Mid and East Antrim celebrates Tourism & Hospitality Week 2025
Tuesday 23 September 2025
Tourism & Hospitality Week, which runs from Tuesday 23 September to Wednesday 1 October, presents an opportunity to shine a light on the positive impact of tourism in Mid and East Antrim.
It has long been recognised that tourism plays a vital role in the local economy, supporting livelihoods and being an essential part of our rural communities.
Mid and East Antrim benefits from a broad mix of visitor attractions, outdoor activities, leisure pursuits, and heritage.
It also offers a range of accommodation options for visitors and an array of venues for business tourism, including conferences and incentive travel.
The Borough has a unique portfolio of hotels, including the internationally renowned luxury Galgorm Resort which boasts an amazing thermal village and spa; the steeped-in-history Ballygally Castle Hotel; the island of Ireland’s first whiskey hotel in Carnlough’s Harbourview Hotel – formerly the Londonderry Arms – and more.
The latest figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) show that in 2024 there were 220,067 trips taken to the Borough.
That resulted in 680,304 total bed nights, generating over £52.5 million of spend in Mid and East Antrim.
Additionally, this activity helped to sustain over 4,200 tourism jobs across 375 tourism businesses within the Borough.
All of these figures highlight the importance of tourism to the local area.
The importance of tourism to Northern Ireland as a whole is also clear, with the industry generating £1.1 billion for the economy in 2024 - sustaining more than 70,000 jobs.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford, said: “We’re always delighted to see people coming to our Borough and enjoying everything it has to offer, with tourism proving to be an important part of our local economy.
“We hope that ongoing work to maximise the potential of local sites, including the once-in-a-generation £42 million Carrickfergus City Deal project to transform the town into a heritage-led tourism destination, will continue to benefit the Borough as a whole.
“We look forward to welcoming even more visitors in future.”
Council, via our tourism brand Shaped by Sea and Stone, works with local trade and stakeholders to promote Mid and East Antrim as a destination for travellers year-round, showcasing the very best of people and place in the Borough.
Across the Shaped by Sea & Stone social channels this week, we are celebrating Tourism & Hospitality Week by showcasing just some of the many people working in the industry who make a visit to Mid & East Antrim so special.
Check out @ShapedBySeaAndStone on Facebook and Instagram to discover more.