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Background Information on Northern Ireland Society - Tourism



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Text and Research: Fionnuala McKenna
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Tourism in Northern Ireland
Previous Tables

Sources:
The following tables provide further breakdowns of statistics for Tourism in Northern Ireland. Much of this material has been taken from the Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics (1998), the Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts (1999) and Tourism Facts, produced annually by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
Readers may also find useful information at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) website {external_link}.
Tourist Information on the Republic of Ireland can be found at the Board Fáilte website {external_link}.







Number of Visitors to Northern Ireland and Revenue Generated , 1963-1997

.
Trips
('000)
Nights
('000)
Revenue
£m
1963
704.6
7,670.9
10.14
1967
1,080.0
8,679.4
16.94
1972
435.0
3,499.4
8.64
1988
930.4
6,673.9
97.00
1989
1,090.6
6,636.4
136.31
1990
1,152.8
7,091.0
153.09
1991
1,186.1
7,160.0
162.00
1992
1,254.5
7,466.6
161.67
1993
1,262.0
7,794.0
173.00
1994
1,293.9
7,804.0
183.00
1995
1,557.0
8,500.0
214.00
1996
1,436.0
7,700.0
206.00
1997
1,415.0
7,500
208.00

Source: Northern Ireland Tourist Board: Tourism Facts 1997




Visitors to Northern Ireland by Country of Origin and Purpose of Visit, 1987-1996

.
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
Total revenue (£m)
91.4
97.0
136.3
153.0
162.0
162.0
173.0
183.0
214.0
206.0
From Great Britain (000s)
480
512
612
610
650
726
704
708
810
825
From Irish Republic (000s)
347
297
342
357
380
352
373
390
470
370
From overseas(000s)
116
121
137
186
156
176
185
196
277
241
All staying visitors (000s)
943
930
1,091
1,153
1,186
1,254
1,262
1,294
1,557
1,436
Purpose of Visit
Visiting friends or relatives (000s)
%
473
50
457
49
545
50
517
45
457
39
510
41
519
41
522
40
564
36
590
41
Holiday (000s)
%
117
13
125
14
159
14
222
19
263
22
247
20
251
20
275
21
461
30
297
21
Business (000s)
%
211
22
227
24
261
24
294
25
334
28
380
30
378
30
388
30
402
26
409
28
Shopping' (000s)
%
46
5
35
4
19
2
20
2
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
Other (000s)
%
96
10
86
9
107
10
100
9
133
11
117
9
114
9
109
9
130
8
140
10
All visits (000s)
943
930
1,091
1,153
1,186
1,254
1,262
1,294
1,557
1,436

(Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 1998, p.84)




Visitors to Northern Ireland by Country of Origin and Expenditure, 1995-1997

.
1995
1996
1997
Country of
Origin
Visitors
000s
Expenditure
£m
Visitors
000s
Expenditure
£m
Visitors
000s
Expenditure
£m
Britain:
    England & Wales
603
84.5
604
85.5
585
87.0
    Scotland
207
23.5
221
25.5
214
26.0
Total
810
108.0
825
110.0
799
113.0
Europe:
    France
n/a
n/a
19
n/a
17
n/a
    Germany
n/a
n/a
32
n/a
30
n/a
    Holland
n/a
n/a
10
n/a
12
n/a
    Italy
n/a
n/a
8
n/a
10
n/a
    Other
n/a
n/a
27
n/a
36
n/a
Total
109
23.0
96
22.0
105
21.0
North America:
    USA
n/a
n/a
72
n/a
85
23.2
    Canada
n/a
n/a
28
n/a
24
7.8
Total
118
26.0
100
29.0
109
31.0
Australia/New Zealand
n/a
n/a
29
n/a
39
9.0
Republic of Ireland
470
39.0
370
30.0
345
27.0
Other
50
18.0
15
15.0
18
7.0
TOTAL:
1,557
214.0
1,435
206.0
1,415
208.0

(Source: Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts, 1999, p.252)




The Percentage Number of visitors to Northern Ireland according to Country of Origin, 1972-1997

.
1972
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
trips
435,000
1,262,000
1,293,900
1,557,000
1,436,000
1,415,000
total=
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Great Britain
58
56
55
52
57
57
Republic of Ireland
31
30
30
30
26
24
North America
5
5
6
8
7
8
Europe
3
6
7
7
7
7
Other Overseas
3
3
2
3
3
4




Breakdown of Visitors to Northern Ireland by Purpose of Visit and Country of Origin, 1997

Country of
Origin
Business
000s
Holiday
000s
Visiting*
000s
Other
000s
Total
000s
Britain:
    England & Wales
227
37
305
16
585
    Scotland
68
28
107
11
214
Total
295
65
412
27
799
Europe:
    France
2
9
3
3
17
    Germany
3
15
8
4
30
    Holland
2
5
3
2
12
    Italy
2
6
2
1
11
    Other
13
10
9
4
36
Total
22
45
25
14
106
North America:
    USA
11
37
29
8
85
    Canada
2
7
14
1
24
Total
13
44
43
9
109
Australia/New Zealand
2
24
12
1
39
Other
3
4
9
1
17
Republic of Ireland
84
80
76
105
345
TOTAL:
419
262
577
157
1,415

* Friends / Relatives

(Source: Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts, 1999, p.252)




Breakdown of Expenditure by Visitors to Northern Ireland (1997)


Spend
Total =
VFR
£76m
100%
Holiday
£34m
100%
Business
£83m
100%
All
£208m
100%
Accommodation / meals
23%
38%
60%
40%
Internal Travel
10%
14%
12%
11%
Entertainment inc. drinks
17%
13%
13%
15%
Shopping
(presents)
47%
(15)
32%
(11)
14%
(5)
32%
(11)
Incidental Expenditure
3%
3%
1%
2%

Please note: This table should be treated with caution due to limitations with information sources

Source: Northern Ireland Tourist Board: Tourism Facts 1997




Types of Accommodation Chosen by Northern Ireland Tourists, 1997

Accommodation
Northern Ireland
(million nights)
Hotels
0.9
Guesthouses / B&Bs
0.7
Rented
0.5
Caravan & Camping
0.1
Friends & Relatives
5.0
Other
0.5
Total:
7.5

(Source: Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts, 1999, p.252)




Top 10 Tourist Attractions Visited in Northern Ireland, 1996-1997

..
1997
1996
% Change
1996
1
Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre
378,481
395,000
-4%
1
2
Ulster Museum[F]
328,823
240,859
+36%
2
3
Pickie Family Fun Park
250,000
100,000
+150%
12
4
Belfast Zoo
206,362
177,984
+16%
4
5
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
203,501
198,211
+33%
3
6
Belleek Pottery
177,824
161,000
+10%
5
7
Oxford Island Nature Reserve[F]
155,000
149,200
+4%
7
8
Murlough Nature Reserve
134,000
160,000
-16%
6
9
Portstewart Strand
133,080
127,749
+4%
10
10
Exploris
130,000
137,023
-5%
8

[F] = Free Admission

Source: Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Survey of Visitor Attractions 1997




Number of Visitors to Forest/Country Parks and Gardens 1996-1997

.
1997
1996
% Change
Botanic Gardens[F]
680,000
650,000
+5%
Cave Hill Country Park[F]
390,000
395,000
-1%
Belvoir Forest Park
360,000
360,000
0%
Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park[F]
300,000
300,000
0%
Tollymore Forest Park
203,800
208,800
-2%
Scrabo Country Park
200,000
195,000
+2%
Castlewellan Forest Park
140,000
154,700
-9%
Carnfunnock Country Park
127,326
147,028
-13%
Roe Valley Country Park[F]
126,000
100,000
+25%
Gosford Forest Park
123,700
113,700
+9%
Delamont Country Park
103,600
73,050
+42%
Kilbroney Park[F]
100,000
90,000
+11%
Castle Archdale Country Park[F]
100,000
100,000
0%
Peatlands Country Park[F]
90,000
100,000
-10%
Glenariff Forest Park
74,800
65,300
+14%
Silent Valley
70,497
72,051
-2%
Benburb Valley Park
55,000
60,000
-8%
Redburn Country Park[F]
50,000
45,000
+11%
Colin Glen Forest Park[F]
37,000
37,000
0%
Florencecourt Forest Park
29,300
35,200
-17%

[F] = Free Admission

Source: Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Survey of Visitor Attractions 1997




Time of Year in which Visitors came to Northern Ireland, by reason for visit (1997)


Trips
Total =
VFR
577,000
100%
Holiday
263,000
100%
Business
419,000
100%
All
1,415,000
100%
January - March
20
10
23
19
April - June
26
28
25
26
July - September
31
49
26
32
October - December
23
13
26
23

Please note: This table should be treated with caution due to limitations with information sources

Source: Northern Ireland Tourist Board: Tourism Facts 1997


Time of Year Visitors came to Northern Ireland, 1993-1997 (%)

.
Percentage number of Visitors
.
1994
1995
1996
1997
January - March
21%
18%
20%
19%
April - June
25%
25%
26%
26%
July - September
33%
36%
33%
32%
October - December
21%
21%
21%
23%




Number of Northern Ireland Residents who holiday in Northern Ireland and Revenue Generated, 1987-1997

.
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Long (4 Nights)
(000s)
Spending (£m)
149
8.9
235
19.3
350
49.1
310
33.7
250
33.0
220
23.3
235
34.0
220
33.7
245
36.0
197
34.0
220
40.0
Short (1-3 nights)
(000s)
Spending (£m)
379
16.0
337
11.5
630
20.9
610
23.4
490
21.6
380
21.4
440
21.0
430
25.4
368
21.0
410
26.0
350
20.0
Total home holiday revenue
(£m)
24.9
30.8
70.0
57.1
54.6
44.6
55.0
59.0
57.0
60.0
60.0

(Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 1998, p.84)


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