Derry met or exceeded visitor expectations

98 per cent of the respondents to the Visitor Attitude Survey indicated satisfaction and expectations surpassed locally.

Exploring history and culture was a key reason for visiting the area, and the range of interesting things to see and do was rated positively by visitors, scoring 8.50 (out of ten).

The most popular attractions were the Derry Walls, Tower Museum and the Guildhall.

The quality of accommodation and the friendliness of the service scored strongly in the survey and the quality of food and drink scored highly, at 8.18 out of 10.

Launching the survey results, Economy Minister Diane Dodds MLA said: “The tourism sector within Northern Ireland is in a strong position, as these survey results demonstrate. Our friendly welcome, along with excellent attractions, food, customer service and accommodation continues to win fans both at home and abroad.

“Tourism is a vitally important sector to our economy, helping to drive economic growth and supporting jobs throughout Northern Ireland,” she added.

“As Economy Minister I intend to build on the good work being done by continuing to develop local tourism as an export business, helping to contribute to balanced regional growth and job creation.”

Tourism NI’s Chief Executive, John McGrillen said: “These results are a boost for the local industry as Derry City and Strabane’s unique visitor attractions clearly resonate with visitors. It was also a consistent theme across Northern Ireland that our people greatly enhance the visitor experience. The welcome that people receive in our hotels, guesthouses, pubs, taxis, restaurants, cafes and shops also helps to ensure that people who come here to visit want to return or to advise others to visit and experience Northern Ireland for themselves.”