Minister Murphy says positive tourism figures set foundation for future growth

Economy Minister Conor Murphy has welcomed the latest tourism statistics for 2023, which show £1.2billion of tourism expenditure.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy pictured at the Giant's Causeway

Tourism statistics released by NISRA today show that tourism here is in a positive position following challenges created by the COVID pandemic, with an estimated 5.4million overnight trips, 69% of these taken outside the Belfast City Council area.

The Minister said:

“Tourism is one of our key successes and a regional economic driver across the north. These figures go to show that the sector is thriving. The statistics come on the back of what I know was a difficult period across the industry, but there are real signs of optimism across the sector as we emerge stronger. While today’s figures cannot be directly compared to previous statistics, undoubtedly £1.2billion of tourism expenditure is a significant economic boost. I am determined to continue to work with the industry to enable it to grow even further in a way that aligns with my economic vision of a productive, regionally balanced, net zero economy with good jobs.”

The latest statistics show that last year visitors made 5.4million overnight trips with 3.3million of these coming from external visitors, making tourism worth £0.9billion as an export business.

The NISRA figures also indicate that the benefits of tourism are felt across the north with over three quarters of our tourism businesses operating outside the Belfast City Council area.

The Minister continued:

“Since taking up post, I have met with a number of tourism organisations and businesses and have heard first-hand the opportunities and challenges facing the industry. I have been hugely impressed with the industry’s optimism, energy, and ambition.

“I have set out my plans to support the industry’s continued growth and will shortly attend the first meeting of the Tourism Partnership Board (TPB) I have established to co-design and co-deliver an Action Plan which will set out a pathway to even greater success for local tourism.

“We have much to look forward to this year and beyond. The Irish Open will return to the north next month at Newcastle, and in 2025 we will host The Open in Portrush. Our tourism offering goes from strength to strength with many new hotels, attractions and experiences in the pipeline which has been boosted by the City Deal tourism projects.

“The outlook for local tourism is very positive, and we must maintain the momentum which has been created over the last few years to continue to build a tourism sector which can bring tangible economic benefits across all of the north.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The statistical press release and the associated report and tables are available on the DfE website. 
2. The Tourism Partnership Board will be chaired by Mr Stephen McNally, CEO of SERLS International Ltd, and is made up of representatives from tourism and hospitality sectors, Executive departments, tourism agencies and local government. Its core purpose is to support the development and refinement of a Tourism Action Plan that will provide a clear direction for the tourism sector and create a framework for maximising tourism’s contribution to the Department’s economic vision.
3. The Department may take photographs and videos at announcements and events to publicise its work. Photographs, interviews, videos or other recordings may be issued to media organisations for publicity purposes or used in promotional material, including in publications, newspapers, magazines, other print media, on television, radio and electronic media (including social media and the internet). Photographs and videos will also be stored on the Department’s internal records management system. The Department will keep the photographs and recordings for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which they have been obtained. The Department’s Privacy Policy is available on our website.
4. To keep up to date with news from the Department for the Economy you can follow us on the following social media channels:
   • X – @Economy_NI
   • Facebook – @DeptEconomyNI
   • Instagram – economy_ni
   • LinkedIn – Department for the Economy NI 
5. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk  
6. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

Share this page