Conference tourism
The multi-million pound transformation of Belfast’s Waterfront is projected to inject £100 million into Northern Ireland’s economy over the next five years and aims to build the attraction for an already growing business tourism sector.
The multi-million pound transformation of Belfast’s Waterfront is projected to inject £100 million into Northern Ireland’s economy over the next five years and aims to build the attraction for an already growing business tourism sector.
The latest paper detailing a potential tourism strategy for Northern Ireland until 2025 has described the £29.5 million extension of the Waterfront Hall as the “catalyst” for 2016 being the “tipping point” for the business tourism sector. 2012 is widely regarded as a turning point for tourism in Northern Ireland as the opening of Titanic Belfast coincided with positive overall returns including a 7 per cent rise in visitor spend.
Since 2012 there has been a stronger focus on promoting Northern Ireland on a global stage and ensuring an increase in visitors and the amount which they spend. A key element of that promotion has been the specific targeting of business visitors, aiming to make Northern Ireland a key attraction for conference tourism.
In 2015 business trips taken to Northern Ireland grew by 23 per cent with an extra 86,000 extra visitors from all of the main markets including domestic, Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and other overseas. An overall fall in domestic overnight trips within Northern Ireland was not reflected in the figures for domestic business trips which recorded a 43 per cent growth and increase of 31,000 extra stays.
Business trips from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland increased by 84 per cent last year, up 17,000 visitors, despite 48,000 fewer holidays coming north overall. Northern Ireland welcomed an additional 38,000 business visitors from both Great Britain and other overseas, a rise of 10 per cent on the previous year.
In the most recent statistics released by the Department of the Economy, business tourists makes up just 10 per cent of overall visitors, however that figure is expected to grow when figures for the new Waterfront Hall, which opened in March, are recorded.
The Waterfront Hall, which can host up to 5,000 delegates within its new state of the art facilities, is projected to encourage an extra 50,000 days spent in Northern Ireland. The region aims to capitalise on delegates bringing family and friends for an extended visit wider than Belfast City and create an opportunity for repeat leisure visits.
Already 30 international and national conferences have been secured for over the next three years and post 2020 predictions currently estimate its value at £45 million a year for the local economy, over £15 million more that is predicted for the next five years.
