jimmmy wrote: » They woke the whole village - from babies to families to old people - as well as many of the people on the road between the Point and Sligo.
jimmmy wrote: » Most b+b's were empty and I heard many hotels had some empty rooms. If you think there were 200,000 plus spectators in Sligo this year, you obviously cannot count !
dardevle wrote: » not just Sligo! it was actually 6 counties on both sides of the border i did'nt even attempt to count them:eek:.
dardevle wrote: » according to gardai figures it was 200,000+, other quotes were as high as 270,000....maybe the "weekender" knows the true figure:rolleyes:
dardevle wrote: » perhaps it was the same few hundred that you mentioned at each location.
dardevle wrote: » Thousands of visitors......
jimmmy wrote: » The reporter says Someone else says "around 250,000 visitors were in the region over the week-end" lol. If you think 250,000 visitors were in the region over the weekend why were the hotels locally not full, why was the traffic not worse ? Bear in mind Sligo town has a population of about 19,000 ....considering there were very few extra buses around last weeking, and assuming most visitors - being car enthusiasts - came by car, and assuming say an average occupancy per car of 3 people, that would have meant in excess of an extra 83,000 cars on the road last weekend - despite the road closures. Were these invisible cars do you think ? lol Of course Rally Ireland will over estimate the figures as its in their interests to do so.
Big_Mac wrote: » It was a good weekend, well organised, minor hitches and great publicity for Sligo and the north west
dardevle wrote: » sligo champion feb 4th '09; Following the overwhelming success of Rally Ireland in Sligo and the North West at the week-end, the Chairman of Failte Ireland North West, Paschal Mooney, has urged a high-powered lobbying campaign to ensure that the lucrative event returns to the region. Thousands of visitors, generating an estimated economic spin-off in excess of €50 million, transformed Sligo into a spectacular sporting arena as the world's top rally drivers battled it out for ultimate glory over three days of dramatic action. The North West replaced Monte Carlo as the location for the opening stage of the 2009 World Rally Championship and despite unfavourable weather conditions over the opening two days, the event was judged to be even more successful than the 2007 Rally Ireland. Hotels and bed and breakfast operators throughout the region reported about 90% capacity business and pubs, restaurants and shops also enjoyed a significant increase in trade. All the figures haven't been finalised yet but early reports indicated that around 250,000 visitors were in the region over the week-end. Despite the bad weather, the atmosphere was terrific and everybody had a wonderful time. . the rally ireland website gave the gardai estimates at 200,000 and have since revised the number upward!...also the population of the county matters why???is there a cap on the number of visitors depending on the population
jimmmy wrote: » I heard the Gardai did move them on , they went to another village where they were moved out of by the Gardai there, and they went back to Rosses Point where the Gardai caught up with them again ...I would imagine its not easy to police a large gang like that...fair play to the cops or it could have been a lot worse.
eddiebear wrote: » the gaurds got fed up chasing boy racers out of places in the town & in the end gave up & started telling them rosses point was where the messing was & that they would be left to it out there
darealtulip wrote: » think thats the only solution anyway to give them a place to mess about
