Organisation: Titanic Belfast

Tourism is a crucially important sector for the economies of both Northern Ireland and Ireland and is one of the island’s most successful services sectors. While promoted and marketed at an all-island level, the benefits flow to local communities, businesses and service providers.

This world leading tourist attraction is located on the spot where the famous ship was designed, built and launched. It opened with the aim of establishing itself as the home of RMS Titanic, celebrating the city’s maritime heritage and industrial past.

Since launching in 2012, Titanic Belfast has continued to go from strength to strength. It has contributed £430 million additional visitor spend to the Northern Ireland economy and inspired £60 million of wider heritage preservation across Titanic Quarter. It has firmly established itself on the local, national and international stage, having welcomed more than 7 million visitors from over 145 different countries and was previously voted the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction at the prestigious World Travel Awards.

With a domestic population of 1.9mn, this ‘world-leading attraction’ is reliant on tapping into a much larger island and global markets. It depends heavily on attracting tourists from Ireland, with 1 in every 4 visitors coming to the venue from there. Needless to say, it is easier to attract coach trips from Dublin rather than those in Scotland or England. Proximity also allows Titanic Belfast to tap into the lucrative ‘day-tripper’ market.25

Dublin Airport is only 90 mins distance from Titanic Belfast. Throughput in Dublin Airport amounted to 32.9M Passengers in 201926 connecting to 180 destinations via 43 airlines. Given the size of this huge cohort of passengers, it makes sense for Titanic Belfast to target visitors (both Irish and international) that come via Ireland.

Titanic Belfast houses the city’s premier event suites, which have hosted over 3,000 business and leisure events. The attraction is also regarded as an important catalyst for investment in local tourism and has contributed to the demand for new hotels to be built in Belfast City Centre.

Titanic Belfast is committed to being a key driver for tourism in Northern Ireland and is currently working on a £4.5 million refreshment programme launching in Spring 2023.