figures,” he told the Connacht Tribune.

The CSO six-month figures show a 10.3% increase in overall trips to Ireland; visits from mainland Europe are up 6%; North American visitors are up 10.6%; UK visitors are up 13.6%.

Visits from the rest of the world – mostly long-haul flights and developing markets – were up 13.6%. Domestic trips by Irish residents were up 8%.

Read more on this story in this week’s Connacht Tribune