Will violence on NI's streets put off tourists?

In Belfast City Centre, after nights of rioting and violence in some areas of Northern Ireland, a tour guide admits that she and the tourists she's with are still a little jumpy.

"We're having to change our route around the city as we're getting information about people gathering on street corners," Fiona told BBC News NI last Thursday at Belfast City Hall, one of her main stops.

The previous day, after violence flared in east Belfast a few miles away, she said she advised a group to go back to their cruise ship.

"Some of them were OK about it, some of them said they would never, ever come back," she says.

"I think it will have an impact, because it's being beamed all over the world and it's a negative view of Belfast.

"There's so many cruise ships coming in now - this could put them off coming here."

That's the worry now for those people reliant on tourism to keep their pubs, restaurants, hotels and attractions afloat.

The scenes of violence and disorder in Northern Ireland last week - images of which have been beamed around the world - had a short-term effect.

Businesses pulled their shutters down early; public transport was suspended; bewildered holidaymakers were seen wandering around a virtual ghost town.

But now officials are reckoning with the possibility the long-term damage the disorder, described by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt as a "stain on Northern Ireland's reputation", could cause.

The violence last week means there has now been three summers in a row that Northern Ireland has seen disturbances on the streets linked to anti-immigration protests.

Despite that, the tourism industry in Northern Ireland showed "promising growth" in 2025 after a "sharp decline" the year before, according to Northern Ireland's Statistics and Research Agency.

Some £1.2bn is how much tourists spent during the 5.1 million overnight trips they made in Northern Ireland in 2025.

Those figures are a 9% increase both in overnight trips and associated spending by tourists.

According to the research, visits by people from the Republic of Ireland market performed best, with the number of overnight trips growing by 15% compared to 2024.

For people in Belfast, this data passes the eye test - coachloads of tourists from Europe, North America and further afield have become everyday sights in recent years.

The city has become a popular stop for cruise ships, moving past its image as a no-go area during the Troubles.

It's hard to point to data that shows rises and falls off the back of street disorder.

Still, scenes of running battles with the police, houses on fire and people running to safety - which are more than a little reminiscent of the Troubles - have raised worries that some tourists could choose to spend their holiday time elsewhere.

Brona Moffett, interim chief executive of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance, said they understand "the connection of this unrest to consumer sentiment and intention to travel to Northern Ireland".

She said that the sector "has demonstrated remarkable resilience through many challenges over the years.

"While we recognise the concerns these events have created, we remain confident in the strength of our industry and the warm welcome for which Northern Ireland is renowned."

She added: "In August 2026, we will welcome the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann 2026 with approximately 800,000 visitors to the city, further reinforcing that Belfast and all Northern Ireland's tourism industry continues to welcome visitors from around the world – we have proven this consistently over the last two decades."

A spokesperson for Tourism Northern Ireland said while the resent disorder "caused disruption in confined areas, the vast majority of tourism and visitor experiences continued to operate as normal", while the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation said "the vast majority of destinations, tourism businesses and accommodation providers across Northern Ireland continue to operate as normal".

A spokesperson added: "At present, there is no evidence of any widespread disruption to hotel operations, and businesses remain focused on providing a welcoming and secure experience for all visitors."

However, Tina McKenzie, from the Federation of Small Businesses, said Northern Ireland had been through so much "to build up its reputation, to be a better society, a better economy, a better place to come and invest".

"These are not the scenes we need going out around the world," she said.

Gerd Bloaman, a tour guide from Belgium, who was with a large group from her country, admitted they were "a little worried" when they saw the news.

"I looked it up - where the trouble was - and I told my people if it was really risky we would cancel the free time and go directly to the hotel, but it seems to be OK."

She said she would still recommend Northern Ireland as a place to visit.

"It's a beautiful place, I like it a lot, I like the Irish people, they're very friendly, so I think it's OK," she said.

John and Emily, from Leicestershire, had been staying close to the Mourne Mountains in County Down before travelling to Belfast.

"We were in Mexico when the El Mencho thing [violence after a cartel leader was killed] happened, so we seem to attract it," John said.

"But again that was nowhere near us - it's like anywhere, if you're in the vicinity and it's local then I guess it could be a concern, but there's lots of things going on around you all the time which you can be oblivious to."

Emily said the biggest disruption they had faced was to public transport.

"And I guess we'd have liked to go out last night to a bar or whatever, but they're all closed," she added.

Albrarro, from Spain, said he and his friends "are watching the news and we are taking care about trying to avoid any conflict".

"Our host told us that where we are living now there is no problem, no incidents, so we feel safe at least at this point."

Asked if he would still recommend Northern Ireland to people back home, he said: "I would say yes, but probably look at the news and try to see where are you going and try to avoid problems."

It was Skylar from Taiwan's first day in Northern Ireland.

"We're just a little bit concerned about if we get home too late," she said.

"I think it's still OK, it's still safe to travel here - I still had a good time today."