A winning performance all round – Notre Dame vs Navy American Football Game

The fighting Irish came home on September 1st and had a winning performance all round!

Wherever you were on the island of Ireland in the last week of August or first week of September you were sure to meet some of the 35,000 American visitors who came to support their teams playing in the Aviva stadium on September 1st.

Some travelled for the game and a long weekend but lots of those supporters took the opportunity to holiday in Ireland in and around the match and they travelled the length and breadth of the country.  The average spend per visitor is €2,500 providing therefore almost a €90 million boost to the economy.

Gerry Nicholls President said “This underpins the importance of ‘Events’ and endorses ITOA’s long held view that targeting and supporting the right type of International Events can bring enormous dividends to the Tourism Industry and the exchequer.  These Events don’t just happen by accident and there was an enormous amount of planning over a three year period in advance of the game, that many people were not aware of.  ITOA members played a significant part in delivering the number of US visitors who came not only from the USA but from all around the globe to this Game by providing the ground arrangements and packages that were promoted over 2-3 years in advance of the event.”