Belfast has been officially awarded ‘World’s Best Conference Destination’ for the third consecutive year, at the Conference & Incentive Travel (C&IT) Awards in London.
The annual C&IT Awards are the biggest awards in the meeting, incentive, conference and event (MICE) sector worldwide.
The winners are chosen by a diverse panel of industry experts, who recognise outstanding achievements, innovation and success across a variety of categories.
World-Class Experience
Visit Belfast and the city’s tourism industry were recognised for their consistent, collaborative efforts to meet and exceed the expectations of conference and event organisers to deliver a world-class experience for thousands of delegates every year.
Visit Belfast is the official destination marketing and management organisation for the Belfast City region, dedicated to promoting Belfast as a tourist destination for business, leisure and cruise visitors.
Tourism NI, Invest NI and Belfast City Council are also key supporters and funders of business tourism in Belfast and Northern Ireland.
Best Venue – UK
ICC Belfast – Northern Ireland’s only purpose-built international convention centre – was named the winner in the ‘Best Venue – UK’ category, the shortlist for which featured London’s ExCeL and ICC Birmingham.
Visit Belfast was also awarded ‘UK Best Destination Team of the Year’ at the Meetings Industry Association (MIA) Awards 2023, securing the top industry title.
‘Tourism Leader’
“These award wins represent a record-breaking outcome for the city, for Visit Belfast and ICC Belfast, which champions the huge, collaborative effort that goes into making Belfast a tourism leader on the global stage,” said the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Ryan Murphy.
“Yet again, Team Belfast has proven its award-winning abilities to go up against the rest of the world and go straight to the top, and I’m delighted and grateful to everyone who contributed to this remarkable success.”
Local Economy
Earlier this year, Visit Belfast revealed that its plans are on track to deliver around £120 million (€139 million) to the local economy this year, through its sales, marketing and visitor-servicing activity.
Looking ahead, Belfast is set to welcome 147 conferences and 55,000 delegates over the next three years, amounting to a spend of around £75 million (€86.9 million).
