• Employment in tourism and related industries is now over 10% of total employment in the province. Many students enter the industry directly and the culture of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) is being embedded for staff at all levels from NVQ2 to post-graduate. No longer is tourism regarded as “just a holiday job.” Major employers such as Hastings Hotels encourage all staff to gain professional qualifications.
• Improvement in facilities. The new “Titanic Belfast” visitor centre cost £97 million and has targeted over 300,000 visitors each year. The new Giants Causeway Visitor centre cost £18 million and is capable of handling over one million visitors annually.
• Improvement in the general pride and sense of well-being of the people of Northern Ireland. For over 30 years, the people of Northern Ireland regarded tourists as a curious phenomenon. There was always the suspicion – often justified – that people came her for “dark tourism” i.e. to see the damage and destruction. Slowly, people are taking pride in the fact the Northern Ireland can offer the best – and not the worst – of the two traditions which comprise its people.
• Revenue: tourism represents one of the best hopes that Northern Ireland might reduce its dependence on the annual subsidy from HM Treasury (approx £10 billion annually). No-one really expects Northern Ireland to become one of the world’s “hot” destinations but the more Northern Ireland is exposed to outside visitors, the better the connections it can establish with future influential figures who might have visited the province as backpackers.
• A better co-operation with its neighbours in the Republic of Ireland. The establishment of Tourism Ireland and the marketing featuring the best of the north and the south further reinforces the understanding that Ireland is really just one product fighting for its share of a very competitive international market.
Detailed data relating to tourism trends in Northern Ireland can be found at:
http://www.nitb.com/ResearchIntelligence.aspx