Consumer Sentiment Analysis

Tourism NI has completed the latest wave (Wave 12) of our research to track consumer sentiment in the Northern Ireland (NI) and Republic of Ireland (ROI) markets, measuring travel behaviour and travel intentions for spring and summer 2023.  Wave 12 also focused on exploring NI and ROI consumers’ perceptions of the Food & Drink offering in NI. 

Fieldwork was undertaken in March and April 2023 with a robust, nationally representative sample from both markets. Results presented below are based on a sample of 750 adults in ROI and 400 adults in NI.  

The NI report can be accessed here and the ROI report can be found here.

Key findings include:

Jan-March 2023 Visitor Volumes

• Following on from a positive 2022 tourism performance, findings point to continued high levels of ROI and domestic visitor volumes for the opening quarter of 2023.
• Similar to recent 2022 trends, approximately half of ROI visitors to NI in the first quarter of 2023 were first time leisure visitors.

Travel Intentions

• NI and ROI consumers’ short break intentions indicate a generally positive performance for April to June 2023.
• Encouragingly, intentions for NI domestic day trips over the spring and early summer are significantly higher that was reported in the same survey period in 2022.
• To relax and unwind and to have fun are key motivators for intended NI trips for both markets, with the opportunity to enjoy NI’s food & drink experience particularly important for ROI consumers.
• For July and August, results indicate a steady domestic performance but a slight dip in ROI consumer intentions for both short and longer holiday breaks in NI, likely impacted by continued growth in intentions to holiday abroad.

Value for Money

• Overall, NI’s value for money score continues to improve, with consumers in both markets rating NI’s value for money more positively than ROI and GB.
• While holidays abroad have grown in popularity over the summer months, there is also evidence that a significant proportion of prospective travellers have to date ruled out this travel option as being too expensive. This brings opportunities to grow staycations by stressing NI’s value for money.

Food & Drink Experience

• For both NI domestic and ROI visitors, enjoying the food & drink experience was one of the key motivators for their NI trip, with the majority having researched places to eat before their trip, and 33% and 40% respectively booking before arriving on their trip.
• The food & drink experience was highly rated by both NI domestic and ROI visitors, with the vast majority saying it met or exceeded their expectations.

Download:

Consumer Sentiment 2023

Consumer Sentiment 2022

Consumer Sentiment 2021

Consumer Sentiment 2020