Strong performance announcing the return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism in Belfast and city region, was the key highlight of 2023-24 and the final year of Visit Belfast’s ‘Rebuilding City Tourism 2021-2024‘ Strategy.
The ‘Rebuilding City Tourism 2021-2024 Strategy’ set out a new direction of travel for marketing and destination management, placing sustainability and positioning Belfast at the heart of of the city’s tourism recovery.
Challenging and ambitious, this strategy paved the way for a return to business sustainability, tourism renewal and established new foundations to rebuild stronger and better.
Overall the strategy delivered £327m to the local economy, 7m web visits, 1 million leisure bednights, 1.5m visitor enquiries, 960,000 cruise passengers and crew and 234,000 business nights.
City Centre hotel occupancy achieved 79.2%, city centre footfall achieved 95% of pre-covid levels, with 1.4m rooms sold and a 51% increase in RoI visits.
Key Highlights of 2023-24
Visit Belfast Marketing and Business Development activity generated a total impact of £133m for the City Region in 2023-24, servicing 682,000 visitor enquiries, generating 570,500 bednights and supported 520 tourism partners throughout the year.
Contributing to this was:
- 10 consumer campaigns promoting Spring, Summer, Maritime, One Young World, Christmas, St Patrick’s day along with a dedicated Expedia Campaign.
- These campaigns generated 448,500 bednights, 271,000 day trips and £55m to the local economy.
- Digital activity on Visit Belfast channels generated 3m web visits, 53.6million social media impressions, 5.6m social media engagements and an incredible 15.7 video views.
- Visit Belfast secured 130 conferences in 2023 attracting 42,000 delegates, generating 122,000 bednights and delivering £42m of economic impact for the city.
- Cruise Belfast, a partnership between Visit Belfast and Belfast Harbour, welcomed a record number of 159 ships with 323,000 passengers and crew generating an economic contribution of £20m to the local economy.
Other highlights
Green credentials
- 76% Hotel bedrooms now Green Tourism certified and 108 businesses are members of the Green Tourism Scheme
- Having previously been ranked 11th out of 100 in the Global Sustainability Index, in the 2024 reevaluation, the city increased its ranking to 9th out of 100. Belfast now sits amongst the top international cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen, Sydney and Singapore.
- Changing the Menu for Good, a pioneering project by Visit Belfast and our industry to raise funds and supplies to support those experience food poverty in our city, raised nearly £46,000.
Accreditations
- Belfast named the best UK and Ireland Port of Call 2023 by Cruise Critic Awards
- Visit Belfast Welcome Centre named Best Visitor Services Centre 2023 and subsequently also in 2024 – 20 years of this award
- Visit Belfast won the Best Convention Bureau at the micebook Awards in 2023 and 2024
- Visit Belfast named as UK Destination of the year 2023 by MIA
- Belfast names as Best Conference Destination in the World 2023 and 2024
- Time out – Belfast named as one of the Top 5 destinations to visit in the UK for 2024
- National Geographic – Belfast named on the Cool List for 2024 as one of the Top 30 most exciting destinations to visit in 2024.
