70 | LOCAL TOURIST


www.nitravelnews.com


September/October 2025


Titanic Belfast is in Bloom with New Floral Art Installation


THE Fabric of Belfast, has been


spearheaded by Shelley Steele of Felting Crazy in Ballymena, and supported by Region 14 of the International Feltmakers Association,


Feltmakers


Titanic Belfast Unveil Series of Special Highlights Set for 2025


CULTURE-SEEKING spectators and visitors are encouraged to take a swing at something truly unforgettable just a short drive away - Titanic Belfast. Titanic Belfast is unveiling a series of special highlights in 2025.


Visitors this summer will experience the global debut of Lucian Freud’s Etchings: A Creative Collaboration, a major exhibition on loan from the V&A Museum London, running until the end of September. This marks the first time such a comprehensive collection of works and personal artefacts from one of Britain’s most celebrated painters has been displayed in Northern Ireland – a rare cultural moment for art lovers.


This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the wreck of RMS Titanic, which lies over 12,000 feet beneath the Atlantic.


Commemorative events


and immersive installations planned for September 2025 will offer exclusive insight into the groundbreaking expedition led by Robert Ballard in 1985, reinforcing Titanic Belfast’s role as a living tribute to the ship, her passengers, and crew.


“With Northern Ireland on the global stage this summer thanks to world-class golf at Portrush, it’s the perfect time to experience the extraordinary cultural and historical richness of Belfast,” said Judith Owens, Chief Executive of Titanic Belfast. “From the intensity of Lucian Freud’s portraits to the lasting legacy of Titanic’s story, visitors will find a world-class experience just a short drive away.”


Located on the exact spot where RMS Titanic was designed, built and launched, Titanic Belfast has welcomed over 6.5 million visitors since opening in 2012 and continues to evolve its experience, blending storytelling, innovation and emotion.


North West Hotel To Unveil Major Extension


A MAJOR extension to the Holiday Inn Express on the Strand Road in Derry / Londonderry opened in July, just in time for the influx of visitors who came to Northern Ireland for The Open at Portrush. The extension was made possible through a multi-million pound banking partnership between the hotel owners and Ulster Bank. As a result, 40 new rooms have been added to the upper floors of the building – owned by the Duddy family – as part of an ongoing investment by the owners that has revitalised the prominent site and created hundreds of jobs.


The Duddy Group recently opened the new Kaboodle Bar adjacent to the hotel, a licensed restaurant and family entertainment complex over two floors, and has further plans to continue to


SIX newly-trained tour guides have completed courses on behalf of Tourism NI to help boost tourism within the deaf community. The Tour Guiding for the Deaf course was funded by Tourism NI, delivered by North West Regional College (NWRC), in partnership with Foyle Deaf Association and Derry City & Strabane District Council (DCSDC). The Level 2 Award in Tour Guiding


Skills, which was delivered by NWRC in Derry/Londonderry, ran throughout May and early June.


The course is designed to ensure deaf visitors to Northern Ireland enjoy an inclusive experience and comes after the successful delivery of a similar scheme in Belfast in 2023.


The training course was established after a volunteer who had been assisting deaf visitors to Belfast during his free time approached the tourism bodies to say he needed more training to guide tours accurately.


He also believed more people who use sign language should also be trained as tour guides as there is demand from


Derry and Strabane District Council Celebrates Tourism Growth


Boost for Deaf Visitors to NI with Newly-Trained Tour Guides deaf visitors.


Participants who recently took part


in the course in the North West region completed four training sessions followed by assessments. A graduation ceremony for the six


newly qualified tour guides took place this week at the Guildhall in Derry/ Londonderry.


Those who graduated were mother


and daughter, Patricia Clarke and Seana Taylor, both from Derry/Londonderry, James Gallon, from Eglinton, Siobhan McKeever,


from Dungiven, Pauline


Doherty, from Limavady and Terence McCullagh, from Plumbridge.


North and Feltmakers Ireland. The stunning installation, which can be seen suspended from the ceiling in the atrium of the world-famous visitor attraction, comprises five large single flowers, 22 medium blooms and 99 small flowers on 11 rings. Each creation is flecked with real flax fibres and linen yarn, provided by local producers Mallon Linen. These have been used to hang the flowers that celebrate collaboration in its truest form by uniting artists from Antrim to Kildare, Dublin to Cork, Portugal and Ukraine. From shaping fibres in the Dromara Hills overlooking the Mournes to stitching layers in studios in Royal Hillsborough, Kildare and Cork, each bloom represents hours of craftsmanship, a regional voice, and a contribution to a collective story which links back to Belfast’s booming industrial past when Belfast was a major producer of linen.


Cathedral Quarter BID Become First Organisation To Achieve Blue Zone Accreditation


CATHEDRAL Quarter (CQ) BID has become the first organisation to achieve BlueZONE accreditation. Developed by Belfast-based Staff Training NI & Staff Nursing Ltd, BlueZONE is a new accreditation scheme that recognises spaces and organisations that demonstrate excellence in three key areas -


Safety,


Security, and Wellbeing. CQ BID and Staff Training NI have been working together for several years on a range of safety and wellbeing initiatives which are independently assessed and evaluated. The BlueZONE accreditation is not only a part of this ongoing partnership but a commitment to continued delivery on excellence in Safety, Security, and Wellbeing in the CQ BID area.


BlueZONE is an independent mark of trust


for places that put people first – proving they go above and beyond to protect safety, security and wellbeing for everyone who visits or works there. Spaces must meet clear standards, share real evidence and pass an expert assessment. Scores and reports are published openly, giving people the confidence to choose places that truly care. Accredited spaces are authorised to display the BlueZONE mark and QR code, which provides access to a live report.


invest and expand at the location in the City.


Ulster Bank’s partnership with Duddy Group has seen the bank provide a total funding package of over £7 million, incorporating the refinancing of existing borrowing plus another tranche of funding towards the build to complete the latest expansion of the Holiday Inn Express.


It is the latest hotel investment supported by Ulster Bank across Northern Ireland, with other recent examples including Andras House’s new Marcus Hotel in Portrush and the acquisition of the Armagh City Hotel by McKeever Hotel Group.


Richard Lusty and Andy Tew from Ulster Bank’s corporate banking team have worked closely with Duddy Group, who were advised by Gordon Davidson of FJJ Consulting, on the transaction.


THE latest official tourism figures released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) reveal strong growth in overnight trips, bednights, and visitor spend across the Derry City and Strabane District Council area for 2024.


While overall tourism numbers across Northern Ireland experienced a decline in 2024, Derry and Strabane have bucked the trend, recording significant increases in both visitor numbers and tourism revenue – a testament to the region’s growing appeal as a must-visit destination. According to the figures, Northern Ireland experienced a decline


in


overall tourism in 2024 with the total number of overnight trips to the North


dropping by 13.86%, from 5.4 million to 4.7 million, while visitor spend decreased by 8.7%, from £1.2 billion to £1.1 billion. However, the Derry City and Strabane District Council area bucked this trend with impressive gains,


including


visitor spend in the area increasing by a substantial 29.1%, rising from £63,841,360 in 2023 to £82,442,469 in 2024 and overnight trips to the Council area also seeing a healthy increase of 10.57%, rising from 266,472 in 2023 to 294,633 in 2024.


The increase in visitor spend marks the highest percentage growth among all council areas, with only one other council reporting an increase. This significant growth positions the Derry and Strabane Council area firmly on track to achieve its tourism strategy ambition of doubling visitor spend to £100 million by 2025.


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