Paul Clements, a contributing writer to Fodor’s Ireland 2012, predicts that the upcoming opening of the Belfast Titanic centre will be a bigger draw for tourists than that for London who is playing host to the 2012 summer Olympic games.

The NewsLetter reports that Fodor’s, which is a travel guidebook, has dedicated a full 8 pages to the Titanic Belfast centre in its latest Ireland 2012 edition. The guidebook pegs Titanic Belfast as the “world’s biggest tourism story in 2012,” beating out London for the summer Olympics. In addition, Belfast was named as one of the top 21 places in the world to visit in 2012.

“It is most unusual for a guidebook to dedicate as many as eight pages to the coverage of one topic, but this reflects the scale and depth of interest throughout America and the rest of the world in the Titanic story,” said Clements.
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“That is quite an endorsement from one of the most respected and long-established travel guidebooks in the world – one which is a major influence amongst US tourists when choosing holiday destinations,” said Clements about the huge expectations being placed on the new tourist centre in Belfast.

With the new 2012 guide already in US book stores, “tourists there will no doubt be reading up on Titanic Belfast and planning their trips to Northern Ireland,” said Clements.

Titanic Belfast is set to open on March 31 of this year, just days before the centenary of the now famous sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage.