Galway’s tourism industry is toasting the touchdown of 40,000 American Football fans in Ireland this week.

Shops, bars, hotels and restaurants have been hopping all week as tens of thousands arrived for a visit ahead of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in the Aviva in Dublin on Saturday.

A massive 40,000 marks a new record for the number of people to leave the US for a single sporting event and according to a local councillor, their tour of Ireland ahead of and after the game has handed businesses a golden opportunity in the final weeks of peak tourist season.

Cllr Níall McNelis said the college football fans, here to watch Notre Dame’s ‘Fighting Irish’ take on the Navy’s ‘Midshipmen’, have been arriving since last Friday – something he said was worth millions to the local economy.

“Most of them are in Ireland for two weeks and touring the country, spending three nights here in Galway as part of their trip.

“I’ve spoken to hoteliers around the city this week and they’re all booked out – it’s such a boost at the end of the tourist season,” he said.

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Photo: Welcome to the west…tourism chiefs make most of the influx with this billboard at Dublin Airport.