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Background Information on Northern Ireland Society - Tourism

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Page Compiled: Fionnuala McKenna and Brendan Lynn
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Tourism in Northern Ireland

Summary

The internationally accepted definition of a tourist is "any visitor staying at least twenty-four hours in the country visited". This definition has been used to determine the number of visitors to Northern Ireland in the tables and statistics listed below.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is responsible for the development of tourism in Northern Ireland and the promotion of the area as a tourist destination. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Economic Development, and was constituted under the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.

In 1997, Northern Ireland had a total of 1.415 million visitors, generating £208 million revenue, which in turn represented 1.8% of Northern Ireland's Gross Domestic Product.

The majority of visitors to Northern Ireland over the years (on average 57%) have consistently been from England, Scotland and Wales, and the main reason for travel was to visit friends and relatives in Northern Ireland.

The number of visitors to Northern Ireland increased from 1.29 million in 1994 to 1.55 million in 1995 following the Republican and Loyalist Ceasefires. This number subsequently fell in 1996 to 1.43 million, and again in 1997 to 1.415 million (this was mainly due to a return to violence when the IRA ended its ceasefire on 9 February 1996; the ceasefire was reinstated on 20 July 1997).

The percentage number of visitors to Northern during peak holiday season, that is July to September, decreased from 36% in 1995 to 32% in 1997. This decline was in response to the political distrubances surrounding the disputed Orange Order march from Drumcree down through the Garvaghy Road in Portadown. The first stand-off occurred on 9 July 1995 and there was trouble associated with the march in subsequent years.

Sources:

The following tables provide breakdowns of statistics for Tourism in Northern Ireland. Much of this material has been taken from the 'Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics', the 'Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts', and 'Tourism Facts', produced annually by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
Readers may also find useful information at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) web site {external_link}.
Tourist Information on the Republic of Ireland can be found at the Board Fáilte website {external_link}.

List of Tables

Table NI-TOU-01: Visitor trips (number) to Northern Ireland, nights spent (number), and revenue generated (£million), 1963, 1967, 1972, and 1988 to 2001
Chart NI-TOU-01: Visitor revenue generated (£million), 1963, 1967, 1972, and 1988 to 2001
Table: NI-TOU-02: Tourism in Northern Ireland: visitors, revenue, and purpose of visit (units as indicated), 1992 to 2001
Table NI-TOU-03: Staying visitors to Northern Ireland: by country of origin, and by number of trips, nights, and money spent (units as indicated), 1996 to 2001
Table NI-TOU-04: Visitor trips (percentage) to Northern Ireland by country of origin, 1996 to 2001
Table NI-TOU-05: Main purpose of visit (%) to Northern Ireland by country of origin, 2001
Table NI-TOU-06: Methods of Arrival / Departure (%) used by visitors to Northern Ireland by County of Origin, 2001
Table NI-TOU-07: Type of accommodation (%) used by visitors, 2001
Table NI-TOU-08: Expenditure by visitors (%) by purpose of visit, 2001
Table NI-TOU-09: Time of year in which visitors (%) travelled to Northern Ireland, by purpose of visit, 2001
Table NI-TOU-10: Top 20 Northern Ireland tourist attractions and number of visitors, 2001
Table NI-TOU-11: Type and amount (numbers) of accomodation available to tourists, 1991 to 2001
Table NI-TOU-12: Occupancy rates (%) in Northern Ireland hotels, 1991-2001

See also: Tables with earlier data

Table NI-TOU-01: Visitor trips (number) to Northern Ireland, nights spent (number), and revenue generated (£million), 1963, 1967, 1972, and 1988 to 2001
Year	Trips	Nights	Revenue (£m)
1963	704,600	7,670,900	10.14
1967	108,000	8,679,400	16.94
1972	435,000	3,499,400	8.64
1988	930,400	6,673,900	97.00
1989	1,090,600	6,636,400	136.31
1990	1,152,800	7,091,000	153.09
1991	1,186,100	7,160,000	162.00
1992	1,254,500	7,466,600	161.67
1993	1,262,000	7,794,000	173.00
1994	1,293,900	7,804,000	183.00
1995	1,557,000	8,500,000	214.00
1996	1,436,000	7,700,000	206.00
1997	1,415,000	7,500,000	208.00
1998	1,477,000	7,835,000	217.00
1999	1,655,000	8,768,000	265.00
2000	1,672,000	8,693,000	265.00
2001	1,676,000	8,692,000	282.00
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.2.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table: NI-TOU-02: Tourism in Northern Ireland: visitors, revenue, and purpose of visit (units as indicated), 1992 to 2001
Visitors, revenue and purpose of visit	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Staying visitors
From Great Britain (000s)	726	704	708	810	825	799	838	1,002	950	1,053
From Irish Republic (000s)	352	373	390	470	370	345	360	384	380	365
From overseas (000s)	176	185	196	277	241	271	279	269	341	258
All staying visitors (000s)	1,254	1,262	1,294	1,557	1,436	1,415	1,477	1,655	1,672	1,676
All revenue (£ millions)	162	173	183	214	206	208	217	265	265	282
Purpose of visit
Visiting friends or relatives (000s)	510	519	522	564	590	577	617	684	743	773
%	41	41	40	36	41	41	42	41	44	46
Holiday (000s)	247	251	275	461	297	263	277	305	306	274
%	20	20	21	30	21	19	19	18	18	16
Business (000s)	380	378	388	402	409	419	434	501	464	501
%	30	30	30	26	28	29	29	30	28	30
Other (000s)	117	114	109	130	140	156	149	165	159	128
%	9	9	9	8	10	11	10	10	10	8
All visits (000s)	1,254	1,262	1,294	1,557	1,436	1,415	1,477	1,655	1,672	1,676
Source:
Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 2002, Table 9.14
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-03: Staying visitors to Northern Ireland: by country of origin, and by number of trips, nights, and money spent (units as indicated), 1996 to 2001
		1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
England	trips ('000)	588	571	578	707	662	718
	nights ('000)	3,225	3,108	3,060	3,839	3,384	3,714
	spending (£m)	82	85	89	115	109	137
Scotland	trips ('000)	221	214	243	276	270	314
	nights ('000)	971	1,004	1,067	1,385	1,204	1,357
	spending (£m)	25	26	29	43	35	48
Wales	trips ('000)	16	14	17	19	19	21
	nights ('000)	81	71	90	102	98	109
	spending (£m)	2	2	3	3	3	4
Great Britain	trips ('000)	825	799	838	1,002	950	1,053
	nights ('000)	4,277	4,183	4,217	5,327	4,686	5,180
	spending (£m)	110	113	120	161	147	189
Republic of Ireland	trips ('000)	370	345	360	384	380	365
	nights ('000)	1,207	1,086	1,187	1,223	1,227	940
	spending (£m)	30	27	28	31	30	26
North America	trips ('000)	100	109	115	123	148	102
	nights ('000)	851	909	809	794	1,155	902
	spending (£m)	29	31	30	33	45	30
Europe	trips ('000)	97	105	108	92	126	106
	nights ('000)	817	760	922	750	913	990
	spending (£m)	22	21	25	19	21	20
Austrailia / New Zealand	trips ('000)	29	39	35	35	42	30
	nights ('000)	248	312	257	315	369	301
	spending (£m)	5	9	6	9	9	8
Other Overseas	trips ('000)	15	18	21	19	25	20
	nights ('000)	299	259	443	359	344	379
	spending (£m)	10	7	8	11	13	9
Total Staying Visitors	trips ('000)	1,436	1,415	1,477	1,655	1,672	1,676
	nights ('000)	7,700	7,500	7,835	8,768	8,693	8,692
	spending (£m)	206	208	217	265	265	282
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.3.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-04: Visitor trips (percentage) to Northern Ireland by country of origin, 1996 to 2001
	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Trips ('000)	1,436	1,415	1,477	1,655	1,672	1,676
Total (%)	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Origin
England	41	41	39	43	40	43
Scotland	15	15	17	17	16	19
Wales	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total Great Britain	57	57	57	61	57	63
Republic of Ireland	26	24	24	23	23	22
North America	7	8	8	7	9	6
Europe	7	7	7	6	8	6
Australia/New Zealand	2	3	2	2	3	2
Other Overseas	1	1	1	1	1	1
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.3.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-05: Main purpose of visit (%) to Northern Ireland by country of origin, 2001
	Visiting friends and relatives	Holiday	Business	Other
Country of Origin	%	%	%	%
England	52	6	39	3
Scotland	51	14	31	4
Wales	34	4	54	8
Republic of Ireland	39	24	18	19
North America	34	44	13	9
Europe	30	34	26	10
Australia/New Zealand	47	47	3	3
Elsewhere	45	20	20	10
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.4.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-06: Methods of Arrival / Departure (%) used by visitors¹ to Northern Ireland by County of Origin, 2001
	By air	By sea	Via Republic of Ireland
Country of Origin	%	%	%
Great Britain	56	40	4
Europe	52	14	34
North America	36	18	45
Australia/New Zealand	44	20	36
Elsewhere	69	10	20
Total	54	35	11
Notes:
1. Excludes Republic of Ireland residents.
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.4.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-07: Type of accommodation (%) used by visitors, 2001¹
	Trips	Nights	Spending
Total	1,676,000	8,692,000	£282m
%	100%	100%	100%
Type of accommodation
Hotel	28	13	35
Guesthouse/Bed and breakfast	11	7	10
Caravan/Camping	1	1	1
Rented accommodation	2	6	4
Staying with friends/relatives	55	64	43
Other (e.g. youth hostels)	4	9	7
Notes:
1. These tables should be treated with caution due to limitations with information sources.
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.4.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-08: Expenditure by visitors (%) by purpose of visit, 2001¹
	Visiting friends & relatives	Holiday	Business	All
Spend (£m)	111	39	110	282
Total %	100%	100%	100%	100%
Accommodation/meals	24	42	65	43
Internal travel	9	11	14	11
Entertainment (inc. drinks)	19	17	12	16
Shopping	43	28	6	28
(Presents)	14	11	2	9
Incidental expenditure	4	3	3	4
Notes:
1. These tables should be treated with caution due to limitations with information sources
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.4.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-09: Time of year in which visitors (%) travelled to Northern Ireland, by purpose of visit, 2001¹
	Visiting friends & relations	Holiday	Business	All
Trips ('000)	773	274	501	1,676
Total %	100%	100%	100%	100%
January-March	18	13	21	18
April-June	24	23	27	25
July-September	34	50	25	33
October-December	24	14	27	23
Notes:
1. These tables should be treated with caution due to limitations with information sources
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.4.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-10: Top 20 Northern Ireland tourist attractions and number of visitors, 2001
Rank	Tourist Attraction	Number of visitors
1	Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre*	383,133
2	W5	200,893
3	Ulster Museum ^F	195,916
4	Pickie Family Fun Park*	190,000
5	Belfast Zoo	172,323
6	Oxford Island Nature Reserve ^F	163,733
7	Belleek Pottery*	142,557
8	Portstewart Strand	130,431
9	Exploris*	127,200
10	Ulster Folk and Transport Museum	119,848
11	Ulster American Folk Park	110,533
12	Old Bushmills Distillery	97,130
13	Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge	94,382
14	Saint Patrick Centre	84,995
15	Dunluce Centre*	75,920
16	Waterworld	72,522
17	Castle Espie Wildfowl & Wetland Centre	64,600
18	Malone House* ^F	62,500
19	North Down Heritage Centre	51,795
20	Portrush Countryside Centre* ^F	49,500
Notes:
* Estimate
F Free admission
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.5.
Also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-11: Type and amount (numbers) of accomodation available to tourists, 1991 to 2001
Year	Hotels		Guesthouses		Self-catering		Other accomodation
Year	Numbers	Bedrooms	Numbers	Bedrooms	Numbers	Bedrooms	Numbers	Bedrooms
1991	126	3,278	146	1,081	134	785	693	4,543
1992	126	3,284	147	1,128	158	857	703	4,456
1993	123	3,388	140	1,007	207	1,150	630	4,847
1994	126	3,537	150	1,086	266	1,470	684	5,244
1995	129	3,678	162	1,186	338	1,899	869	5,962
1996	135	3,975	159	1,200	378	2,033	1,011	6,538
1997	137	4,469	159	1,234	408	2,310	991	6,531
1998	137	4,899	160	1,257	436	2,328	952	6,642
1999	133	4,893	148	1,154	483	2,524	954	6,655
2000	130	4,957	153	1,169	532	2,714	932	6,674
2001	133	5,295	156	1,192	563	2,978	862	6,476
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.5-6.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

Table NI-TOU-12: Occupancy rates (%) in Northern Ireland hotels, 1991-2001¹
January-December period	Room occupancy	Bedspace occupancy	Visitor content
1991	49	33	56
1992	47	32	54
1993	48	32	61
1994	51	31	61
1995	62	41	68
1996	56	35	65
19972	53	33	62
1998	53	32	62
1999	53	34	65
2000	53	33	64
2001	53	33	61
Notes:
1. The occupancy rate represents the number of rooms or bedspaces taken in a given period as a percentage of the total rooms or bedspaces on offer. Double or twin-bedded rooms count as having two bedspaces. Visitor content is the percentage of all guests registered who come from outside Northern Ireland.
2. A new survey methodology was introduced in 1997 and therefore data pre-1997 is not directly comparable with that post-1997.
Source:
Northern Ireland Tourism Board web site (www.nitb.com), Tourism Facts 2001 p.7.
Table also available as:
Rich Text Format (RTF) Document; Microsoft Excel Document

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