TITANIC Belfast received a seasonal boost of visitors over the festive period, topping an already successful debut year.
Demand was so high over the festive period that there were more than 33,000 visitors in December. This excludes the 10,000 people who turned up to a Victorian Christmas Experience.
Organisers of the attraction say that it was often sold out over the holiday period. Some would-be visitors were disappointed if they failed to book tickets days in advance.
The attendance figures come on the back of a successful debut year, with 650,000 visitors in the nine months since the exhibition opened in March.
This makes it the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland and one of the most in-demand attractions in all Ireland.
Tim Husbands, Titanic Belfast chief executive, said: “Our visitor numbers over the festive and New Year periods exceeded expectations and clearly show that Titanic Belfast is an all-year round attraction for domestic and international visitors.
“This was our first Christmas and also the first time we hosted a Christmas experience at Titanic Belfast, and almost 10,000 people visited our Victorian Christmas street scene to meet a traditional Father Christmas, and be transported back in time to a magical Christmas period.”
Titanic Belfast recently benefited from original material from the 1997 film Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Director James Cameron visited the museum last year.
New exhibits include props from the movie, and the Titanic Inquiry Plan.
Mr Husbands said: “We have also found that visitors are coming back to it on more than one occasion, with local people saying that they were often treating relatives visiting Northern Ireland over the festive holidays to experience Titanic Belfast, and that they were proud to show off the building.”
