The Galway Races are set to cap off a €100 million month for Galway, according to figures produced by Galway Chamber.

Over the course of July there has been a stream of cultural and tourism events of note in Galway. This included the Galway Film Fleadh (5^th – 10^th July), the Galway International Arts Festival (11^th – 24^th July) as well as the Galway Races Summer Festival (25^th – 31^st July).

It is believed that the Galway Races alone will contribute over €58m to the local economy, with more than €23 million spent in the immediate locality on hospitality, entertainment, travel and accommodation.  The Galway Races alone are expected to attract in excess of 130,000 attendees.

There has also been a bumper attendance at the Galway International Arts Festival this year with the weekend of 15^th – 17^th July described as the busiest ever in the history of that Festival.

Galway Chamber estimates that all the activity over the course of July will have attracted in the region of 250,000 people to the city and county.

“This has been a tremendous month of activity for Galway, which is now set to finish off with the full return of the Galway Races,” said Kenny Deery, Chief Executive of Galway Chamber. “It hasn’t been possible to properly enjoy these various events over the last couple of years due to the necessary precautions taken for the pandemic. However with the health situation now improved people have wanted to get back to these much cherished events and they have certainly done that this year.

“We’ve felt the boost throughout July all across Galway, with greater tourist activity beginning with the Galway Film Fleadh and then really ramping up while the Galway International Arts Festival was running. Such was the quality and diversity of the line-up this year we had tourists flocking to Galway from all over Ireland and beyond to enjoy the delights of the festival.

“Of course the Galway Races will represent the culmination of this all activity and we are really excited to have the ‘buzz’ generated by the races back once more. The races are one of the key cultural and social highlights of the Irish summer and it is a great relief to see its return.

“Whether it is the race goers flocking to Ballybrit, or the crowds of people enjoying their post racing socialising, the Galway Races have always brought something special to our city and county. There will be tremendous energy throughout Galway City and County during race week and we all know how people travel from far and wide to attend.

“From hotels to restaurants, pubs to retailers and much more besides, the Galway Races have also always provided a tremendous boost to so many local businesses. That will be a much needed boost in 2022 after all that has happened over the last couple of years. The numbers speak for themselves – more than 130,000 are expected to attend the races alone, which doesn’t include those who might be travelling to enjoy the wider festivities.

“All this caps off a great month of activity for our city and county. We estimate these various events throughout July will have brought approximately 250,000 people to Galway, making it a €100m month for Galway.  It’s been a special month and hopefully it is one we will see repeated regularly in the future,” Mr. Deery concluded.