Belfast's Cross Border Shopping 'Booming'

More than four out of five day-trippers to Belfast in 2008 were from the across the border.

Belfast City Council has said they also made up almost 25% of those staying overnight.

Thanks to last year's rapidly weakening pound rate against the euro, record numbers of people from the Republic of Ireland made day trips to Belfast.

That represented a massive growth on the previous year when cross-border visitors made up a healthy enough third of day trippers, but accounted for just 9% of overnight stays.

The rise in overnight stays would appear to indicate a renewed confidence in that NI is to remain stable - a far cry from the days of The Troubles, when cross border visits were extremely limited - through fears over terrorism.

The new figures were contained in the Belfast Tourism Monitor - an annual analysis of the city's tourism industry.

The figures showed that while the overall number of visitors to the city rose by just 3%, the number of 'out-of-state' visitors rose by 43% and day-trippers to Belfast by a huge 143%.

Chairman of the Development Committee, Councillor William Humphrey, said: "This growth can be largely attributed to the growing number of visitors from the Republic of Ireland, many of them taking advantage of the strength of the euro against sterling, especially in the run up to last Christmas."

The exchange rate between the pound and euro reached parity in 2008, prompting many people in the Republic to take advantage and shop in Northern Ireland.

As well as increased overnight trade for hotels, the hospitality sector in general also did well.

The Belfast figures show that 52% of the visitors' spending went to restaurants and hotels and this rose to 74% for conference delegates and 76% of other business visitors.

As memories of strife-torn streets recede, the survey also showed 67% of all the people who visited Belfast in 2008 were doing so for the first time.

The 2009 Irish Budget in October last year also increased the volume of trade going to 'the North'.

A bonanza for border businesses was correctly predicted after the Finance Minister Lenihan's attempt to balance the Irish Republic's economy.

NI traders saw a run on cigarettes (up 50 cents a packet) and wine (also up 50 cents) as well as many other goods as the strong Euro combined with price differences to increase an already healthy trade from Irish shoppers last Christmas.

Alcohol in general, sweets and furniture were already particularly popular with the day-trippers.

A massive increase in people doing their weekly grocery shop in NI was also noted as 2008 came to an end.

Shoppers from Dundalk, Drogheda and even Dublin flooded the likes of The Quays Shopping Centre in Newry, where Sainsbury's said that 30% of its trading was already in Euros.

See: Border Budget Bonanza For NI

(BMcC)