Visitors to Cork spend almost €70 on each trip to city centre
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Visitors to Cork expect to spend an average of almost €68 during each trip to the city centre, according to new research.
A survey commissioned by the National Transport Authority (NTA) shows people intending to travel to Cork City estimate they will spend an average of €67.57 while on their visit.
The average spend increases to €85.29 among those who visit the city for either shopping, having a drink, or eating out.
According to the survey, almost 6 out of 10 journeys into Cork city centre are by people on shopping trips.
Almost a third of trips were by people either going out for a drink in a pub or a meal in a restaurant, while less than 1 in 5 said the reason for their journey was work-related.
The survey also revealed that approximately two-thirds of all journeys by commuters into Cork city are done using sustainable transport modes such as walking, cycling, or public transport.
Bus was the most common method of transport used by commuters, accounting for 56% of all trips.
Private cars were the second most popular transport mode, and the choice of just under a third of all visitors to Cork city centre. Among those who used a car for their journey, 43% parked in a multi-storey car park with just 13% using on-street parking.
The NTA said the survey showed that less than 5% of all visitors to Cork were parking on streets in the city centre area.
The survey showed car users were likely to spend an average of €88.55 during a visit compared to €58.78 by those using sustainable transport modes.
However, the NTA pointed out that because of the greater number of commuters using sustainable transport modes compared to cars, they accounted for 56% of all spending by visitors to Cork city centre in contrast to 43% being generated by people who travelled by private car.
The highest spenders were people who used taxis, estimating they spend an average of €193 on each visit to the city centre.
A similar survey carried out in Dublin showed visitors to the city centre expected to spend an average of €89.72 on each trip.
The NTA said the main purpose of the research was to investigate how much money users of different transport modes are spending in Cork city centre, as well as find out details on the purpose of visits, length of stay, and frequency of visits.
Over 620 people were surveyed over four weeks during June and July on Patrick St and Oliver Plunkett St in Cork.
The results of the survey showed individuals had visited the city centre on average almost 8 times over the previous month.
The average number of visits by those going shopping, eating, and drinking, was just over 5 times per month.