Westport house reason 60 of people visit mayo

SOME €50.7 million will be spent in Mayo and the wider region by consumers visiting Westport House this year, a report published this morning (Tuesday) has revealed.

The historic estate has been revealed as the motivation for over 60% of tourists travelling to Mayo.

The major new report carried out by CHL Consulting Co. Ltd. on behalf of Mayo County Council has today revealed the huge economic impact of Westport House estate to the economy of the region. Privately owned by the Browne family for almost 400 years and open to the public since 1960, the estate directly creates 47 jobs and accounts for €50.7 million indirect expenditure for the region.

In terms of a direct contribution of economic value created, Westport House contributed almost €1.64 million to the Exchequer and the local/regional economy in the 12 months ending September 2014.

Westport House has shown significant growth in recent years with over 162,000 paying customers in 2014 – up 82% on the 89,000 visitors in 2009.

Since 1960 the Brownes have invested significantly in the estate to ensure that it continues trading as a leading tourism attraction.

The report has found that Westport House is predominantly a domestic market family tourism product - 84.4% of visitors are Irish.

Apart from its performance as an economic asset, Westport House is a cultural and heritage asset of national significance, and consequently the non-monetised value of the house and estate needs to be recognised in assessing the significance of the house to the life and economy of Mayo.

The report was carried out by CHL Consulting Co. Ltd. using a full review of financial documents at Westport House estate. An on–site survey of 400 respondents took place last July. Consultations were also carried out with all local bodies and the community at large.