Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau has already booked rooms for guests and participants traveling from Sweden, Belgium, Germany and other parts of the UK and has dealt with inquiries from as far away as Canada, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. Mary Jo McCanny from Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau said: “The scale of it is both hugely exciting but also challenging in terms of meeting all the accommodation requirements over the extended 10-day period. The teams have all been incredibly impressed by the quality and variety of accommodation that we are offering here and all the visits so far have translated into firm bookings.”

The games are being funded mainly by the Northern Ireland Executive and it is now expected they will cost around £13.8 million to host which is a rise of just under £3 million on the original budget. A spokesman on behalf of World Police And Fire Games Ltd said: “The original business case estimate in 2009 (£10.95m) was based on the experience of previous Games. The revised business case (£13.8m) is based on a more detailed, up to date assessment of what will be required to deliver the event in Belfast next year. The anticipated benefit to the economy has also been revised upwards, from a maximum of £15.7m to £21.4m.”

These games, which are the third largest multi-sport event in the world, are expected to attract around 10,000 competitors taking part in 65 sports and will take place from 01-10 August next year and were last held in New York in 2011.

This year marks the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of that most famous of ships built in Belfast, the RMS Titanic. The ship was constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast and sank during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 15 April 1912. The sinking of the Titanic has attracted enormous world-wide attention over the years and Belfast is sure to be the focus of a lot of attention in this centenary year.

In preparation for the centenary celebrations a new Titanic Quarter is being built in Belfast. The development is the largest urban regeneration scheme in Europe and is sure to breathe new life into Belfast city. The centre-piece of the development is the iconic Titanic Belfast Building, which is due to open on 31^st March and will be the focus of much of the activity surrounding this year’s celebrations. The Titanic Belfast Building is the biggest memorial dedicated to the Titanic to date and has had an investment of some £90 million and taken three years to construct.

There will be a series of Titanic commemoration events running in Belfast from March right through to August and in order to facilitate visitors to the city who want to take part in these events, local family-owned hotel group Hastings Hotels will offer various Titanic packages to their guests. Hastings Hotels operate two establishments in Belfast. The Europa is located right in the city center. The hotel is just a couple of minute’s walk away from Belfast’s great bar and restaurant area as well as the regenerated Cathedral and Titanic quarters. This hotel now boasts its very own Titanic Suite and delicious Titanic Menu. Another Belfast option from Hastings Hotels is the beautiful 5 star Culloden Estate and Spa. The property is located just five minutes from Belfast city center and is set in 12 acres of woodland with incredible views over Belfast Lough.

‘Titanic Stays’ at the Europa start from £55 per person per night, based on two sharing a double room, including a full Irish breakfast, an evening meal from the Titanic Menu and a limited edition Titanic Duck. Nightly rates at the Culloden Estate and Spa start from £70 per person per night, based on two sharing a double room including full Irish breakfast, Titanic Afternoon Tea and a limited edition Titanic Duck.

The Merchant Hotel in Belfast has been named the best hotel in the UK at a prestigious industry awards ceremony held this week at one of the most famous hotels in London, the Savoy. The five-star Belfast hotel received the accolade at the first edition of the International Hotel Awards run in association with Bloomberg Television.

The Merchant Hotel, which this week was also named in Fodor’s guide ’21 places to go in 2012′, went on to another level in the International Hotel Awards in which the regional category winners from all over the world went head-to-head to find the ultimate Best International Hotel, with this award ultimately going to the Palm Hotel in Dubai.

The Merchant Hotel was opened in 2006 in Waring Street after Bill Wolsey, a County Down businessman, reportedly spent around £10 million to transform the former Victorian Ulster Bank building in Belfast into one of the most lauded and well-known hotels in all of Northern Ireland. Since opening the hotel has received many awards for its accommodation, food and drink as well as for its design.

The general manager of The Merchant, Adrian McLaughlin, said the award is a reflection of the excellent work of the entire team at the Belfast hotel. ”I am absolutely delighted to receive such a prestigious award which reflects the depth and strength of our luxury offering throughout the hotel,” he said.

The Northern Ireland Tourism Minister was quick to congratulate the Merchant on being named the UK’s Best Hotel at the International Hotel Awards. Arlene Foster said: “Northern Ireland’s reputation for a first class hospitality offering continues to be enhanced, not least by the Merchant Hotel’s success. Last night was a great evening for Northern Ireland. While the Merchant was being named the UK’s best hotel in London, I was also in the city to officially launch NI 2012 ‘Your Time, Our Place’, a memorable programme of events that celebrates everything Northern Ireland has to offer as a place to live, work and visit. We have a real opportunity to spread the word that Northern Ireland is a truly remarkable tourist destination and this international recognition for the Merchant Hotel in Belfast is a further boost to those efforts,” she said.

The latest review of the hotel industry in Northern Ireland which was produced by ASM Chartered Accountants shows that hotels in Belfast have been experiencing a lift in business and may now be facing somewhat more favourable trading conditions than in the worst days of the recent economic crisis. It is true that hotel occupancy rates have gone down as has profitability, however, the average price of a room has risen and it is expected that events like the Titanic centenary will provide an even greater boost in the near future. For example, the International Seed Federation World Seed Congress which was held in Belfast recently saw every hotel room in the city booked out for the first time in over two years.

The ASM report indicated that hotel bedroom occupancy averaged 63.4 percent in 2010 which was a small decline on 2009 when average occupancy was recorded at 64.1 percent. The average rate achieved per room was £64.83 representing a slight increase on the £63.42 recorded the year before. Total sales per bedroom averaged £37,894 for 2010, which is also slightly ahead of the 2009 figure.

Michael Williamson, director of hotel, tourism and leisure consulting at ASM, said that the affects of the downturn may finally be levelling out.”The 2010 results, while far from groundbreaking, do suggest that the industry may be at, or very close to, its ultimate low point,” he said. “By and large, rural hotels performed better than urban hotels, although there are signs of recovery in the Belfast market. Demand from independent business travellers increased during 2010, but the conference and meeting market remains weak for all operators. Thankfully, the holiday at home market remained strong and this helped address shortfalls in demand from certain out of state markets.”

Premier Inn’s Four Corners hotel in Belfast is open as usual in spite of the fact that the landlord of the building that the hotel is located in has been placed into administration. The Belfast Telegraph reports that the company that redeveloped the building on the corner of Donegall Street and Waring Street, Corner Blok, and which is the current owner, has been placed into administration by Bank of Scotland Ireland (BOSI).

The Four Corners Hotel part of the Premier Inn chain leased the building from Corner Blok and the hotel group has stated that the difficulties of its current landlord will have no effect on the running of the hotel. Keith Freeman, the regional operations manager for Ireland, said: “The Premier Inn at Waring Street, one of our six highly successful hotels in Northern Ireland, continues to trade very well and business at the hotel will in no way be affected by the administration.”

The Four Corners Hotel opened in 2008, generating some 75 jobs. The hotel has 171 rooms and also contains a popular 200-seater restaurant and bar. It is located in the bustling Cathedral quarter in Belfast and is within easy walking distance of  all the major tourist attractions in the city and is close to all major public transport options. The building where the hotel is located was previously a bank and had been derelict for over 15 years. The building was reopened in October 2008 after a £15m restoration project. At the time Margaret Ritchie, the Minister for Social Development, said: “The Premier Inn hotel and the new restaurant will further revitalise Cathedral Quarter and the wider city centre of Belfast. Last week at the Belfast Evening Economy Conference I said that this growing modern city needs a vibrant evening economy and this £15m development is yet another step in that direction”.

Bank of Scotland has since pulled out of Ireland and confirmed that administrators were appointed in March of this year. The administrators Deloitte said it would do the “utmost to achieve best value” for Corner Blok’s creditors.