Key Figures
1. Main Points
This report presents an overall picture of Northern Ireland tourism in 2024 and includes some comparisons with 2023 where appropriate.
Due to the complexity of tourism, no single statistic can provide a definitive measure on how the tourism industry is performing. This compendium of tourism statistics provides an overall picture and is comprised of data derived from a number of statistical sources which are detailed in the Background Quality Report.
Main Points:
In 2024, there were an estimated 4.7 million overnight trips (4.692 million) in Northern Ireland, with associated expenditure of £1.1 billion. This includes overnight trips taken by external visitors to NI and domestic trips taken by local residents.
The 4.7 million overnight trips in 2024 were made by 1.6 million NI local residents (33%), 1.4 million from Great Britain (30%), 1.1 million from Republic of Ireland (24%) and 0.6 million from outside United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI) (12%).
Compared to the previous year, the 2024 annual tourism figures indicate a statistically significant change in both the overall number of overnight trips to Northern Ireland and the expenditure associated with these overnight trips (down 13% and 10% respectively).
In contrast, overnight trips to NI from outside UK and ROI increased by 12%.
Despite the increase in overnight trips by external visitors (from outside UK and ROI), the decline in overnight trips by visitors from ROI and the NI domestic market has resulted in an overall decrease in overnight trips and expenditure in 2024.
When considering the reason for visit for all overnight trips, there was a 16% decrease in those citing visiting friends and relatives. This decrease was experienced by all markets (with the exception of GB which remained stable) (NI down 42%, ROI down 10%, Outside UK and ROI down 12%). In contrast, visitors from outside UK and ROI reported an increase of 25% in overnight trips to NI for holiday purposes. Given the fall in overnight trips to visit friends and relatives some tourism industry providers may not have experienced the impact of the overall decline in overnight trips.
There were an estimated 10.0 million same day visits within NI during 2024, the majority (80%) of which were taken by NI residents. A further 16% were taken by ROI residents crossing the border. The expenditure associated with these same day visits amounted to £703 million.
In 2024, there were 568,000 overnight visitors from outside UK and ROI to NI. Some 41% of these departed through NI air and sea ports, with the remaining 59% through ROI air and sea ports. This showed an increase in the numbers who departed through ROI air and sea ports from 2023. A further 210,000 visitors from outside UK and ROI took a same day visit in NI in 2024. The majority (96%) of these departed through a port in ROI. As of April 2025, all of these visitors will require an Electronic Travel Authorisation card (ETA).
The hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland during 2024 was 68% - in 2023 this was 64%. The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2024 was 40% - similar to 2023 (38%).
In 2024, there were 5,865 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 2024, there were an estimated 4.7 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland, which equates to 14.9 million nights with an associated expenditure of £1.1 billion. This includes both overnight trips by external visitors (3.1 million) to Northern Ireland and domestic trips (1.6 million) taken by local residents.
The number of overnight trips taken in Northern Ireland has fallen by
around 13% (or 707,000) from 5.4 million in 2023 to 4.7 million in 2024.
Reason for Visit
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” (51%) and “visiting friends and relatives” (37%).
Figure 1: Estimated Overnight Trips by Reason for Trip, 2024
[1] Please note figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
Focus on: Reason for Visit
When you look closely at the reason for visits to NI, overall those taking an overnight trip to visit friends/relatives fell (down 16%). The decline in overnight trips to visit friends and relatives fell for all markets with the exception of GB which remained stable (down 12% for those outside UK and Ireland, down 10% for ROI and down 42% for NI domestic market). However, holiday makers from GB remained static and for visitors from outside UK and Ireland this market grew by 25%.
3. Origin of Visitors
In 2024, 1.6 million overnight trips were made by local residents (domestic trips). Domestic trips made up 33% of overnight trips, highlighting the importance of the domestic tourism market.
30% (1.4 million) were made by people living in Great Britain, 24% (1.1 million) were made by people from the Republic of Ireland.
The remaining 12% (568,000) 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, 2024
[1] Please note figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
The number of overnight trips taken in Northern Ireland has fallen by
around 13% (or 707,000) from 5.4 million in 2023 to 4.7 million in 2024.
This represents a statistically significant change for overall overnight
trips. The charts below show how each market area contributed to the
overall change in overnight visits (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
Figure 3: Estimated Overnight Trips by place of origin
Figure 4: Estimated Overnight Trips by grouped place of origin (Non NI resident and NI resident)
The overall change in overnight trips from 2023 to 2024 was
statistically significant (Figure 4) largely driven by a fall in the NI
domestic market. In 2024 1.6 million overnight trips were made by local
residents (domestic trips). This also represents a statistically
significant change of 27% down from 2023.
A shift of preferences to external outbound travel may be influencing this trend. In 2024, the number of trips NI residents took outside of UK and Ireland increased by 23%. This warrants further monitoring to assess whether this trend is a temporary fluctuation or part of a broader shift in visitor preferences away from domestic tourism to taking external tourism trips.
External visitors from outside NI were estimated to take 3.1 million overnight trips to Northern Ireland in 2024. Expenditure associated with these trips was £0.9 billion. The 2024 figures therefore represent a decline of 4% on external visitor trips and 7% decline on spend.
While the overall decline of 4% in overnight trips from the external visitor market suggests a general downturn in external visitors, this somewhat masks important differences between external markets.
To illustrate, in 2024, there has been a decline of visits from 2023 for ROI (down 14%) while GB visitors remained stable.
However, visitors travelling to NI from outside of UK and ROI increased by 12% from 2023. This growth of external visitors was insufficient to offset an overall decline in NI tourism figures due to the decrease in trips by visitors from ROI and the domestic market. (For more detailed commentary see Chapter 7 below).
4. Day Trips
In 2024, there were an estimated 10 million same day visits within NI. As expected, the majority (80%) of these were taken by NI residents, with a further 16% taken by ROI residents crossing the border. During these same day visits, an estimated £703 million was spent in NI. An average £70.50 was spent during a same day visit in NI.
Figure 5: Same day Visits to Northern Ireland, 2024
5. 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 2024, 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 2024, the hotel room occupancy in Northern Ireland was 68% - this was 64% in 2023.
The estimated room occupancy for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation for 2024 was 40% - this was 38% in 2023.
The estimated annual self-catering unit occupancy in 2024 was 39% - this was 35% in 2023.
Figure 6: Estimated Occupancy Rates of Hotel rooms, Small Service accommodation rooms and Self Catering establishments, 2014-2024
6. 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 2024 (1.5 million or 31% of all NI overnight trips)
Figure 7 : Estimated overnight trips, nights and spend by Reason for Visit and LGD
Overnight Trips 2024
Click on an LGD area within the map to see ‘Reason for Visit’ information.
Nights 2024
Click on an LGD area within the map to see ‘Reason for Visit’ information.
Spend 2024
Click on an LGD area within the map to see ‘Reason for Visit’ information.
7. Additional Commentary
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
In 2023, the UK Government introduced a new permission to travel scheme – the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Scheme under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. It is a requirement for non-visa visitors to the UK. It costs £16 and is valid for 2 years covering multiple entries to the UK.
UK and Irish citizens and permanent Irish residents do not require an ETA. The ETA scheme was initially piloted for some Gulf States from 2023. On 10 September 2024, the UK Government announced further rollout dates for the ETA scheme with visitors from the Rest of the World (except Europe) requiring an ETA to travel from 8 January 2025 and visitors from Europe requiring an ETA to travel from 2 April 2025.
For visitors coming to NI, the requirement to obtain and hold an ETA will apply whether they arrive direct at a UK air or sea port or via the land border with the south.
NISRA Tourism Statistics do not measure the direct impact of the ETA on visitors but do measure the number of visitors eligible to have an ETA and their port of departure from the island of Ireland. The surveys that inform NISRA tourism statistics are designed to collect information on visits to Northern Ireland at the point of departure. While this does not capture arrivals directly, it is likely that most visitors arrive and depart at the same port (including both air and sea ports).
In 2024 there were 568,000 overnight visitors from outside UK and ROI to NI; 41% of these departed through NI ports, with the remaining 59% through ROI ports. This showed an increase in the numbers who departed through ROI ports from 2023 who may consider taking part of their trip to NI.
During the same time, of the 210,000 same day visitors from outside
UK and ROI to NI, 4% of these visitors exited through NI ports, with the
remaining 96% through ROI ports. This showed an increase in the numbers
who departed through ROI ports from 2023.
Regional Comparisons
As noted in Chapter 3 (above), the decline in overnight trips to NI in 2024 was driven largely by a change in the domestic market which experienced a fall of 27% from 2023 figures. Overnight trips by external visitors from ROI fell by by 14% from 2023 and GB remained stable, without growth. Despite this, external visitors to NI from outside of UK or ROI increased by 12% in 2024.
In the same period, outward tourism by NI residents has increased by 23% (number of trips) and 15% (number of nights).
A fall in domestic trips was also recorded in GB (down 10% from 2023 to 2024). (Source: GBTS)
Similarly, a modest downturn in domestic tourism was observed in Europe, where, despite international guests driving growth (+67.2 million), the nights spent by domestic guests recorded a decrease (-1.8 million). (Source:Eurostat)
Conversely, CSO reports that in 2024, Irish residents spent a total of 36.7 million nights on domestic trips in 2024, reporting a 8% increase compared with 2023.
Despite this, ROI trends in external outbound travel mirrored that observed in Northern Ireland, with ROI residents taking a total of 13.7 million overnight trips outside of ROI leading to a 9% rise from 2023. (Source: CSO). However, Northern Ireland, the closest region outside of the Republic of Ireland, was not a beneficiary of this growth with overnight visits to NI from Irish residents decreasing by 14% from 2023 to 2024.
At the time of publication, ONS had not yet released the full 2024
annual however provisional data from Q1 and Q2 also indicate a continued
recovery in international travel following disruptions caused by the
Covid 19 pandemic, (Source:ONS).
However Visit Britain have published the full year domestic travel which
has been reported GB domestic travel has experienced a downturn. (Source:
GBTS)
Focus On: NI Residents Tourism
Looking at NI residents in particular, there has been a fall in overnight trips taken within NI (27%) and it’s neighbouring destinations (a decrease of 11% to ROI and 23% to GB). However, NI residents have been taking more overnight trips outside of UK and Ireland (an increase of 23%) when comparing 2023 and 2024.
This is further supported by the reasons for NI households not taking an overnight trip within NI. The main reason for not taking the overnight trip with NI was cited to be ‘lack of free time due to family commitments’ (18%). Combining categories for those stating they ‘prefer to take a trip elsewhere/ recently returned/ have planned another trip’ accounted for 22%. Users should note the reference period for this CHS data is (April 2024 - March 2025).
While there were falls in those taking overnight trips within NI, when you look at the spend per overnight trip (£73.2) this was similar to the previous year (£73.4). When considering the spend per overnight trip and the number of nights per trip these were both up over the year. This suggests that visitors are spending longer during their overnight trips to NI, which is a more sustainable approach.
Taken together, these data warrant continued monitoring to determine whether these trends reflect a broader long term shift in visitor preferences from taking overnight trips within the domestic market to international travel to more distant destinations.
8. Tourism Economic Statistics
In 2024, the Inter Departmental Business Register showed that there were 5,865 VAT and or PAYE tourism businesses operating in Northern Ireland. Over three quarters (77%) of these were outside of Belfast City Council.
In the most recent data published (2022), the Business Register and Employment Survey showed that there were 70,383 tourism jobs throughout NI. Of these, 70% were outside of Belfast City Council.The gross weekly median pay for all jobs in NI in 2024 was £560.5, however for tourism related industries, this was £302.3.
Work quality statistics for tourism related industries from the Labour Force Survey and earnings data from Annual Survey Hours and Earnings provide key indicators on employment and earnings trends. These showed that in 2024, employees in tourism related industries reported lower proportions in earning above the Real Living Wage (Tourism 53%, NI 80%), Job Satisfaction (Tourism 74%, NI 82%), meaningful work (Tourism 82%, NI 86%), involvement in decision making (Tourism 47%, NI 55%), opportunities for career progression (38% tourism, 56% NI), line manager support (73% tourism, 79% NI), neither over or under skilled (Tourism 42%, NI 52%). The only indicator that those in tourism related industries reported a higher proportion in comparison to the NI equivalent was in flexible work (Tourism 62%, NI 56%).
A similar proportion of those in tourism related industries to NI reported they were in secure employment (95% tourism, 96% NI), were neither over or under employed (88% tourism, 90% NI), reported never having been bullied or harassed in work (87% tourism, 87% NI).
The Labour Force Survey also provides Section 75 breakdowns which help to show that those in tourism related industries are a younger age profile.
See data at Annual tourism statistics
9. 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.
10. 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
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