Cross-border tourism between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has tripled in a decade, a report has found.
International visits in the period 2013-2019 grew by 33% in Northern Ireland and 46% south of the border. The study found that all visitors to Northern Ireland are more likely to be visiting friends or relatives than on holiday or a business trip, and of that number almost half will stay with them – considerably reducing the earned income from accommodation.Visitors from Great Britain are crucial to both parts of the island, the study found, but the scale is different, making up two thirds of visitors to Northern Ireland compared with one third in Ireland.
South of the border, the scale of within-state tourism increased from 6.5 million to 11 million trips in the same period, probably reflecting the stronger economic performance. “This research has shown how the international and domestic visitor market has both grown and diversified with recent significant findings including the sharp and sustained increase in domestic cross-border visits to NI since the Covid-19 pandemic.