Record tourism from Republic boosts hospitality

Northern Ireland hospitality has been boosted by the news that a record number of people from the Republic are coming north for day trips and overnight break.

Tourism NI revealed an estimated 809,172 trips north were made in the first nine moths of 2022, according to data sourced from the Republic’s Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Tourism NI said it marked a 52.6 per cent increase on the 530,309 trips recorded during the same nine months in 2019, which had been the previous record-setting year.

Although the 2019 figures were sourced from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, it’s understood Nisra uses CSO data when compiling its research on cross-border trips from the Republic.

The figures, which cover the peak summer months, show a significant rise in overnight breaks since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The CSO estimated people from the Republic accounted for 1,942,779 nights in the north across January to September last year, around 616,000 (46.4 per cent) more than the corresponding period from 2019.

In terms of economic benefit, the CSO estimate those trips resulted in a spend of £164 million over the nine months, or £603,000 every day, on average.

That was £66.5m (68.3 per cent) more than January to September 2019, when visitors spent around £97.5m.

Tourism NI chief John McGrillen, above, said: “Our research indicates that a significant number of people from the South are travelling to the North for the first time on leisure breaks. In addition two out of every three say they intend to return.

“We are increasing our share of the all-island staycation market and there is significantly more potential and more revenue to be gained for Northern Ireland businesses.

“In addition to these strong results from the RoI market, we are seeing strong demand from markets including the USA, GB and Europe and evidence that these markets are rebounding.

“Looking ahead we are optimistic for 2023. Visitors to Northern Ireland have more to look forward to including the multi-million pound upgrade of Titanic Belfast, screen tourism attractions including the Game of Thrones Studio tour and a growing number of Derry Girls experiences, a burgeoning food and drink offering and festivals and events that are special to Northern Ireland.”