Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview

January – June 2014

Overview Northern Ireland Tourism Performance (Jan-June 2014 v Jan-June 2013) All markets combined Tourism is continuing to grow with NI welcoming 2 million visitors (+5%) from all markets combined during Jan-June 2014. Domestic trips demonstrated strong growth (+9%) and GB and other overseas trips also increased(+5%). The increase in trips was driven by a 30% rise in holiday trips. Growth in revenue in the first half of 2014 was double that seen for trips(+10%). The NI and ROI markets accounted for almost two thirds (+£21m) of the £33m increase in spend.

NI market Strong growth was evident for the domestic market for the first half of 2014 with trips increasing by 9% (+87,000), NI residents spending an additional 400,000 nights on domestic trips and associated spend growing by £12m (+14%). The 30% increase in overall holiday trips to NI was largely driven by significant growth of over one third (+179,000) in domestic holiday trips .

ROI market There was a 17% fall in the number of trips taken by ROI residents in NI in the first half of the year. The decline was largely due to those visiting friends/relatives – holiday trips were up 22%. While we welcomed fewer ROI visitors they stayed longer and spent more on average compared with Jan-June 2013 (spend was up 39% or £9m).

GB/Overseas Market GB and overseas visitors took 5% (+42,000) more trips in NI during Jan-June 2014 due to increases in both GB trips and other overseas trips. The growth in trips can be attributed mostly to increases in holiday trips (+19%). GB and overseas visitors spent 400,000 more nights in NI in the first half of 2014 (+10%) and associated spend during this period increased by £12 million (+6%). Sources: Northern Ireland Passenger Survey (NISRA), Survey of Overseas Travellers (Fáilte Ireland) Country of Residence Survey (CSO) & Continuous Household Survey (NISRA)

Total trips

9% (1,075,000)

Total nights

20% (2,393,00)

Total spend

14% (£102m)

Total trips

17% (162,000 trips)

Total nights

1% (463,000 nights)

Total spend

39% (£32m)

Total trips

5% (811,000 trips)

GB trips

3% (573,000 trips)

Other overseas trips

11% (238,000 trips)

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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1) All Markets Combined (GB, Other Overseas, ROI & NI) Figures may not add up to totals throughout due to rounding. Percentage and percentage point changes throughout are based on unrounded figures.

•

GB refers to Great Britain, ROI refers to Republic of Ireland and NI refers to Northern Ireland. NISRA refers to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the CSO refers to the Central Statistics Office.

• •

Jan-June 2013

Jan-June 2014

% Change •

Total trips (000)

1,953

2,048

+5%

Total nights(000)

6,310

7,098

+12%

Total spend (£m)

315

348

+10%

•

Trips by market (000) GB

556

573

+3%

Other overseas

214

238

+11%

Total GB/Overseas

769

811

+5%

ROI

196

162

-17%

Total visitors from outside NI

965

973

+1%

NI

988

1,075

+9%

1,953

2,048

+5%

Holiday

756

983

+30%

Visiting friends/relatives (VFR)

842

757

-10%

Business

241

186

-23%

Other

114

122

+8%

Total

•

*Trips by reason for visit should be treated with caution due to small sample sizes

The growth in overall trips taken in NI in the first half of 2014 was driven mainly by holiday trips which increased by almost one third (+227,000), largely due to strong growth ( +35%; +179,000) in domestic holidays Increases were also evident for GB and overseas holiday trips (+19%; +37,000) as well as those from ROI (+22%; +10,000) Fewer trips were taken to visit friends/relatives and for business purposes compared with Jan-June 2013

•

Nights spent in NI increased by 788,000 on Jan-June 2013 (+12%) and spend grew in line with this (+10%; +£33m). The NI and ROI markets accounted for almost two thirds (+£21m) of the increased spend. People stayed longer and spent more (on average), possibly reflecting the significant investment in tourism infrastructure in NI, giving visitors more to see and do and opportunities to spend

•

Corroborating the growth in overnight trips taken in NI, accommodation statistics for the first half of 2014 show increases in hotel room and bed-spaces sold. Findings from NITB’s June 2014 Tourism Industry Barometer also show that the first six months of 2014 were strong for hotels as well as attractions, while B&Bs found this period more challenging The latest accommodation figures (Jan-Aug 2014) remain positive, following a busy Easter and likely helped by a successful Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza and Game of Thrones Exhibition Findings from NITB’s September 2014 Industry Tourism Barometer indicate a strong performance over the summer. Looking ahead the results suggest optimism was running high for the period Oct-Dec 2014 amongst hotels and attractions with other sectors expecting similar levels of business to that experienced in the last quarter of 2013

Trips by reason for visit (000)*

Sources: Northern Ireland Passenger Survey (NISRA), Survey of Overseas Travellers (Fáilte Ireland) Country of Residence Survey (CSO) & Continuous Household Survey (NISRA)

2 million overnight trips were taken in NI during Jan-June 2014, up 5% (+96,000) on the same period in 2013, driven largely by strong growth in the domestic market (+9%; +87,000) GB and overseas visitors also increased (+5%; +42,000) ROI trips were down 17% (-34,000) on Jan-June 2013, solely due to declines from this market during Jan-March 2014. The fall in ROI trips in Q1 likely reflects the impact of what was a difficult final quarter to 2013 from a security perspective

• •

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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2) Domestic Overnight Trips (NI to NI) •

Following little change in domestic overnight trips during 2013, strong growth was evident for the first half of 2014 with trips increasing by 9% (+87,000) compared with Jan-June 2013

•

The increase in trips was driven by significant growth of over one third (+197,000) in domestic holiday trips

+14%

•

NI residents took fewer overnight domestic trips to visit friends/relatives and for business purposes compared with the first half of 2013

695

+35%

•

324

279

-14%

Business

75

26

-66%

Other

72

75

+4%

During Jan-June 2014 NI residents stayed longer on domestic overnight trips and spent more (on average) compared with Jan-June 2013 (average stay of an NI resident was 2 nights for Jan-June 2014 v 2.2 for the same period in 2013 AND average spend per trip increased from £91 for Jan-June 2013 to £95 for Jan-June 2014)

•

NI residents spent almost 400,000 or one fifth more nights on domestic trips compared with the first half of the year

•

Domestic spend also increased by £12m (+14%) during the same period

Jan-June 2013

Jan-June 2014

% Change

988

1,075

+9%

Total nights(000)

2,000

2,393

+20%

Total spend (£m)

90

102

Holiday

516

Visiting friends/relatives (VFR)

Total trips (000)

Trips by reason for visit (000)*

Source: Continuous Household Survey (NISRA) *Trips by reason for visit should be treated with caution due to small sample sizes

Competitor Performance • • • •

The ROI, like NI, experienced increases in total domestic trips (and domestic holiday trips) in the first six months of 2014, each realising growth of 7% GB domestic tourism performance was less positive, with total domestic trips and holiday trips seeing falls of 5% and 1.5% respectively compared with Jan-June 2013 GB experienced declines in nights and spend in line with their fall in domestic trips (-5% and -4% respectively) ROI increases in nights (+8%) and spend (+6%) were not as strong as those seen in NI Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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•

3) ROI Residents’ Overnight Trips to NI

• Jan-June 2013

Jan-June 2014

% Change

Total trips (000)

196

162

-17%

Total nights(000)

468

463

-1%

Total spend (£m)

23

32

+39%

Holiday

47

57

+22%

Visiting friends/relatives (VFR)

111

68

-39%

Business

18

11

-37%

Other

20

26

+30%

Trips by reason for visit (000)*

•

• •

• • •

Source : Country Residence Survey (CSO) *Trips by reason for visit should be treated with caution due to small sample sizes

Competitor Performance • •

•

ROI residents took 3% fewer outbound trips during Jan-June 2014, while domestic trips increased during this period Trips to Europe were also down 3% compared with Jan-June 2013, although ROI trips to GB remained unchanged. This suggests that the strong pound is not in itself deterring ROI residents taking trips in sterling zone destinations and additional barriers, other than exchange rates, are impacting on ROI residents’ decisions to visit NI or go elsewhere NI managed to attract over one fifth more ROI holiday visitors during the first half of the year, while there was a 6% fall in ROI outbound holidays during the same period

•

•

In the first half of 2014 ROI overnight trips to NI fell by 17% (-34,000) compared with Jan-June 2013 There was strong growth in trips during April-June 2014 (+14%) but it was not enough to wipe out the large declines (-43%) evident for Q1 2014 The decline in Q1 visitor figures likely reflects the impact of what was a difficult final quarter to 2013 from a security perspective. This includes the publicity around incidents in Victoria Square and the Cathedral Quarter Looking at performance by sector, the decline in trips is primarily due to a fall in those visiting friends/relatives (-44,000, -39%), perhaps choosing to invite them to go South instead It is encouraging that holiday trips increased by over one fifth (+10,000) for the first half of the year (due to strong growth in Q2) ROI residents stayed 463,000 nights in NI during Jan-June 2014 which represents little change (-1%, -5,000 ) on the first half of 2013 ROI residents spent £32m in NI, +39% or an additional £9m on JanJune 2013 figures While we welcomed fewer ROI visitors during the first half of 2014 they stayed longer and spent more on average compared with JanJune 2013 (average stay of an ROI visitor was 2.9 nights for Jan-June 2014 v 2.4 for the same period in 2013 AND average spend per night increased from £49 for Jan-June 2013 to £68 for Jan-June 2014) Despite a fall in ROI trips indications are that there was an increase in the use of commercial accommodation by this market. The declines in ROI trips were largely due to a fall in VFR trips which would not be reflected in commercial accommodation statistics as these visitors are less likely than others to stay in this type of accommodation, often preferring to stay in friends/relatives’ houses It is worth noting that overall trends are still positive for the ROI market and whilst we are currently experiencing a decline in trips, we are still ahead of the current Programme for Government targets

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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4) GB & Overseas Visitors to NI

Jan-June 2013

Jan-June 2014

% Change

Total GB/other overseas (000)

769

811

+5%

GB trips (000)

556

573

+3%

Other overseas trips (000)

214

238

+11%

GB/overseas nights (000)

3,841

4,241

+10%

202

214

+6%

GB/overseas spend (£m)

GB/Other Overseas Trips by Reason for Trip (000)*

GB and overseas visitors took 5% (+42,000) more trips in NI during Jan-June 2014 compared with the same period in 2013, due to increases in both GB trips (+18,000;+3%) and other overseas trips (+24,000; +11%)

•

In terms of sectoral performance the GB and overseas growth can be attributed mostly to increases in holiday trips (+19%; +37,000) GB holiday trips increases by almost one third (+27,000) while other overseas holiday trips were 10% up (+10,000) on Jan-June 2013 (see table overleaf) GB and overseas VFR and business trips showed minimal growth during the same period Increases in other overseas VFR trips were largely wiped out by a fall in GB residents visiting friends/relatives in NI GB business trips remained unchanged from Jan-June 2013 while there was a 4% increase in other overseas business trips

• • •

Holiday

193

230

+19%

Visiting friends/relatives

407

410

+1%

Business

148

150

+1%

21

21

-2%

Other

•

Sources: Northern Ireland Passenger Survey (NISRA), Survey of Overseas Travellers (Fáilte Ireland) Country of Residence Survey (CSO)

• • •

GB and overseas visitors spent 400,000 more nights in NI in the first half of 2014 (+10%) and associated spend during this period increased by £12 million (+6%) While GB and overseas visitors stayed longer (on average) their average spend per trip remained largely unchanged

*Trips by reason for visit should be treated with caution due to small sample sizes

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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4) GB & Overseas Visitors to NI

Jan-June 2013

Jan-June 2014

% Change

88

115

+31%

Visiting friends/relatives

338

330

-2%

Business

116

116

No change

14

12

-15%

105

115

+10%

Visiting friends/relatives

69

80

+16%

Business

32

34

+4%

7

9

+23%

GB Trips by Reason for Trip (000)* Holiday

Other

Other Overseas Trips by Reason for Trip (000)* Holiday

Other

Competitor Performance† • In terms of overseas trips both the ROI and UK experienced a stronger first half of 2014 than seen in NI (+10% for GB and overseas trips to ROI, +5% for NI and +8% for overseas trips to the UK) • ROI saw a 14% increase in visitors from GB compared with the 3% evident for NI (in 2013 NI experienced stronger GB growth than ROI) however growth for other overseas visitors was stronger for NI (+11% v +8% for ROI) • The 19% growth in holiday trips to NI is more than double that seen for ROI and higher than the 12% experienced in the UK • GB and overseas spend in ROI was up 9% for Jan-June 2014 while there was no change in overseas spend in the UK during the same period • Jan-Sep 2014 ROI figures and Jan-Aug UK figures both show a minimal decline on (GB) and overseas trips compared with the first half of the year

Sources: Northern Ireland Passenger Survey (NISRA), Survey of Overseas Travellers (Fáilte Ireland) Country of Residence Survey (CSO) †ROI overseas visitors include both same day and staying visitors and do not

*Trips by reason for visit should be treated with caution due to small sample sizes

include

any estimates for those who travel via NI

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-December 2013)

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5) Hotel Performance

Room Occupancy Jan-June 2014

•

Bed-space Occupancy Jan-June 2014

+3pps on Jan-June 2014

62%

42%

+1pp on Jan-June 2012

•

•

The Jan-June 2014 figures for hotels are looking positive with an increase in both room and bedspace occupancy and growth in rooms and bedspaces sold During Jan-June 2014 hotel room occupancy increased by 3 percentage points while there was a nominal increase in bed-space occupancy compared with Jan-June 2013 Hotel capacity increased during this period. At the end of June 2014 there were 137 hotels operating with 7,863 bedrooms and 17,601 bed-spaces, an increase of 2% on both rooms and bed-spaces available compared with the end of June 2013

pps = percentage points

•

Rooms Sold

Bedspaces Sold

Up 6% on JanJune 2013

893,000

1,373,000

Up 5% on JanJune 2013

•

The number of rooms sold during Jan-June 2014 increased by 6% to 893,000 and represents the highest recorded for the period Jan-June since records began (previous highest was Jan-June 2012). There were an additional 53,300 rooms sold compared with Jan-June 2013 Bed-spaces sold during Jan-June 2014 recorded an increase of 5% to 1,373,000 and also represents the highest recorded for the period Jan-June since records began (previous highest was JanJune 2013). There were an additional 62,000 bedspaces sold compared with Jan-June 2013

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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6) Guest House, Guest Accommodation and B&B Performance

Bed-space Occupancy Jan-June 2013

Room Occupancy Jan-June 2014

-4pps on Jan-June 2013

24%

15%

-5pps on Jan-June 2013

• During Jan-June 2014 room and bed-space occupancy for guesthouses, guest accommodation and B&Bs experienced declines compared with Jan-June 2013 • At the end of June 2014 there was no change on either rooms or bed-spaces available compared with the end of June 2013

pps = percentage points

Rooms Sold

Bedspaces Sold

Down 11% on Jan-June 2013

138,500

205,600

Down 17% on Jan-June 2013

• Rooms sold in guesthouses, guest accommodation and B&Bs decreased by 11% during Jan-June 2014 compared with the same period in 2013, while bed-spaces sold declined by 17%. There were slightly less visitors during this period and they stayed fewer nights

Northern Ireland Tourism Performance Overview (January-June 2014)

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Contact: Research Department Northern Ireland Tourist Board St. Anne’s Court 59 North Street Belfast BT1 1NB Tel: 028 9044 1538 Email: [email protected]