The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) today predicted a bumper year for the industry amid expectations that last year's record number of visitors will be surpassed.
Announcing the results of its first industry "barometer" of 2004, the NITB said it indicated the strong performance of last year was continuing.
NITB chief executive Mr Alan Clarke said feedback from the industry for the first six months of 2004 was "very encouraging, with confidence high for the summer season".
All parts of the accommodation sector, across all of the province, reported an improvement on the already encouraging performance of 2003, he said.
The hotels and camping and caravanning sectors had recorded particularly strong performance, he said with "more modest gains" among other types of accommodation.
The NITB figures showed hotel occupancy levels up 3 per cent to 56 per cent - after a three-year plateau where room occupancy averaged 53 per cent.
Activity providers - particularly those offering golf, walking, cycling and angling, along with visitor attractions and coach operators - were also reporting an increase in business.
Last year was a record year for Northern Ireland tourism with visitor numbers - up 12 per cent - edging towards the two million mark.
Separate figures released by the Irish Government today showed residents of the Republic were helping Northern Ireland reach the symbolic two million mark.
Although there was a 9.5 per cent increase in Irish people having holiday breaks in Ireland during the first three months of this year, there was a 26 per cent increase in people from the Republic crossing the border for a break, the Central Statistics Office said.
PA