The Western Greenway, currently stretching 42km from Westport to Achill, has already generated a massive profit of €2 million in its first year, MEP Jim Higgins has asserted.
“A recent Bord Fáilte report has confirmed the huge economic success of the Great Western Greenway in Mayo,” said Mr Higgins. “The Greenway has paid for itself in less than a year. The Greenway only cost €5.6m to construct and brought €7.2m to the local economy in 2011 alone. This is an excellent project and everybody involved deserves huge credit.”
Mr Higgins added: “The incredible €7.2 million can be broken down into spending of €940,000 by local residents, over €3.5 million in expenditure by domestic visitors, and €2.8 million in expenditure by overseas visitors.
“The Greenway is a perfect example of the huge tourism potential Ireland possesses. All we need is a little imaginative thinking in order to fully exploit the increasingly popular active and healthy holiday market.”
Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism authority that funded over a third of the Greenway development, in a report before Christmas 2011, projected that the cycling and walking facility would contribute an economic impact of €6.3 million in 2011.
The figures showed that the Greenway was expected to attract nearly 23,000 visitors annually and would also be used almost 35,000 times by local people. The study suggested that about 70 per cent of domestic visitors and about 45 per cent of overseas visitors considered the Greenway to be an important factor in their decision to visit the area.
The study also consulted with local enterprises and assessed the impact of the Greenway on their business. Nearly 47 per cent of businesses surveyed or consulted indicate that the Greenway has led to an increase in business turnover; about 31 per cent of businesses surveyed or consulted suggest that the Greenway has led to an increase in their expenditure in the local area; the Greenway has helped to create an estimated 38 new full-time equivalent jobs, with a further 56 existing FTE jobs being sustained. Furthermore, some two-thirds of businesses suggest that the prospects for increasing turnover from the Greenway are either “good” or “very good”.
The Greenway has since been awarded the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN ) award 2011.
