Drop recorded in overnight trips to Northern Ireland and expenditure

A fall in the number of overnight trips to Northern Ireland and associated spend has been recorded.

New figures show that in 2024, there were 4.7 million overnight trips to the region, with an associated £1.1 billion expenditure, a drop of 13% and 10% respectively from 2023.

By contrast, overnight trips from outside the UK and Republic of Ireland increased by 12%.

Some 4.7 million trips were made by 1.6 million Northern Ireland residents (33%), 1.4 million from Great Britain (30%), 1.1 million from the Republic of Ireland (24%) and 0.6 million from outside the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) (12%).

Meanwhile, there were an estimated 10 million day visits within Northern Ireland during 2024, the majority (80%) of which were taken by local residents, and a further 16% were taken by Republic of Ireland residents.

The expenditure associated with these same-day visits amounted to £703 million.

In terms of overnight visitors from outside the UK and Republic of Ireland, some 41% departed through Northern Ireland’s air and sea ports, with the remaining 59% going through Irish air and sea ports.

A further 210,000 visitors from outside the UK and Republic of Ireland took a same-day visit in Northern Ireland in 2024. The majority (96%) departed through a port in Ireland.

Hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland during 2024 rose to 68% from 64%.

The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed and breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2024 was 40%, similar to 2023 (38%).

The Annual Tourism Statistics for Northern Ireland for 2024 were published on Thursday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).