Fáilte Ireland defends €130m Ryder Cup return

The national tourism development authority, Fáilte Ireland, has said it remains satisfied with its €130 million estimate for potential earnings from the Ryder Cup.

It was responding to a much lower economic impact assessment produced by US consulting group Anderson Economic Group (AEG), which estimated the impact at €43 million.

In a statement, the tourism body said an economic impact study conducted during the Ryder Cup held at The Belfry in England in 2002 found the area benefited by £65 million (€100m).

It said it used this study, and added on a further €30 million, to arrive at its figure. "Taking into account inflation over the past four years, and the attraction of the Ryder Cup in Ireland, a €130 million figure is a reasonable figure, especially given the value of media exposure and legacy benefits to Ireland.

"Fáilte Ireland has always maintained that the value of the Ryder Cup to Ireland does not lie in one week's bookings but rather in the further development of golf tourism and tourism generally."

Fáilte Ireland said the AEG study did not taken into account domestic attendees at the Ryder Cup, took a low base point for overseas visitors, and assumed a very low per diem spend. It said the per diem spend at The Belfry was €460 per day in today's terms. The AEG study assumed a €220 per diem spend.

The AEG assessment was produced in partnership with Amárach Consulting of Dublin.

Gerard O'Neill, chief executive of Amárach, yesterday defended the assessment. He said media exposure was not included in the estimate as there was no agreed standard for valuing it.

In relation to legacy benefits, he said it was difficult to separate out the effect of the Ryder Cup on future golf tourism from ongoing golf tourism promotion by Fáilte Ireland.

On not counting domestic attendees, Mr O'Neill said the object was to identify the net benefit to Ireland, and most domestic attendees would probably spend their money in Ireland if they had not attended the Ryder Cup.

He said the per diem estimates were based on inquiries to hotels and B&Bs, and he believed they were reasonable.

He said the AEG/Amárach estimate still represented a very good 270 per cent return on the Government's €16 million investment in the event.