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Belfast is now a popular short-break destination and
has established itself as one of Europe's top visitor
destinations. Major efforts have been made over the
past decade to revitalise, regenerate and renew the city's
tourist offering.
As a city, Belfast is compact and intimate, much of its rich legacy of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture remains intact and many fine buildings have been revitalised with cutting edge contemporary design in a vibrant city centre.
Belfast has established a reputation as one of the premier business and conference locations within Europe. In 2008, it accounted for 432,000 of out of state visits.
Business and conference location
In recent years, Belfast has established a reputation as one of the premier business and conference locations within Europe.Venues such as the Belfast Waterfront, which has gained recognition as a world-leading conference and exhibition venue, plus the availability of premium hotel accommodation, has established Belfast's position as the preferred choice for many national and international events.
The city is also becoming a popular destination for cruise ships with 31 vessels visiting the city in 2007, carrying over 38,000 passengers and crew.
Tourism performance
In 2008 more than 7.1 million visitors came to Belfast - an increase of 3% from 2007. The total amount of money injected into the local economy by visitors in 2008 was £436.6 million, an increase of 39% on the previous year. This helped to support 24,838 full time jobs.Belfast welcomed 2.2 million out of state visits, which were worth a value of £325.4 million, which is a huge increase in value of 74% from the 2007 figure (£187.1 million). This illustrates the importance of out of state visitors to the city’s economy.
Of the many reasons to visit Belfast, 38% of all visitors revealed that they had come to Belfast on business or to attend a conference, a clear indicator of the growing importance of the conference market and improved conference facilities in the city.
Another principal motivator helping to attract visitors is pure holiday factors. While 15% came to visit friends and relatives.
Source: Belfast 2008 Tourism Facts and Figures, Belfast City Council
