Belfast tourist numbers on the up

Tourism has been confirmed as Belfast’s fastest growing industry today, after it was revealed that tourist numbers in the city were up almost 70,000 on 2001.

Figures published in the Belfast Tourism Monitor show that 570,000 visitors spent at least one night in Belfast during 2002. They also brought bigger wallets and purses with them, spending almost £87 million pounds - an increase of £18 million over the previous 12 months.

Chairman of the Development (Tourism and Promotion of Belfast) Sub-Committee, Councillor Nelson McCausland, said that everyone within the sector was committed to making the tourism industry "even better and more successful".

“Tourism forms a vital part of the Belfast economy, both in terms of the revenue it generates and the jobs it sustains – and there can be no doubt that, in common with the entire tourism industry, we have faced many challenges in recent years, from the foot and mouth epidemic through the continuing impact of 9/11 and consequent events around the world," he said.

Mr McCausland added that the outlook for the current year was "most positive".

The Belfast Tourism Monitor, set up by Belfast City Council, is a

monitoring and research programme that measures the volume and value of tourism to Belfast on an annual basis.

It also looks at issues such as booking trends and visitors’ impressions of Belfast. The city council has just published the main findings of that research in a booklet, ‘Belfast Tourism and Our City 2002’.

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