Key Figures
1. Main Points
Due to the complexity of tourism, no single statistic can provide a definitive measure on how the tourism industry is performing. This report presents an overall picture of Northern Ireland tourism in 2023.
The main points are:
In 2023, there were an estimated 5.4 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland, with associated expenditure of £1.2 billion. This includes overnight trips taken by external visitors to NI and domestic trips taken by local residents.
External visitors were estimated to take 3.3 million overnight trips to Northern Ireland in 2023. Expenditure associated with these trips was £0.9 billion.
In 2023, 2.1 million overnight trips were made by local residents (domestic trips). Domestic trips made up 40% of overnight trips, highlighting the importance of the domestic tourism market.
In 2023, the hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland was 64%.
The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2023 was 38%.
In 2023, there were 5,845 tourism businesses operating in Northern Ireland. Over three quarters (77%) of these were outside of Belfast City Council.
2. Overnight Trips
Headline overnight trip statistics are measured according to standard UN definitions. The UN use the concept of “overnighting”. This is broadly defined as staying away from your usual place of residence for one night or more. This does not need to be for a holiday, it can also relate to visiting friends or relatives, business, etc. As well as overnighting of visitors to Northern Ireland, the statistics also include overnights of local residents within Northern Ireland.
In 2023, there were an estimated 5.4 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland, which equates to 16.6 million nights with an associated expenditure of £1.2 billion. This includes both overnight trips by external visitors (3.3 million) to Northern Ireland and domestic trips (2.1 million) taken by local residents.
Survey respondents are asked the reason they stayed overnight in NI. Figure 1 shows the estimated trips split by reason for the overnight trip. The two main reasons to take an overnight trip are “for holiday/pleasure/leisure” (2.8 million) and “visiting friends and relatives” (2 million).
Figure 1: Estimated Overnight Trips by Reason for Trip, 2023
[1] Please note figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Origin of Visitors
In 2023, 2.1 million overnight trips were made by local residents (domestic trips). Domestic trips made up 40% of overnight trips, highlighting the importance of the domestic tourism market.
27% (1.4 million) were made by people living in Great Britain, 24% (1.3 million) were made by people from the Republic of Ireland.
The remaining 9% (506,000) were made by international visitors travelling from outside the UK and Ireland demonstrating the draw of Northern Ireland as an international destination.
Figure 2: Estimated overnight trips by place of origin, 2023
[1] Please note figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
Figure 3: Estimated Overnight Trips by place of origin, 2023
[1] Please note figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
4. Occupancy
Alongside passenger and household surveys, NISRA conducts a monthly occupancy survey of all hotels and a sample of commercial accommodation (e.g. guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation). Annually, a sample of self catering accommodation is surveyed on their occupancy throughout the year. In 2023, there were a total of 54,000 bed spaces available in NI with self catering contributing to almost half (48%) of these and 37% within hotels. One in twenty bedspaces (5%) were in a bed and breakfast establishment. In 2023, the hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland was 64%.
The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2023 was 38%.
The estimated annual self-catering unit occupancy in 2023 was 35%.
Figure 4: Estimated Occupancy Rates of Hotel rooms, Small Service accommodation rooms and Self Catering establishments, 2013-2023
5. Local Government District Tourism
Whilst tourism statistics systems are designed to collect information for Northern Ireland as a whole, the number of overnight trips, nights and expenditure are provided by location and this information has been used to disaggregate estimates by Local Government District.
The estimates show that Belfast LGD had the highest number of overnight trips of any Local Government District during 2023 (1.7 million or 31% of all NI overnight trips)
Figure 5: Estimated overnight trips, nights and spend by Reason for Visit and LGD
Overnight Trips 2023
Click on an LGD area within the map to see ‘Reason for Visit’ information.
Nights 2023
Click on an LGD area within the map to see ‘Reason for Visit’ information.
Spend 2023
Click on an LGD area within the map to see ‘Reason for Visit’ information.
6. Tourism Economic Statistics
In 2023, the Inter Departmental Business Register showed that there were 5,845 VAT and or PAYE tourism businesses operating in Northern Ireland. Over three quarters (77%) of these were outside of Belfast City Council.
In 2022, the Business Register and Employment Survey showed that there were 70,384 tourism jobs throughout NI. Almost three quarters (70%) of these were outside of Belfast City Council.
See data at Annual tourism statistics
7. Official Statistics
These official statistics are produced in compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the Office for Statistics Regulation website.
8. Contact Details
Published by: Tourism Statistics, NISRA
Lead Statistician: Joanne Henderson
Telephone: 028 90 255163
Accessibility contact
Please contact Dissemination Branch for assistance with accessibility requirements or alternative formats. Contact details are:
Email: info@nisra.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)300 200 7836
Dissemination Branch
NISRA
Colby House
Stranmillis Court
BELFAST
BT9 5RR