Tourism Impact Kick-starts As Women’s Rugby World Cup Countdown Begins
The Fáilte Ireland Visit Dublin centre on Suffolk Street played host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup trophy on Monday, June 19 – alerting visitors to the fact that Ireland will be hosting this prestigious event.
With the clock ticking down to Dublin’s hosting of the WRWC 2017 pool stages, tourists visiting the capital were given the opportunity to get up and close and personal with the coveted trophy as it continues its tour of the country.
Kicking off in August, the Women’s Rugby World Cup will see 12 national rugby teams play in a series of matches in Dublin (UCD) and Belfast (Queen’s University and Kingspan Stadium).
The tournament format will see 18 pool stage matches taking place in UCD and 12 knock-out matches hosted in the two Belfast venues.
With large numbers of visiting team members, officials, supporters and spectators expected to arrive, the event is estimated to generate 15,000 bed night numbers and significant additional tourism revenue for Dublin.
Speaking about the importance of securing such a high profile event for Ireland, Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup – particularly given the growing popularity of Women’s rugby and the event’s potential benefit for Irish tourism.
“Fáilte Ireland is always very keen that any international event we bring here showcases Ireland’s ability to stage international events brilliantly and we are sure that the experience in August – for both athletes and spectators – will truly demonstrate our capacity to host high profile international events of scale.”
Fáilte Ireland has been working closely with the IRFU and other stakeholders in the build-up to the holding of the Women’s Rugby World Cup , including sponsorship of 300,000 euro for the event as well as supporting the hosting of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Olympic Repechage tournament in June 2016 and the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Qualifying tournament in August 2015.
Garret Tubridy, Tournament Director of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017, commented: “We are hugely grateful for the support of Failte Ireland. Unlike a regular game day we will have visitors from 12 nations at the venue at each match day, which will create a very special atmosphere. We know the Irish welcome is renowned worldwide and we hope to bring a flavour of it to the tournament.”