New Belfast Visitor Centre Opens

A new visitor information centre has officially opened in Belfast.

The Visit Belfast Welcome Centre, on Donegall Square North, is part of the City Council's £150m Investment Programme.

The £1.82m building includes a contribution of £747,000 from the European Regional Development Fund.

The facility features digital maps and self-service touch screens.

Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said: "Tourism in Belfast has come a long way since the first Welcome Centre opened 14 years ago, and this world-class, 21st century facility truly reflects the vibrant, contemporary, must-see destination Belfast has become.

"The pace of our success shouldn’t be underestimated - there were 7.59 million visitor trips here last year, bringing more than £400m into local businesses and shops. Belfast is finally on the map for all the right reasons, whether it’s through our fantastic array of visitor attractions, the warmth of our welcome or our ability to stage major events."

Tourism Minister Arlene Foster said: "The new facility will help generate higher footfall and it will be the first point of call for hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. This in turn will create additional direct and indirect spending opportunities in Belfast and it also provides a further boost to tourism here."

Staff are expecting to deal with more than 400,000 visitor enquiries in the new building’s first year of operation, according to Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast, who will run the centre.

(IT/MH)