Belfast voted fourth favourite UK city

Belfast received a tourism boost today after being voted one of the top five favourite UK cities at a prestigious awards ceremony in London.

Based on the votes of more than 24,000 tourists, Belfast jumped five places up from last year's Guardian/Observer Travel Awards competition to finish in fourth place.

This year’s awards saw Edinburgh top the poll for the fourth year running, followed closely by Glasgow, Newcastle and then Belfast - which finished well ahead of many other famous cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Commenting on the boost, Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau (BVCB) said: “This latest accolade from the prestigious Guardian/Observer Travel Awards is further confirmation that the city is building a strong reputation as a top tourist destination and sends a message throughout the UK that Belfast is a place that’s well worth visiting.

“These awards are particularly important as they are based on actual visitors and their impressions of the city. The BVCB will continue to aggressively market Belfast as a top city break destination in UK."

The growing popularity of Belfast is reflected in new BVCB figures for the summer which show that visitor numbers to the Belfast Welcome Centre from June to August increased by 17% compared to the same period last year. Total Welcome Centre enquiries during the summer also rose by 13% with counter enquiries rising by 11%.

(MB)