Those who attended Youghal’s second annual Walled Town Day (commonly called ‘Medieval Day’) at the College Gardens last August 24th may recall a reasonably entertaining afternoon. The rain just about abstained and there were sufficient attractions and stalls to deliver an enjoyable, if not exhilarating, experience. That’s just a personal opinion, mind. By Christy Parker/ Photo Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

An official, statistical view comes from a study conducted by consultants KPMG. Verily, it doth bringeth good tidings to yon Heritage Council, Youghal Town Council, tourism sectors and the merchant community. KPMG’s two researchers sought to quantify the event’s economic impact on the locality and its success in promoting heritage and tourism. They proffered the two-pronged approach of surveying accommodation providers (posted questionnaires) and the general public (personal interviews on the day). However the results from the accommodation providers were dismissed “as the small number of respondents made the data unsafe and unpredictable.”
The consultants identified four different economic impacts: i) accommodation expenditure on the day; ii) accommodation expenditure on other days but related to the festival; iii) non-accommodation expenditure on the day; iv) non-accommodation expenditure not on the day but related to the festival
They subsequently decided, however strangely, that respondents in the non-accommodation expenditure brackets (ii and iv), especially locals, were “significantly underestimating” their spending. So they opted for a “more appropriate estimation,” as determined by “a scientific study conducted by Failte Ireland in 2005 and indexed for 2006 (4%) and 2007 (4.9%).
Personnel operating number counters at the entrances clicked an attendance of 5,417. Families with children and couples over 50 with an interest in heritage, predominated.
The researchers interviewed 80 respondents who, taking groupings into account, represented a total of 134 persons (3.6% of attendance). The sample was 44% male and 56% female of which 83% were over 35 years. About 87% were from the Ireland and 10% from Britain. 87% cited the ‘Medieval Day’ as “an important influence on their decision to visit the area,” a response that reflects considerable importance to running a festival.
The survey showed 23% required accommodation, the remainder being day-trippers (24%) and locals (53%). Of the 23% requiring accommodation, almost half enjoyed free -family or friends- lodgings.

Accommodation expenditure on the day: The survey fund that 34 people paid for accommodation, signifying a demand for 975 commercial beds across the total attendance. Taking €24 as an average per bed, the economic value was €23,400. Accommodation expenditure on other nights but related to the festival:
Those visitors that stayed in accommodation for the day stayed, on average, 8.4 days in the region. Estimating that 1/4 of this additional expenditure can be directly attributed to the festival, the economic impact was an estimated €43,000 for the remaining 7.4 days.
The figures suggest that events like the Medieval Day attract people to provincial regions for extended stays. Interestingly, nobody surveyed stayed in a local hotel, with 70% of those requiring accommodation staying in rented holiday homes. This suggests a preference for self-catering accommodation, notes the report.
Non-accommodation related expenditure on the day:
This amounted to €174,000. Overnighters from overseas spent most (€51,700) followed by locals (€48.000), Irish day trippers (€36,500), Irish overnighters (€34,000) and overseas day trippers (€3,500).
The benefits to local businesses were deemed to arise through hosting food and craft stalls, from an influx of visitors and the general atmosphere created by the event.
Non-accommodation expenditure not on the day but related to the event:
A of €158,900 was assessed from the expenditure generated both by Irish residents and overseas visitors residing in the area for an average of 8.4 nights. Again, it represents a 1/4 of their total estimated expenditure in the region for that period.
The proximity of the town centre to the gardens was considered to be enormously important to businesses benefiting from this expenditure.
Sum total of €480,000

In summarising KPMG used a 20% money multiplier (to address what is called the ’second round effect’) to estimate the total benefit to the local economy and arrived at €480,000.  This represents a return of 30 times on a net outlay of €16,000, raised through Heritage Council Grant (€13,000), Youghal Town Council (€3,000) and the lease of stalls (€600). That assessment does not take into account the ’social capital’ of €11,600, that would have been accrued by voluntary workers on a minimum wage of €8.65.
Strategic success
The event was also deemed successful in the strategic context of promoting conservation and heritage in the heart of the community while generating tourism.  “This will help to address the high level of retail vacancy and the lack of adequate visitor facilities,” says the report, again noting the proximity of the town centre to the gardens.
Involvement of voluntary workers, local organisations and businesses was seen as to encourage the community to “take pride in their town as a place of high quality living.” The potential for year-on-year growth was recognised as was the capacity to “promote the town walls,’ providing further family attractions and creating an “authentic, enriching and memorable” visitor experience.
The attendance was considered more impressive given that the day coincided with the Cork-Waterford ** final. Though the previous, children’s entertainment day was effectively washed put, it was noted that the festival is actually a two-day event. This helps identify it as the largest annual Walled Town celebration in the country and it is considered a template for others to follow.
Perhaps most significantly, only 3% of those surveyed said they didn’t enjoy themselves. Personally, I thought the puppets were the best part. Especially the first show, with the monster; remind you of nobody but Cromwell…
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