National Ploughing generates Economic Impact of €36m
The National Ploughing Championships Study carried by UCD in 2011 found the event generates an Economic Impact of €36 million per annum.
Key findings included:
- Visitors to the Championships spent just under €36.5 million during the three days of the 2011 event. This spending resulted in a tax take of over €6.6 million for the National Exchequer.
- 20% of attendees at the event are local.
- 63% male and 27% female split attendance.
- Machinery is the main attraction in the trade exhibition.
- Personal shopping accounted for over €7 million.
- Trade purchases were in excess of €9.6 million.
- Hotels, B&B’s, Public Houses, Food Outlets and Service Stations in the area, all stated that they experienced a dramatic increase in trade due to the championships.
Managing Director Anna May McHugh believes “the report highlights the huge economic positives that the event brings to the local community in the first instance and the benefit to the wider economy through air travel, transport to and from the event and VAT collected.
The Association would have been aware that based on average annual attendances of 180,000 people, the spin off for all involved must be significant. The study highlights and confirms the positive impact the event has on the locality not only from a commercial perspective but also from a rural and social perspective”.