Belfast is overrun with tourists … ish!

Good news … A massive 6.4 million people visited the city of Belfast during 2005. (That includes people living outside Belfast but in Northern Ireland coming up for a day’s shopping.) And of those, 1.2 million visitors came from outside NI, while 1.17 million stayed over for at least one night. Those figures are up between 8-10% on 2004.

Bad news … Pity that the Belfast Visitor Centre faces a 85% reduction in budget this year (down from £1 million of EU peace money to about £150,000).

The 2006 visitor’s figures should be strong too – particularly given the boost that the 4000 competitors in this week’s World Irish Dancing Championships being held in Belfast Waterfront Hall will bring, along with and their mothers. The Belfast Hilton will be celebrating too - it looks packed to the gills.