Visit Belfast and Tourism Northern Ireland chief executives Gerry Lennon and John McGrillen join the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Deirdre Hargey, on board one of Translink’s new Glider fleet of vehicles ahead of the start of the new service launch next week.
Pictured with Translink Chief Executive, Chris Conway, the new Gilder fleet provides direct services between east and west Belfast, linking in the Titanic Quarter, and represents an investment of more than £90 million.
Boarding the new eco-hybrid Glider, the Lord Mayor welcomed this major investment in the city’s public transport infrastructure:
“As a city reenergised, we want to see even more visitors come to Belfast annually, so it’s critical we have the infrastructure in place to enable that growth. The Glider service will enhance the city’s public transport offering, allowing visitors and residents to get across the city quickly and efficiently.”
With significant investment in the city’s hotels and visitor attractions, tourism now generates around £330 million annually for Belfast and supports over 18,000 jobs across the city.
Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast said the new service will help support tourism growth.
“Moving people effectively around on public transport enables visitors to Belfast to explore and experience more of the city, which in turn, will help spread the economic benefit of our flourishing tourism industry and importantly support tourism jobs.”
Echoing the sentiment, John McGrillen, Chief Executive, Tourism NI, said:
“2017 was a record year for tourism as we welcomed almost 5 million visitors to Northern Ireland and early signs for 2018 bode well for another significant year for tourism.
“Investing in efficient public transport is highly important in ensuring we offer visitors from across the world the best experience possible when visiting our cities, allowing them to easily access our fantastic range of visitor attractions.”
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