Tourism Ireland launches plans to boost visitors to Northern Ireland by 2035

At an event attended by Economy Minister Conor Murphy and hundreds of tourism industry leaders from around Northern Ireland, Tourism Ireland announced its plans for an average growth of +6.5% in overseas tourism revenue for Northern Ireland each year to 2030 – growing revenue to around £1.3 billion per year by 2035.

In 2025, Tourism Ireland plans to roll out an extensive and targeted program of activity benefiting regions across Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. Sustainable development remains at the core of Tourism Ireland’s plans for the year ahead. 

New to Tourism Irelands plans for 2025 is "Slow Tourism Month". This will enable more exploration, with trip ideas that allow for dwell time in communities and scenery and that can be enjoyed using sustainable modes of transport, winning overnight stays across regions.

Tourism Ireland will also unveil a new global advertising campaign across 13+ overseas markets this year. The organization will refresh and build on the strong foundations of its "Fill your heart with Ireland" campaign featuring two of the "Derry Girls" – to make the island of Ireland stand out as a "bucket list" destination. 

Speaking at the launch, Economy Minister Conor Murphy said: “I believe strongly in the importance and value of tourism as a driver for sustainable economic growth in communities across the north. I have just launched the Tourism Vision & Action Plan, developed by the industry, for the industry.

"Targeting increased growth from overseas visitors is vital to its success and Tourism Ireland’s marketing activity across key markets will be the key driver in attracting those visitors and contributing towards my goal for tourism expenditure from overnight visitors to exceed £2 billion by 2035."

Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Overseas tourism to Northern Ireland delivered £672 million in revenue in 2023 and, importantly, helped to support around 70,000 jobs across Northern Ireland.

"Over half of all visitor spend comes from those traveling to Northern Ireland from overseas. We’re ambitious to support growth for local Northern Ireland businesses, the economy and communities and are targeting growing overseas visitor spend in Northern Ireland to £1.3 billion by 2035.

“In any industry, there are risks to mitigate and tourism is no different. This year, we will need to take account of the added step that the introduction of the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme will bring, as well as the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.

“However, there is also enormous potential ahead and we are ambitious for growth. In 2025, we will focus on increasing the value of overseas tourism, sustainably supporting economies, communities and the environment – and will do so by inspiring overseas visitors and strengthening strategic partnerships."