By Sean Pollock

Copyright independent

Business partners Barry Battle and Anthony Hourigan, who launched the event from Galway in 2016, are betting Ireland’s appetite for family entertainment at Christmas time will help them attract over 170,000 visitors across their two events this year.

The pair have been inspired by similar attractions overseas, especially in the US.

Hourigan said the investment will be a record for the business, with Elf Town having sold out shows last year. The company will hire over 800 seasonal staff across both its sites.

“We had experienced how Christmas is brought to life abroad, and we wanted to raise the bar here in Ireland,” he said.

“Taking that leap was a huge risk, but Elf Town has grown into Ireland’s largest immersive Christmas event. Every year, we reinvest a lot to push the standard even higher, because Irish families deserve an experience of this scale.”

However, Battle said expansion won’t happen until after next year. The business has consistently adopted a slow-and-steady approach to growth, which has served it well so far.

“Elf Town is constantly evolving and expanding,” he said. “Every January, we dissect last year and look at where we can improve next year.

“We could go and open up Cork and Belfast, or somewhere else, but you can get too big too quickly. Everything could suffer. So we are trying to do it slowly. That is the best way to do it.”

The Elf Town Christmas event features children receiving golden tickets in the post, inviting them along to meet Santa. The experience at either Dublin’s RDS or Galway Racecourse also includes real reindeer, cookie decoration, a toy shop and Jack Frost’s Ice House.

Elf Town costs €19.95 for adults and €29.95 for children.

Hourigan said he believed families taking children to visit Santa was recession-proof.

“No matter what happens, people will want to bring their kids to see Santa Claus,” he said. “Even if there was a recession, people are still going to want to do the best for their kids.”

Elf Town in Dublin’s RDS opens November 15 with shows running up until and including Christmas Eve.

The Elf Town event at Galway Racecourse opens on November 21.