Annual Tourism Statistics for Northern Ireland published
Date published:
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) today published the Annual Tourism Statistics for Northern Ireland (NI) for the 2024 reference year.
This release provides a variety of measures including estimates on the number of overnight trips in NI, the number of nights these overnight trips equate to and the associated expenditure including staying in local accommodation such as self-catering, hotels and other establishments.
Today's figures estimate that there were 4.7million overnight trips to NI in 2024 with an associated £1.1billion expenditure. This represents a statistically significant change in both the overall number of overnight trips to Northern Ireland and the expenditure associated with these overnight trips from 2023 (down 13% and 10% respectively). In contrast, overnight trips to NI from outside UK and ROI increased by 12%.
The key points are:
- In 2024, there were an estimated 4.7million overnight trips (4.692million) in Northern Ireland, with associated expenditure of £1.1billion. This includes overnight trips taken by external visitors to NI and domestic trips taken by local residents.
- The 4.7 million overnight trips in 2024 were made by 1.6million NI residents (33%), 1.4 million from Great Britain (30%), 1.1million from Republic of Ireland (24%) and 0.6 million from outside United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI) (12%).
- Compared to the previous year, the 2024 annual tourism figures indicate a statistically significant change in both the overall number of overnight trips to Northern Ireland and the expenditure associated with these overnight trips (down 13% and 10% respectively).
- In contrast, overnight trips to NI from outside UK and ROI increased by 12%.
- Despite the increase in overnight trips by external visitors (from outside UK and ROI), the decline in overnight trips by visitors from ROI and the NI domestic market has resulted in an overall decrease in overnight trips and expenditure in 2024.
- When considering the reason for visit for all overnight trips, there was a 16% decrease in those citing ‘visiting friends and relatives’. This decrease was experienced by all markets (with the exception of GB which remained stable) (NI down 42%, ROI down 10%, Outside UK and ROI down 12%). In contrast, visitors from outside UK and ROI reported an increase of 25% in overnight trips to NI for holiday purposes. Given the fall in overnight trips to visit friends and relatives some tourism industry providers may not have experienced the impact of the overall decline in overnight trips.
- There were an estimated 10.0 million same day visits within NI during 2024, the majority (80%) of which were taken by NI residents. A further 16% were taken by ROI residents crossing the border. The expenditure associated with these same day visits amounted to £703million.
- In 2024, there were 568,000 overnight visitor trips from outside UK and ROI to NI. Some 41% of these departed through NI air and sea ports, with the remaining 59% through ROI air and sea ports. This showed an increase in the numbers who departed through ROI air and sea ports from 2023. A further 210,000 visitors from outside UK and ROI took a same day visit in NI in 2024. The majority (96%) of these departed through a port in ROI. As of April 2025, all of these visitors will require an Electronic Travel Authorisation card (ETA).
- The hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland during 2024 was 68% - in 2023 this was 64%. The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2024 was 40% - similar to 2023 (38%).
- In 2024, there were 5,865 operating in Northern Ireland. Over three quarters (77%) of these were outside of Belfast City Council.
Notes to editors:
1. The statistical report and associated tables are available on the NISRA website.
2. To build accurate and comprehensive tourism estimates, NISRA draws on its own surveys (Northern Ireland Passenger Survey and Continuous Household Survey) and integrates them with external data sources from Republic of Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO). This approach ensures that all travel activity, including cross-border movements, is properly captured and reflected in official statistics.
3. NISRA follows established statistical practices to produce high-quality and trustworthy tourism data: Regular and Representative Surveys – Northern Ireland Passenger Survey and the Continuous Household Survey are conducted continuously, ensuring that tourism data reflects current conditions. Sample designs are constructed to be representative of the population or visitor base, reducing bias and improving reliability.
4. Calibration with Transport Data - Survey findings are benchmarked against actual passenger volumes reported by transport providers. This cross-checking helps correct for under- or over-estimation and aligns survey results with real-world traffic.
5. Integration of Multiple Data Sources - To fully account for complex travel patterns, NISRA integrates its own findings with external datasets, particularly CSO statistics, which helps fill gaps related to land travel between jurisdictions and indirect travel routes. This collaboration between ROI’s CSO and NISRA Tourism official statistics consider cross-border visitor dynamics to produce meaningful regional tourism data.
6. Use of Precision Estimates and Statistical Testing - The survey sample design of both NISRA data sources allows NISRA to produce statistical estimates with known levels of precision. This means NISRA can quantify the level of uncertainty around key metrics (e.g. visitor trips or spend). More importantly, it allows for statistical comparisons over time so that users can assess whether observed changes are likely to be real shifts in tourism behaviour, or just due random variation.
7. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk.
8. To keep up to date with news from the Department you can follow us on the following social media channels:
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9. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
10. Feedback is welcomed and should be addressed to Responsible statistician: Alana Green, Economic & Labour Market Statistics Branch (ELMS), alana.green@nisra.gov.uk or Telephone: 028 9025 5606.