Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Jonathan Bell, welcomed the announcement over 100 tour operators are due to visit Northern Ireland.
Speaking after a meeting with representatives of the European Federation of Chinese Tourism, the Minister said: “The pace of the growth of tourism in China is staggering. In 2015, Chinese outbound tourists will reach 100 million, growing ten-fold since the turn of the millennium. While the traditional visitor markets are still key there is significant potential for us to attract many more Chinese visitors to Northern Ireland.
“The announcement that over 100 tour operators from China are to visit Northern Ireland at the end of this month is excellent news. Themed tour packages are extremely popular amongst Chinese travellers and they tend to rely heavily on travel agencies for packaged tours and booking assistance. The tour operators coming to Northern Ireland have the potential to influence the decision making of thousands of Chinese visitors.
“Tourism Northern Ireland will be facilitating the visit ensuring we showcase the very best of what Northern Ireland has to offer including visiting a number of key visitor attractions such as Mount Stewart, Titanic Belfast and the Giants Causeway.”
