The growing number of visitors travelling to Northern Ireland will now have almost 600 leading tourism businesses quite literally at their fingertips with the recent installation of a new state-of-the-art visitor information kiosk at Belfast International Airport.
The revamped information ‘pod’ reflects the International Airport’s position as a leading gateway to Northern Ireland for the millions of travellers who arrive each year.
The pod will include a self-service touch screen which has been developed and installed at the flagship Visit Belfast Welcome Centre which opened last year opposite Belfast City Hall and is part of Visit Belfast’s city-wide visitor servicing strategy that will see information pods at key entry points.
The state-of-the-art self-service screen will provide up-to-the-minute visitor information and ideas for itineraries that visitors can download straight to their mobile devices with its content driven from web and social media sources. For overseas visitors, there is a top 25 most frequently asked questions available in 7 foreign languages including French, German, Chinese and Japanese.
Mary Jo McCanny, Director of Visitor Servicing at Visit Belfast, said the new information pod will enhance the visitor experience:
“Our airport tourist information centres create a positive showcase for the wider region’s tourism businesses, from Antrim to Belfast and beyond.
“Investing in the new information pods provides Visit Belfast with a modern, innovative and efficient way in delivering visitor information on the latest events, transport and travel, accommodation and visitor attractions for the local area. Visitors travelling through the airport will now have a fast and convenient way to discover all the unique things that the entire region, has to offer.”
Mayor of Antrim Borough Council, Councillor Brian Graham, welcomed the investment at BIA:
“The International Airport is one of our most important tourism assets. So, this is a great opportunity for Antrim and the airport to lead the way in providing a fantastic first impression and introduction to what our local area and, indeed, the whole of Northern Ireland has to offer.”
Belfast International Airport’s Chief Executive, Graham Keddie also welcomed the development which will ensure travellers arriving into the airport receive a first-class service:
“With over 4 million passengers arriving here over the past year, demand for tourist information has never been greater. I’m delighted that this ‘best-in-class’ information pod will deliver consistent, accurate and up-to-the-minute information to all our customers.”
David Thomson, acting Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board who supported the installation through the EU Sustainable Competitive Programme for NI said:
“With an ever growing number of leisure tourists to Northern Ireland, providing detailed and relevant tourist information is as important as ever. The new information pods will boost the already excellent facilities at Belfast International Airport, and enhance the visitor experience even further.”