Overnight tourism trips in Northern Ireland generated spending of £1.2bn in 2023: report

But it warned that the latest statistics were not directly comparable with previous years, partly down to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism.

Releasing figures from the NI Statistics & Research Agency (Nisra) on Thursday, DfE said the 5.4 million included 3.3 million overnight trips by external visitors to NI, as well as domestic trips by NI residents.

Domestic pleasure seekers therefore accounted for 40% of the overnight trips, and were responsible for £0.3bn of the spending. The remaining £0.9bn was spent by external visitors.

DfE said the figures demonstrated the importance of domestic tourism to the industry.

And Economy Minister Conor Murphy said they show that tourism is “thriving” in Northern Ireland following the lean times of Covid-19.

“The statistics come on the back of what I know was a difficult period across the industry, but there are real signs of optimism across the sector as we emerge stronger.

“While the figures cannot be directly compared to previous statistics, undoubtedly £1.2bn of tourism expenditure is a significant economic boost.

“I am determined to continue to work with the industry to enable it to grow even further in a way that aligns with my economic vision of a productive, regionally balanced, net zero economy with good jobs.”

Hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland was 64% during 2023, while the estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and other guest accommodation was 38%.

In 2023, there were 5,845 tourism businesses operating in Northern Ireland, and over three-quarters (77%) of these were outside of Belfast City Council.

The Minister said he had been impressed with the “optimism, energy and ambition” of tourism businesses since taking up his role in February.

Mr Murphy said he had set up a tourism partnership board to plan even greater success – though he said there was already a lot to look forward to.

“The Irish Open will return to the north next month at Newcastle, and in 2025 we will host The Open in Portrush.

“Our tourism offering goes from strength to strength with many new hotels, attractions and experiences in the pipeline which has been boosted by the City Deal tourism projects.

“The outlook for local tourism is very positive, and we must maintain the momentum which has been created over the last few years to continue to build a tourism sector which can bring tangible economic benefits across all of the north.”

The figures showed that Belfast commanded the lion’s share of overnight trips during 2023, at 1.7 million or 31% of all NI overnight trips.

Causeway Coast and Glens accounted for 1.3 million of all overnight trips, with 75% of those trips taken for holiday or pleasure. In contrast, just 50% of Belfast overnight trips were taken for that purpose.

Earlier this year, Nisra published the Tourism Satellite Account for 2019, estimating the economic impact of direct tourism in NI that year at £0.9bn.