But while our industry is in many ways seasonal, the people and businesses in it have been far from dormant over the winter months. Sales and marketing activity, recruitment and training staff, planning marketing campaigns and investing in assets, products and services are year-round activities.
As we look ahead to what the rest of the year may hold, Tourism NI continues to have a positive outlook on the industry’s prospects in 2024.
Like many industries we are facing a number of economic challenges and headwinds, with the cost-of-living crisis meaning people have been taking fewer short breaks and persistent high inflation making both the cost of travel and the cost of doing business more expensive.
But I have been very encouraged by the performance of Northern Ireland’s tourism businesses over the past 12 months and the way they’ve innovated and adapted.
On April 23 we will be hosting our annual Tourism Conference, which brings the industry together to hear from experts and peers, and to learn about emerging trends, new skills and best practice. The theme of “People, Place and Partnership” certainly reflects the direction of travel and the ingredients for a competitive industry.
We will be meeting at a time when a lot of progress is being made. Visitor numbers from the Republic of Ireland have reached record levels, domestic tourism appears in robust health, airline numbers show demand for overseas travel is increasing again and hotel occupancy is back to pre-pandemic levels thanks to international tour groups and conference business.
Recent statistics from the NI Hotels Federation showed total bedroom numbers in NI have doubled since 1999 to 9,646, with a further £300m of possible investment in new hotel stock and accommodation by 2027. At 74.4%, occupancy has now risen back to pre-pandemic levels and revenue per available room has increased significantly to £80.45.
At the start of 2024, hotel bookings were ahead of where they were this time last year and tour operators reported strong interest in the island of Ireland as a destination, helped by our increasing number of quality tourism attractions and affordable cost base. Of the 150 international tourism operators who attended our Meet the Buyer event last year, more than 60% said they expected to do more business in Northern Ireland in 2024.
It is also significant that the conference will take place with a Northern Ireland Executive in place following a two-year absence.
The publication of the draft Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland by the Department for the Economy has set out a goal of establishing Northern Ireland as a year-round, world class destination renowned for authentic experiences, landscape, heritage and culture and which benefits communities, the economy and the environment.
This ambitious goal is to give visitors reasons to stay longer and spend more and to spread tourism’s value beyond the hotspots of Belfast and the Causeway Coastal Route, where some attractions are reaching capacity at peak times. The new strategy sets an ambitious target of growing the value of tourism by 50-75% over the next decade.
Tourism will also be a major contributor to the Executive’s wider economic priorities, providing good jobs across Northern Ireland that assist with regional balance in the workforce and help increase productivity. Tourism businesses also have the ability to play a significant role in the Economy Minister’s decarbonisation agenda, with sustainable practices already on the agenda for many in the industry. To achieve this, we will need to see continued investment in all aspects of our tourism product – hotels and accommodation, attractions and experiences, the evening economy and connectivity.
The private sector is doing its part, with new hotels opening in Belfast and Derry in recent months, with more planned in both cities, and on the north coast in preparation for the Open in 2025. Investment is also taking place at Belfast International Airport and at our Ports to ensure visitors get a good first and last impression of Northern Ireland. I hope to see further progress on the new tourism City and Growth Deal projects this year, building on our existing attractions.
We also need to further invest in people, which means making tourism and hospitality a more attractive career option and providing development opportunities to retain talent.
Tourism accounts for one in 12 jobs in Northern Ireland, is our most geographically spread industry, and provides opportunities for people from all backgrounds to gain employment and to quickly to move up the career ladder.
Our Make it Here campaign over the past year has sought to address some of the misconceptions about working in tourism and hospitality, and we’ve been pleased with the high level of engagement that the campaign has had.
We continue to champion continued learning and development within the tourism and hospitality sector and a few weeks ago, we launched an innovative new e-learning platform – MyTourismNI. This allows those working in the sector access to always on learning, across key subjects such as Sustainability, Sales & Marketing, People and Operational Effectiveness.
A strong tourism industry is essential for positioning the region internationally and in 2024 Tourism NI is continuing to lead, inspire and support the sector to position Northern Ireland as a must-visit destination.
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