Dr Howard Hastings OBE, the Chair of Visit Belfast, revealed that the city’s tourism marketing agency has generated £92m to the local economy from its combined marketing and sales activity last year.
At its annual partner update event, Visit Belfast confirmed that in 2015/16 it had won 70 conferences, delivered 11 city break campaigns in Europe and Great Britain, secured 78 cruise ships with Belfast Harbour and handled over 650,000 tourism enquiries – contributing a combined £92m to the Belfast economy.
Recapping on a successful year, the Visit Belfast Chair said “2015/16 was an excellent year for both Belfast and Visit Belfast. £92m contributed to the local economy and a return on investment of £26:1 reinforces the fact that this public-private partnership is an efficient, effective and industry-focussed organisation which continues to deliver value for money. It is also thanks to the commitment, vision and sheer hard-work of those working in the tourism sector that we have made such great strides in attracting visitors to Belfast.
“I would like to thank everyone who has played a part in the success of Belfast’s tourism sector, especially Visit Belfast’s strategic partners Translink, Diageo NI and Value Cabs, and our corporate partners Titanic Belfast, Victoria Square and FlyeBe for their ongoing and sustained support for the tourism industry. Further thanks must go to Belfast City Council and Tourism Northern Ireland for their investment in Visit Belfast, and to Tourism Ireland, for supporting us in our international marketing campaigns.”
At the industry event, key tourism stakeholders, partners and funders gathered to hear Visit Belfast’s operational plans for 2016/17, as well as a strategic plan for 2016-20.
“Visit Belfast’s plans are ambitious”, said the Visit Belfast Chair, “but by working closely with industry partners, they are achievable. There are lots of opportunities for growth – from the extension of the Belfast Waterfront, to increased air access to Belfast. Investment in infrastructure and hotel accommodation will further ensure that we are more than able to welcome more and more visitors to the city.”
Presenting the plans for 2016/17, Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast, said that growth would be achieved across both the business and leisure tourism areas, with the organisation aiming to deliver 332,000 bed nights, as well as welcoming 145,000 cruise passengers to the city. The city will also continue to grow its conference business, aiming to deliver £47m in economic benefit from conference wins in 2016/17 alone. Visitor servicing is another key area in delivering an enhanced visitor experience, with Visit Belfast aiming to handle 675,000 tourist enquiries in the coming year.
Gerry Lennon commented on the plans, saying, “Tourism has become a crucial part of the city economy and has been integral in seeing Belfast flourish in recent years. In 2015, the number of bed nights spent in our hotels broken the 1m room barrier and tourism now generates in the region of £465m per annum.
“The growing numbers of visitors to Belfast has increased confidence in tourism investment, helping to drive over £1bn worth of infrastructure investment across the city, from new hotel development, world class visitor attractions, to an increasing number of inbound air access opportunities – all of which is improving the social fabric of the city.”
Donal Durkan, Belfast City Council’s Director of Development, hailed Belfast as competing with the best, saying, “Partners across the city are ensuring that our tourism offering continues to thrive, and that the value this sector brings to our economy increases year on year.
“The Council, in collaboration with Visit Belfast and others, has ambitious plans for our city. We are optimistic that our goals in doubling tourism revenue by 2020 will be achieved, and that tourism will continue to play a key role in driving economic benefits for all in the years ahead”.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, added “Belfast is now recognised as a premier leisure and business destination and Tourism Ireland promotes the city, and the wealth of things to see and do here, in our marketing activities across the world. We will continue to work closely with Visit Belfast to ensure even more leisure and business travellers put Belfast on their ‘wish-list’ for 2016 and beyond – capitalising on improved air access from overseas and new developments like the newly extended Belfast Waterfront.”