Belfast's tourism industry got a huge boost from the strength of the euro against the pound last year, new figures released by Belfast City Council show.

It said in 2008 visitors from the Republic represented more than 80% of day trippers travelling to Belfast and also made up almost a quarter of those staying overnight.

That represents massive growth compared with the previous 12 months, when the Republic made up 33% of day trippers and just 9% of overnight stays.

The growth is reported in the Belfast Tourism Monitor – an annual analysis of the city’s tourism sector. It shows how 7.1 million visitors spent £436.5m last year.

While the overall number of visitors rose by just 3%, the numbers of visitors from outside Northern Ireland rose by 43%, with the number of those undertaking day trips to Belfast more than doubling.

“This growth can be largely attributed to the growing number of visitors from the Republic, many of them taking advantage of the strength of the euro against sterling, especially in the run up to last Christmas,” said councillor William Humphrey, chairman of the council’s development committee.

Hotels and restaurants fared best in terms of where visitors spent their money, with accommodation and eating out accounting for 52% of expenditure. This rose to 74% of expenditure by conference delegates and 76% of that by other business visitors.

The survey showed that 67% of those visiting Belfast in 2008 were doing so for the first time.

Holiday and business visits continued to be the main reason for people visiting Belfast.

Holidays accounted for 62% of visitors from the Republic and 44% of Americans, while business trips brought in 73% of European visitors.