There has been a "massive" increase in the number of tourists from the south who are now visiting Derry as a "destination" city, a local hotelier has said.
The authors of the Ulster University study said that “notwithstanding some public commentary that many people from the Republic of Ireland never travel to NI”, the number of trips from south of the border to Northern Ireland has “increased dramatically” over the past decade. "There has massive increase over the last three or four years, just increasing year-on-year with people coming, you know, from all parts of Ireland up here," he said.
Mr Duddy added: "I think it's a combination of the rules on travelling, during COVID, and the new road which means you can travel to Derry from Belfast now more easily. When people were locked down during COVID, they discovered that they could stay here and, through word-of-mouth, I think it has grown.