Demand for beds in Belfast hotels has never been higher, new research reveals.
The city's hotels are now consistently fuller than those in other major cities in the UK such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Cardiff.
Belfast now lies third in a national league table of hotel occupancy rates behind only the ever-popular London and Liverpool, which has benefited from its role as European Capital of Culture.
The STR Global's HotelBenchmark Survey carried out by Deloitte consultants found that 71.9% of beds were booked up in the city's hotels in the last economic quarter. The UK average stands at 65%.
It noted that the revenue generated from each room occupied in Belfast is £56 - an increase of 7.4%.
Partner at Deloitte Belfast, Jackie Henry, said the survey result was a real shot in the arm for Northern Ireland.
"Hotel performance is a good indicator of how a local economy is performing," she said.
"Our thriving business sector, our impressive tourism product, our international airport hubs and the quality of the Northern Ireland brand internationally is contriving to place us at the top of the UK hotel industry.
"This really is tremendous news."
