The Minister announced that 2007 had seen a strong performance across all markets with a forecasted 28% increase in holiday visits to Northern Ireland.
Speaking to an audience of over 350 tourism industry representatives, at the 30th annual Northern Ireland Tourism Awards in Belfast, the Minister congratulated the award winners and said: “Over the past 12 months we have seen great progress in the numbers of visitors to Northern Ireland from all our key markets. We are forecasting an overall 28% increase in holiday visits with particularly strong performances from Europe and the USA. Closer to home, we are estimating the Irish Republic had a 10% growth, and that there has been a strong return of holiday visits from Great Britain.”
The Minister continued: “The Executive has placed the development of tourism as a key component of sustainable economic growth. Some £141million will be invested in product and marketing by NITB locally, in the Irish Republic, and in global marketing by Tourism Ireland.
“This will contribute to the creation of an energetic and sustainable tourism sector which seeks to maximise the revenue it earns from Great Britain, the Irish Republic and overseas visitors. With this additional funding comes greater challenges and I have confidence that the tourism industry will not disappoint.”
The Minister concluded: “Given that the global economic climate will present challenges in 2008, particularly the US market, we must pay attention to our closer to home markets while capitalising on the strength of the Euro and the domestic UK market.”
Winners celebrated their success across a variety of categories including Hotel, Event, Visitor Attraction and Marketing Excellence and were chosen from a competitive field of more than one hundred entries.
In their 400th anniversary year, Bushmills Distillery was recognised for its outstanding contribution to tourism. The distillery was described as an icon for Northern Ireland with visitors from across the world making it an essential stop on their north coast itineraries. The visitor centre at the distillery welcomed more than 135,000 visitors in 2006, making it one of Northern Ireland’s most popular attractions.
Speaking at the ceremony outgoing NITB Chairman Tom McGrath said: “In my six years as chairman of NITB, I have been proud of the ever-increasing standards in tourism across Northern Ireland. Private investment is happening at a faster rate than ever before and visitor numbers are at an all time high. Along with this comes much higher expectations from our visitors and it is essential that we continue to improve our tourism products and levels of visitor servicing.
“This awards ceremony is an excellent opportunity to recognise the hard work that takes place across our industry and the dedication to improving visitor experiences. I congratulate the winners and commended organisations in each of the categories.”
The Tourism Awards have been sponsored by bmi for the past five years, their Deputy Chief Executive, Tim Bye commented: “We believe this is an unequalled opportunity to support Northern Ireland’s tourism and leisure sectors who must be congratulated for their tireless commitment and ambition to establish Northern Ireland as a modern tourist friendly economy.
“Finally, I would like to congratulate the Northern Ireland Tourist Board on the 30th Anniversary of the Tourism Awards. We all need to celebrate the best in the tourism industry and these awards identify exceptional achievements and recognise the high standards that are expected by visitors."
Notes to Editors:
- 2007/2008 is the 30th year of the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards
- 2008 also marks the 60th anniversary of NITB
- bmi is Associate Sponsor of the Awards for the 5th year
- Category sponsors include:
Northern Ireland Tourist Board
Diageo
Tourism Ireland
Department for Employment and Learning and People 1st
Millward Brown Ulster
Invest Northern Ireland
VisitBritain - During January – December 2007 visitors to NI increased by 6% (+128,000) compared to 2006.
- Overseas visitors (excluding GB and ROI) increased by 19% to 500,000, twice the number recorded five years ago in 2002. The most significant increase over 2006 was recorded in visitors from Europe (+27%) with North America (+12%) and Australia/NZ (+36%) also performing well.
- The 12% growth recorded in holiday/leisure/recreation in 2006 has further accelerated in 2007 with a 28% increase being achieved (+108,000). Europe (+42%), GB (+34%), North America (+25%) and ROI (21%) all recorded significant growth in Holiday/Leisure/Recreation visitors.
- The number of business visitors declined by 4% on the previous year. An 11% decrease in Business visitors from GB was partially off set by growth in ROI, European and North American business visitors. The decline in GB business visitors is also reflected in the hotel occupancy survey where total GB arrivals declined by 5% in 2007 compared with the previous year.
- The growth in nights was driven primarily by nights spent in Northern Ireland by visitors from mainland Europe.
- The increase in spend can be attributed to increased revenue from ROI, European and North American visitors. By comparison revenue from GB fell by 9% primarily as a result of a decline in the number of business visitors and also their average spend per visit.
- For media enquiries contact DETI Press Office, Tel: 028 9052 9604. Outside of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager Number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
For further information contact: Tony Millar at NITB on 9044 1644 or email t.millar@nitb.com
Winners, Highly Commended and Commended, with corresponding sponsors, as below:
Bed & breakfast/guesthouse
(Sponsored by NITB)
Winner Newforge House, Magheralin
Highly Commended Cairn Bay Lodge, Bangor
Commended Rayanne House, Holywood
Travel feature writer
(Sponsored by Millward Brown Ulster)
Winner Joanna Braniff
Highly Commended Jim Gracey
Accomodation - self contained/non serviced
(Sponsored by NITB)
Winner McShane Glen Leisure Homes, Ballycastle
Highly Commended West Wing Crom Castle, Fermanagh
Highly Commended Ballylinney Cottages, Bushmills
Hospitality award
(Sponsored by Diageo)
Winner Copper Restaurant, Warrenpoint
Highly Commended Stonebridge, Richhill
Commended The Lime Tree Restaurant, Limavady
Toursim partnership initiative of the year
(Sponsored by Tourism Ireland)
Winner Belfast City Council’s Cultural Tourism Initiative
Marketing excellence
(Sponsored by Tourism Ireland)
Winner Belfast Zoological Gardens
Highly Commended Clearsky Adventure Centre, Downpatrick
Highly Commended Ballinderry Station House, Ballinderry
People development
(Sponsored by the Department of Employment and Learning and People 1st)
Winner Radisson SAS Hotel, Belfast
Highly Commended Hastings Hotel Group
Commended Holiday Inn, Belfast
Event
(Sponsored by bmi)
Winner North West 200
Highly Commended Garden Show Ireland 2007
Highly Commended IRB U19 Rugby World Championship 2007
Hotel
(Sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland)
Winner The Merchant, Belfast
Highly Commended Beech Hill Country House Hotel, Derry
Commended Londonderry Arms Hotel, Carnlough
Visitor attraction
(Sponsored by VisitBritain)
Winner Ulster American Folk Park, Tyrone
Highly Commended W5, Belfast
Tourism innovation
(Sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland)
Winner Bunk Campers
Highly Commended I Spy Northern Ireland
Tourist information centre
(Sponsored by NITB)
Winner Fermanagh District Council Tourist Information Centre
Highly Commended Belfast Welcome Centre
Highly Commended Newtownards Tourist Information Centre
Outstanding contribution to tourism
(Sponsored by bmi)
Awarded to Old Bushmills Distillery
