With the Sky Sports, Channel 7 in Australia and GAAgo deals the GAA claim to be promoting the GAA abroad.

However each summer there are tens of thousands of empty seats at playoff games. Strangely there are thousands of tourists here at the same time being ferried around our great country on " Essential Landmarks to see within the week" tours but seeing little of our national heritage.

If the GAA and Discover Ireland won't encourage tourists to go to games then we should at least try doing so ourselves.

Surely an extra few hundred at some games could only have a beneficial effect on the local shops, pubs and restaurants and maybe a few more jersies sold ?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7336 - 03/07/2014 13:42:02    1613147

As you say, it's because Bord Fáilte and the GAA don't make any effort to market our games towards foreign tourists. In the US, baseball, basketball and hockey are marketed as part of the American experience, which is why lots of tourists go to games (despite the latter two often being a lot more expensive to attend than gaelic games).

It's a shame, really, as the games have a lot of potential, especially hurling. Playing in Europe, I know dozens of people got into gaelic games (and who even founded clubs!) having visited Ireland and seen GAA by chance. My girlfriend got into camogie and ladies football through living as an au pair with a GAA-mad family in Ireland. I know of at least four clubs in Europe which have minimal or no Irish involvement at all. So it is possible, but the GAA frankly seem to have little inclination to promote our games in this fashion.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 03/07/2014 15:35:29    1613228

An honourable exception to this seems to be the Experience Gaelic Games initiative run out in Na Fianna GAA club in Dublin, but as I far as I can see this is a project run by the club more than HQ. It gets overwhelmingly excellent reviews on Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Attraction_Review-g186605-d1903191-Reviews-Experience_Gaelic_Games-Dublin_County_Dublin.html

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 03/07/2014 15:39:00    1613231

We get lots of seasonal supporters that attend games at Croke park, usually at the height of the tourist season in August, purely out of curiosity more than anything else, we like to call them the Dubs!

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 03/07/2014 15:57:41    1613244

Yeah Brend, we usually see and hear people with funny accents about twice a summer in Dublin......

We call them Tyrone fans.

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 03/07/2014 16:10:38    1613253

Yeah, us Dubs just need to turn up, lift the cup and go!.....and let the organisation fight among itself for the cash we throw to it!

Regards,

Snufalufagus....Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 03/07/2014 16:13:11    1613254

Never mind the tourists why are there not more of the 'armchair fans' that come out of nowhere every September looking for tickets to support 'their' teams in the AI finals not going to more games throughout the summer?

supporter (Donegal) - Posts: 205 - 03/07/2014 16:21:34    1613261

The craic is too good in Doolin??

Miler (Mayo) - Posts: 1015 - 03/07/2014 16:27:08    1613268

Expense, lack of understanding. Hurling would be a defo for someone who had never been at a game. Football much less so. Unless you were raised watching it, it probably is not as easy on the eye as most other sports.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 03/07/2014 16:46:46    1613282

Let the GAA and Discover Ireland promote the games first and tourists can decide then if it's too expensive. Would probably cost them a lot less than the package deal night out listening to so-called trad music.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7336 - 03/07/2014 16:53:20    1613287

There's a new route for the Dublin sight seeing tour than encorporates Croke Park.

The GAA get a lot of tourists into the Croke Park museum and during the summer where they inform them of the upcoming games etc.

Over the last 2/3 years I've noticed a lot of tourists at games in Croke Park. I think the GAA are doing okay with this to be honest.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 03/07/2014 17:08:32    1613299

When I go to America why do I want to go see NFL,MLB,NHL and NBA games? well there are a lod of reasons, like internationally recognised stars, movies which promote them, the rich history which even at this side of the atlantic we have an affinity towards and of course cheerleaders. the cheerleaders being the best reason,

Why would many tourists come to a wet and windy gaa match of a tuesday afternoon to watch a junior a hurling/football match that they probabaly dont understand.

That being said I noticed a group of americans at a junior hurling match last week being looked after by a local who was hosting them and they loved it. Will they make a return jounery especially for it next year? most likely not but heres hopin

Fishermantom (Limerick) - Posts: 569 - 03/07/2014 17:58:56    1613314

Because it is too expensive for them full stop. GAA needs to stop kids going into games first of all.

moros (Roscommon) - Posts: 1078 - 03/07/2014 20:01:20    1613351

Sure they might understand the games better if they actually attended the games rather than just watching them live on TV in the US or Australia.I'd love to go to an NFL game but I'd be confused by many of the rules and the plays.I know there are foreign visitors going to games but if Discover Ireland and the GAA got their act together their numbers would increase.

I stood on The Hill with 2 guys in their 70s for the 2012 All Ireland Final. They were telling me that the game was a seriously physical one. I told them to wait and see the hits in the senior game !

We're all proud of hurling and football. No harm to mention it to visitors we meet throughout the year. I'm fairly sure many would love them like my newfound friends from The States.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7336 - 03/07/2014 20:18:47    1613355

Stop kids going into games but bring in tourists instead ??????? That will do a lot for the future of our game ridiculous statement

lilywhite28 (Kildare) - Posts: 68 - 03/07/2014 20:19:04    1613356

Outside of Croke Park, are any of our stadiums really suitable for a tourist experience? I mean, I love Thurles, but its by no means a modern stadium, certainly lacking the facilities that tourists from the USA, Japan, Britain, Germany etc would be used to in their stadia. If you were on your holliers some place, and you had to think of the best way to spend your time, would you chose to spend to spend a few hours sitting in a cramped seat, on a stand with little or no roofing (with a 60% chance of rain), or in a terrace with drunken kids acting the maggot, with third world toilet facilities?
Its a tough sell.

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 03/07/2014 20:24:02    1613359

Fishermantom, 'sfunny I was going to post that attending a local club game would be a much more authentic experience than Magic Mr. Peter McKenna's Noise'n'Flash Fest

an tseabhac (Kerry) - Posts: 441 - 03/07/2014 20:54:41    1613373

Sure they might understand the games better if they actually attended the games rather than just watching them live on TV in the US or Australia.I'd love to go to an NFL game but I'd be confused by many of the rules and the plays.I know there are foreign visitors going to games but if Discover Ireland and the GAA got their act together their numbers would increase.

I stood on The Hill with 2 guys in their 70s for the 2012 All Ireland Final. They were telling me that the game was a seriously physical one. I told them to wait and see the hits in the senior game !

We're all proud of hurling and football. No harm to mention it to visitors we meet throughout the year. I'm fairly sure many would love them like my newfound friends from The States.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7336 - 03/07/2014 21:18:52    1613393

Maybe it is expensive and maybe the seats aren't so comfy and the coffee ain't as good as your used to.

Maybe you'd prefer looking at a few lakes in Killarney or some cliffs in Clare, great Facebook photo opportunities, to seeing a qualifier game in Nowlan Park between The Banner and The Deise.

If that's the case you'd surely prefer lookjng at a pile of shtones in the Grand Canyon to being at The Patriots v The Ravens.

It annoys me when I talk to tourists who believe they've seen the best Ireland has to offer when they've been stuck on a bus for a week brought from monument to mountain and then the Guinness Storehouse. I'm obviously biaised but think that gaelic games are part of the best Ireland has to offer.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7336 - 03/07/2014 21:38:39    1613410

have to disagree
in the last two years i have seen more tourists at gaa matches hugely increase
only last sunday there were a group of italian students and another group of dutch men on the hill
as well as a group of meath supporters haha
god bless them though they got their colours mixed up when singing come on you boys in blue
at least the italians and dutch stayed for both games haha

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/07/2014 09:26:45    1613462