Northern Ireland has lined up a series of events through its ni2012 campaign to enhance tourism into the country. Key projects include the Titanic Signature project and everything to do with the Centenary of the Titanic. The Giants Causeway and Visitor centre which is opening in the end of June. The Irish Open – Golf Champoinship. In addition several, cultural events such as the Cultural Olympiad and Peace One concert including the 50th anniversary of the Belfast University in Oct 2012.
Talking to Travel Daily Middle East, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “We have events spanning across the year and are being published to put Northern Ireland out there like it has never been promoted before especially for tourism.”
The strategy has worked well as Northern Irland has had many visitors especially due to the pr-bookings systems. The Titanic Signature project welcomed 50,000 people. “We are very excited about this new launch. We believe that the Belfast Titanic is a global brand primarily because of the movie. The project will bring visitors to Northern Ireland, who have not thought of exploring the destination,” she added.
Currently with 1.5 million overseas visitors into the country, plans are afoot to augment these figures. “We hope to double the number of visitors who come to Northern Ireland by 2020. We feel there are enough products for people to increase overnights and tourism spend in the country. We have invested around 300 million pounds in tourism infrastructure and it is money well-spent. The investment has begun to show dividends,” said Foster.
With key markets listed include Britain, Germany, France and America. The country is currently witnessing growth from markets such as the Middle East, Asia and India. “We will increase our brand awareness in these countries. We are talking a lot to tour operators to put Northern Ireland on their agenda such as adding the country as part of the London packages being sold for the Olympics,” confirmed Foster.
Ni2012 is the start of a strategic campaign to build the brand for Northern Ireland and get the awareness right across the world.