Visit Belfast Welcome Centre has been named ‘Northern Ireland’s Visitor Information Centre of the Year’ at the 30th Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards.
The awards, which took place on 14 October at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa, celebrated and recognised the success and hard work of the industry as it continues to build back and recover post-pandemic.
Voted for by the general public, the award coincides with the teams’ 400,000th enquiry of the year, reflecting increased visitor interest and a strong bounce back in city tourism.
Tourism recovery and support
MaryJo McCanny, director of Visitor Servicing at Visit Belfast, who collected the award on the evening, said: “As we emerged from the various lockdowns, visitor servicing played a critical part in the city’s tourism recovery.
“The team worked exceptionally hard in providing the latest information, in an ever-changing environment, not just offering a welcome but reassuring visitors as they planned their trip to Belfast and Northern Ireland. Winning the award recognises the value in providing a warm and welcoming front-of-house service, and by doing so we were able to continue to support local tourism providers and attractions as they reopened.”
Gerry Lennon, chief executive, Visit Belfast, added: “The last year has proven that the Belfast City Region is well placed to recover given the strength of our tourism and cultural offering.
“By successfully showcasing Belfast’s unique and authentic tourism experiences both within the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre and our satellite information points, we’re able to engage with audiences across Great Britain, Ireland which enables us to compete effectively and grow, position and sustain city tourism. I’d like to thank the team for their hard work and passion in promoting the city to visitors from near and far and support the recovery of the sector.”
