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‘With a soaring number of holidaymakers choosing to staycation in Northern Ireland it’s positive news for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation who were sitting with a room occupancy of just 38% for 2023’
Tourism figures have highlighted a surge in ferry passengers travelling from GB to Northern Ireland – outperforming the Central and Southern corridors in the Republic of Ireland.
The Northern Corridor to NI shows a figure of 363,000 passengers for the quarter, January to March 2024, while the Central Corridor to Dublin and Dun Laoghaire shows a figure of 269,000 – 26% less. The Southern Corridor for Rosslare shows a figure of just 50,000 for the same period.*
According to annual statistics, seafaring tourists travelling to Northern Ireland from GB are at a 10 year high – from 2,086,000 in 2013 to 2,129,000 in 2023, fully recovered from a two year covid dip throughout 2020-21.
This surge is likely to continue, given upcoming regulation changes. The EU is planning to introduce the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated IT system for registering travellers from non-EU countries, including the UK, each time a traveller crosses a border into or out of the EU – potentially making travel within the UK, more attractive.
Travellers will need to scan their passports at an automated self-service kiosk prior to crossing the border. Due to these estimated delays and additional paperwork, sea travel within the UK will likely remain a popular choice for holidays, and Northern Ireland a desirable spot for staycations.
External visitors were estimated to take 3.3 million overnight trips to Northern Ireland in 2023, with an estimated expenditure of £0.9 billion.
Ian Wilson, managing director and travel insurance expert at CompareNI.com said: “Travelling in general has been through major upheaval over the last five years, airport travel in particular, with covid restrictions, soaring flight prices, strikes and IT malfunctions, and now Brexit regulations creating additional processes for travellers.
“It’s understandable travelling by sea is experiencing an uplift and it’s great to see the numbers coming to Northern Ireland are fully recovered from covid and rising. It’s a welcome support for local hospitality businesses big and small, with nearly 6,000 tourism businesses in Northern Ireland.
“With a soaring number of holidaymakers choosing to staycation in Northern Ireland it’s positive news for guest houses, bed & breakfasts and guest accommodation who were sitting with a room occupancy of just 38% for 2023.
“It’s important for landlords and those with small businesses and short-term holiday rentals to ensure they have the right protection, with a surge in guests it’s vital to have a quality insurance policy that’s competitively priced, to help safeguard their finances and plan for the future.”
CompareNI.com can help landlords compare and find savings and has a wide range of business and holiday insurance products.
This post was originally published on here
