Tourism NI has welcomed new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) which estimate that in the first quarter of 2018, visitors from the Republic of Ireland took more holidays, stayed longer and spent more in Northern Ireland than they did during January to March 2017.
RoI visitors took 34,000 holiday trips to Northern Ireland during period. This figure represents a 29% rise on the same period in 2017. Visitor spending was also up 11% to £21.5 million.
Commenting on the results, Tourism NI chief executive John McGrillen said, "These positive first quarter growth figures from RoI visitors follow on from the strong performance of that market in 2017 and continue tourism’s upward trend to becoming a £1 billion industry by the end of the decade.
"These figures can be attributed to increased marketing activity by Tourism NI in the Republic of Ireland and more favourable exchange rates making NI more competitive have also played a part.
"The strong growth in visitors combined with unprecedented hotel sales and industry feedback suggests a very positive picture for 2018."
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
