With over 194 European and international destinations servicing both Belfast and Dublin and 530 direct UK flights weekly from 24 destinations into Belfast, the city is easily accessible for international delegates. In 2018, Belfast and the Causeway Coast were crowned Lonely Planet’s best region to visit.
There are 3 airports, the George Best City Airport 5 minutes from the City, Belfast International which is 30 minutes and finally Dublin which is a 1.5 hours drive.
The ICC Belfast (formerly the Belfast Waterfront) is a 7000sqm purpose built conference cenrre in the city. The largest space is a 2,200 seat auditorium along with 2 large halls which can be subdivided and interconnect. For smaller conferences there is the studio theatre which seats 380 and a further 20 meeting rooms with capacities ranging from 10-200 delegates.
The newly refurbished Hilton Hotel is next door to the ICC. It has 198 rooms and 10 meeting rooms with maximum capacity of 450 people. The hotel is ideal as the conference hotel headquarters or for overflow meetings.
Some of the more unusual conference facilities in the Belfast area are Ulster Hall, St George’s Market, HMS Caroline, The National Football Stadium, Ulster Rugby, Stormont Parliament Buildings, Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, Belfast Castle, W5 Belfast’s Science and Discovery Centre, Down Royal Racecourse, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Belfast Cathedral and Ulster Museum.
Titanic Belfast is the largest Titanic visitor experience. The conference and banqueting facilities are located on the top floor of Titanic Belfast and offers fantastic views of the Titanic slipways and Belfast Lough where the world famous liner was designed, built and launched.
Capacities range from dinner parties for 20 people up to a drinks reception for 1500. The Titanic Suite is themed on the interior of the Titanic itself which includes a replica of the famous Grand staircase!
Outside this building is the Hickson’s Point bar which offers conference organisers an authentic 1900’s public house setting for events of up to 80 people.
The SS Nomadic (Titanic’s little sister) is the last remaining White Star Line vessel which has been restored to provide a range of corporate events for up to 200 guests.
There are over 5000 hotels rooms and 46 hotels in Greater Belfast. It is a very walkable city as the majority of hotels and venues are within close proximity to each other – here are a couple of suggestions:
Just metres away from the Titanic Belfast is the Titanic Hotel. The former Headquarters of Harland & Wolff, the RMS Titanic’s design offices, were restored and reopened in 2017 as a 119 room Hotel with 7 meeting rooms reflecting the history of the venue.
The 304 bedroomed Grand Central Hotel opened in the summer of 2018 and claims to be Northern Ireland’s tallest hotel along with the city’s tallest bar the Observatory on the 23rd floor. The Hotel has two meeting rooms and 300 bedrooms.
Northern Ireland is also the home of Thrones. The popular TV series Game of Thrones® was filmed in Belfast and across Northern Ireland. With its rugged coast lines, historic castles and breathtaking scenery it was the perfect setting and put Northern Ireland on the map. Why not add a Game of Thrones movie set trip where you can explore 20 key locations as part of your Belfast/Northern Ireland experience
