Green Army ‘won’t be ripped off in Poland’
The city is expected to be the main base for thousands of Irish supporters, as it is the location for Ireland’s games against Croatia and Italy in June.
Local organisers have predicted that up to 50,000 members of the Green Army could descend on the city.
However, the Poznan authorities, who sent an advance team to the Holiday World Show in Dublin this weekend to tell travelling fans what to expect, claim they are comfortably able to cater for such large numbers of tourists.
Damien Zalewski, from the city’s Euro 2012 co-ordinating committee, said fans should not be worried by rumours of being ripped off by retailers hiking up the price of most goods and services.
“Prices will always go up for events like this,” said Mr Zalewski. “But we’ve noticed that the cost of some hotel rooms are already coming down after they had gone up by 200% at one stage.”
He predicted that prices would stabilise over the coming months as soccer fans realise that there is plenty of accommodation available to cater for everybody.
Fans will also be able to stay at the Irish Fan Village — an official campsite for tents and camper vans being established by the city authorities.
Prices for a four-man tent range from €25 to €29 per night per person, which includes the cost of the tent. Information can be found on www.irishfanvillage.com.
In further welcome news for Irish fans, Mr Zalewski claimed a pint of the popular local brew, Lech, which normally costs €1.50 should not cost more that €2.50 during the tournament.
The city of 500,000 inhabitants will see its population swell over the summer as fans from Ireland, Italy and Croatia travel there to support their teams.
“Excitement for the tournament has been building since 2007 when Poznan was confirmed as a host city,” said Mr Zalewski. “It’s grown even more since we discovered which teams are playing here.”
He claimed many taxi drivers and bar staff had signed up for free English lessons to add to the welcome for visitors.
Speaking at the Holiday World Show, which opened yesterday at the RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin, Mr Zalewski personally recommended that Irish fans take the city’s beer tour and visit its famous thermal baths.
Over 50,000 visitors are expected to attend the show, which runs until tomorrow evening and features more than 1,000 travel experts representing 60 countries.
Speaking at its launch, Minister of State for Tourism Michael Ring said the strength of the show, which is now in its 23rd year, was a testament to the resilience of the Irish tourism industry.
“Tourism continues to be vitally important to the lifeblood of the country, with tens of thousands of jobs maintained within the sector. It is important that we make every effort to keep these jobs safe and to create further opportunities,” said Mr Ring.
An additional feature of this year’s exhibition is the brand new Over 55s Holiday Show, which recognises how many people in this age group take multiple holidays each year.
“The show aims to provide holiday options for every budget, no matter how tight, while not compromising on quality or imagination,” said show organiser, Edmund Hourican.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
