Debate contribution: Tourism: Derry
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 16 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Tourism: Derry
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5623981
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for her question. The NISRA tourism statistics for 2025 have only recently been published. They show that tourism is flourishing in the north-west, with overnight stays increasing in Derry City and Strabane District Council and Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council areas. The latest figures indicated that the two areas together welcomed more than one and a half million overnight trips during 2025, generating total visitor spend of £278 million. It is particularly encouraging to see the growth in Derry City and Strabane, where all the key metrics increased compared with 2024. Overnight trips increased by 35%, the number of overnight visitors increased by 28%, and visitor expenditure increased by 13·5%. The figures are hugely encouraging and reflect the growing appeal of the city and district and the work that is going on there to develop the tourism offering. As I mentioned in previous answers, we announced funding for a number of events across the north-west, including the 40th anniversary of Derry's Halloween festival.
168 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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