VOLVO OCEAN RACE:GALWAY HOTELIERS are in discussion with Fáilte Ireland to agree a price charter for next year's Volvo Ocean Race, when 140,000 people are expected to flock to the city.
The international event is expected to be worth €43 million to the local economy. Fáilte Ireland is hoping to roll out the charter to include pubs, restaurants and taxis, in order to give a good impression about value for money in Ireland.
Eight 70m racing yachts will spend two weeks in Galway, from May 23rd to June 6th next year, and both Galway City Council and the organising committee, Let's Do It Galway, are determined to make it the most accessible international event in the country.
The pricing strategy by hoteliers and accommodation providers will be key to attracting people to the city to enjoy the free entertainment and inshore racing during the fortnight.
Galway has suffered from adverse publicity over the years for the prices charged during race week, and the price- promise charter is aimed at reassuring visitors.
The sailing event is being billed as the biggest sporting event ever hosted in the west of Ireland. John Concannon, director of regional tourism for Fáilte Ireland, says the price charter is a hugely positive initiative.
The ships will race into Galway from Boston, attempting to beat the transatlantic yacht speed record with the help of the Gulf Stream and the westerly winds. The yachts, with their 12-storey-high sails, should be an amazing sight arriving in the city.
By the time they reach Ireland they will have been racing for eight months. They will start in Alicante, in Spain, this October and stop in South Africa, India, Singapore and China.
The longest leg will be from China to Brazil, 12,300 nautical miles (almost 23,000km). The 63,000km race is regarded as the toughest round-the-world yachting event. It will end in St Petersburg, in Russia, in June next year.
The Irish entrant, the Green Team, will be skippered by Ian Walker, two-time British Olympian and two-time skipper and tactician on America's Cup campaigns.
The crew, which has yet to be finalised, will be a mix of Irish and international sailors.
In Galway city, it is planned to build a concert arena in the dock area and a tented village covering more than a hectare (three acres). Access will be free for the public.
The inshore racing will take place along the Salthill seafront, giving many kilometres of access to the public. During their time in Galway, each boat will come out of the water for inspection, mounted on huge cradles in the port.
Galway will benefit not only from the tourism but also from infrastructural works being undertaken at Galway port. The oil farm is being moved and a new dry dock and slipway will be built. The port area will be upgraded with new paving, and some of the new structures might be maintained.
The Green Team yacht will arrive in Dublin around July 9th, before its final journey to Galway, where the crew will begin training from the middle of July until the end of August, so visitors to Galway can get a sneak preview as Green Team goes through its paces before heading to Spain for the off on October 4th.