Tourism Action Plan
The department is leading on development and delivery of a Tourism Action Plan which will enable the region to capitalise on its uniqueness and authenticity to help market and promote the area internationally as an attractive place to visit, whilst at the same time helping to make the lives better for those that live, work and study here.
The Tourism Action Plan will align with the Minister’s Economic Vision to generate more good jobs throughout the North while putting us on the path to delivering our net zero goals; putting an emphasis on raising productivity and supporting innovation in local companies; and expanding access to education and job opportunities by ensuring that our skills system provides people with the tools and know-how needed by current and future employers.
A Tourism Partnership Board has been established to advise and make recommendations to the Minister for the Economy in support of the development and delivery of the Action Plan.
It will be a common foundation for delivery bodies such as Tourism Ireland and Tourism NI to work with other public authorities and the industry to shape and develop local strategies and action plans that are based on local strengths and potential.
Tourism Partnership Board
The Tourism Partnership Board was established by the Minister to advise and make recommendations to the Department for the Economy in support of the development and delivery of a Tourism Action Plan.
Tourism legislation
Northern Ireland is unique within the UK as there is a statutory requirement to inspect all accommodation properties offering temporary visitor accommodation to ensure they are compliant with the minimum standard as set out in legislation.
Over the last few years new trends in the type of visitor accommodation available have emerged within the Northern Ireland market. Unfortunately, the legislation has not kept pace with these changes. A review is therefore needed to ensure it is brought up to date to meet the needs of a growing industry.
Initial work was undertaken in the early part of 2020 but was paused due to the global pandemic. It has now recommenced and departmental officials are working with TNI on taking it forward to ensure that Northern Ireland can offer a more diverse range of certified accommodation.
Liaison with tourism agencies and partnership role
Tourism Branch is the departmental partner team for Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland.
Tourism NI
Tourism NI has responsibility for the development of tourism product and experience and is also responsible for the marketing the region as a tourist destination to visitors across Ireland.
Tourism Ireland
Tourism Ireland was set up under the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and is responsible for:
- marketing the island of Ireland as a tourist destination in Great Britain and in a significant number of overseas markets
- helping Northern Ireland to achieve its tourism potential
- Tourism Ireland website.
NI Annual Tourism Performance 2023 and Q1 of 2024
The NI Annual Tourism Statistics 2023 were published by NISRA on Thursday 29 August 2024. The figures show that local tourism is in a very healthy position however NISRA has advised that the figures are not directly comparable with 2019 (last full set of pre- COVID figures) due to key changes in survey methodologies.
Headline points for 2023
- In 2023 there were an estimated 5.4m overnight trips in NI with associated expenditure of £1.2bn. This includes trips by external visitors and domestic trips taken by local residents.
- External visitors (non-domestic) were estimated to take 3.3 m overnight trips to Northern Ireland in 2023. Expenditure associated with these trips was £0.9bn making tourism worth nearly £1bn as an export business.
- In 2023, 2.1m overnight trips were made by local residents (domestic trips). Domestic trips made up 40% of overnight trips, highlighting the importance of the domestic tourism market.
- In 2023, the hotel room occupancy in NI was 64%.
- The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed and breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2023 was 38%.
- In 2023, there were 5,845 tourism businesses operating locally. Over three quarters (77%) of these were outside of the Belfast City Council area.
Overall
- These figures show that the sector is thriving. The statistics come on the back of what has been a difficult period across the industry, but there are real signs of optimism across the sector as we emerge stronger.
- While the 2023 figures cannot be directly compared to previous statistics, undoubtedly £1.2bn of tourism expenditure is a significant economic boost.
Statistics up to end March 2024
On Tuesday 12 November 2024, NISRA published Tourism Statistics for NI to Quarter 1 2024. This publication is a compendium of tourism statistics covering the period April 2023 - March 2024.
The statistics are for the rolling 12 months to March 2024 and includes data on day trips taken in NI for the first time. Overnight trips data is also published for Quarter 1 (January – March) 2024 which can be compared to Quarter 1 2023.
NISRA recommends that users use 12 months rolling data to exclude any seasonal impacts. (In this case, 12 months to March 2024 or April 2023-March 2024).
The headline points include:
- In the twelve months to March 2024, there were an estimated 5.4m overnight trips taken in Northern Ireland with an associated 16.5m overnights and £1.2bn expenditure.
- Over half (52%) of overnight trips in the twelve months to March 2024 were for holiday purposes. Another 37% were to visit friends and relatives and 7% for business purposes.
- Thirty nine percent of overnight trips taken in the 12 months to March 2024 within NI were by NI residents (domestic market) with another 24% from Republic of Ireland, 27% from Great Britain with the remaining 10% from outside Ireland and UK.
- Approximately 2m overnight trips were made by visitors from outside the island of Ireland (that is, from GB and Other) in the 12 months to March 2024.
- There were an estimated 517,000 overnight visitors to NI from outside Ireland and UK.
- In the 12 months to March 2024, 2.7m rooms were occupied in hotels and other small service accommodation in Northern Ireland - this showed a fall of 6% from the same period to March 2023.
- For the first time, NISRA has included an estimate on day trips taken in Northern Ireland. This shows that in the twelve months to March 2024, there were an estimated 16.3m day trips taken with an associated £1.1bn spend.
The majority of day trips taken in NI were by NI residents (14.3m trips or 88%) accounting for the same proportion of expenditure (88% or £978m). A further 10% of day trips were made by ROI residents (1.7m) with an associated £88m expenditure (8% of the total).