What are visitors telling us about their food & drink experience?

We are offering fantastic customer service and quality produce that represents good value for money!

Tourism NI Visitor Attitude Survey 2018

The  dining experience in NI is the area where there has been some of the largest increases in visitor ratings compared to the 2014 survey.

Key Findings indicate that:

• Visitors, particularly those visiting outside Belfast, were more inclined to eat in the less formal establishments of such as cafes/coffee shops (57%) and pubs/bars (48%)
• The staff at NI eateries were rated very favourable, with almost nine in ten scoring them positively in terms of friendliness and welcome (88%) and professionalism and efficiency (85%)
• More than four in five (81%) visitors rated the quality of the food and drink positively, with almost two in five (38%) providing a rating of excellent
• Value for money was rated positively by almost four-fifths (78%) of visitors

Potential Aspects for improvement include:

• Menus featuring locally sourced ingredients- food provenance is becoming increasingly important to local residents and visitors alike 
• Information on places to eat out in the area
• Availability of menus which cater for those with dietary requirements - each of these was rated excellent by relatively few respondents (25%, 22% and 18% respectively)
• The availability of eateries at suitable times and the range of eateries on offer are facets of the tourism offering that could be improved - only a third of visitors rating these aspects of the eating out experience as excellent.

Just over two in five (43%) visitors had a very positive food experience, which was higher than the number (28%) who had expected to have a positive experience before they arrived; however, a similar number who had a positive experience during the trip had a poor food experience.