Visit Belfast has unveiled the UK’s first social-first destination marketing website, marking a major £150,000 investment in the city’s digital infrastructure and strengthening its role as a leading, innovative DMMO representing more than 500 tourism and hospitality partners across the Belfast City Region.
Built to reflect how modern travellers discover destinations, the redesigned VisitBelfast.com embeds TikTok- and Instagram Reel-style itineraries directly into key pages, creating a visually rich, story-led experience that brings the city’s neighbourhoods, attractions and culture to life.
Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast, said: “This investment is a game changer for Belfast and for the 500+ tourism and hospitality partners we represent. As the city’s destination management and marketing organisation, it is essential that we keep pace with how visitors plan, book and experience travel. This new digital platform allows us to showcase Belfast’s stories, people and places in a compelling way while providing a powerful, responsive channel for our partners to reach new audiences. It strengthens our competitiveness, embraces innovation and ensures Belfast continues to lead from the front.”
A major step forward in Visit Belfast’s digital transformation, the new platform positions the city alongside international leaders in destination marketing. The website integrates short-form, social-inspired content formats, user-generated assets through a new partnership with visual marketing platform CrowdRiff, and dynamic content modules that adapt to user interest, whether food, culture, neighbourhood exploration or family travel.
Matt Bassett, Deputy Head of Account Management at Simpleview Europe, said: “Visit Belfast is setting a new benchmark for destination marketing with this launch. Their new website demonstrates how behavioural insight, personalisation and dynamic content can come together to inspire travel and deliver meaningful engagement. By embracing innovation and social storytelling, Visit Belfast is leading the way in how destinations connect with audiences and convert interest into real-world visits.”
The site is currently undergoing consumer testing to ensure it remains responsive, adaptable and continually refined in line with user behaviour and market trends. Early feedback has been strongly positive, with users describing the new design as vibrant, warm and visually appealing, this research will continue throughout development to ensure the platform evolves in direct response to audience needs. Visit Belfast emphasises that the website is a long-term, iterative digital product that will adapt as visitor expectations and market conditions change.
Alongside visitor experience improvements, the launch strengthens commercial value for local tourism partners. Visit Belfast is expanding enhanced listings and promotional opportunities, giving partners a high-visibility platform reaching more than 2.3 million interested visitors annually. Partners will now have improved tools to showcase their products, packages and experiences through compelling storytelling formats aligned to visitor behaviour.
Gavin McKenna, Head of Marketing, Digital & Communications at Visit Belfast, added: “We are extremely proud to launch the UK’s first social-first DMO website. Travellers today are inspired by short-form video, and we’ve built a platform that mirrors how they browse, discover and plan. This is not simply a website redesign, it’s a fundamental shift in how we present Belfast online. By embedding social-style content and UGC directly into the site, we’ve created a seamless journey from discovery to action, strengthening both visitor engagement and partner visibility.”
The launch builds on Visit Belfast’s recent recognition at the EMEA Simpleview Awards, where the organisation won Best Creative Collaboration for its innovative influencer strategy and storytelling approach.
Aligned with the New Horizons strategy for the Belfast City Region, the new website delivers a unified platform that blends inspiration, planning and booking, helping to drive leisure trips, support economic impact and deepen visitor connection across Belfast’s city areas and neighbourhoods.