The helpful folks at Airtricity, Northern Ireland’s second largest energy provider, have revealed the top eight perfect days out in Northern Ireland, according to local residents.
The Giant’s Causeway (59%) topped the poll, followed closely by The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (57%). Family fun at Belfast Zoological Gardens (50%), the newly opened Titanic Belfast (50%), the stunning Marble Arch Caves (50%), Armagh Planetarium (37%), Castle Ward (31%) and W5 at the Interactive Discovery Centre (28%) all feature in the top eight perfect days out from a given list, according to Northern Ireland residents.
The research, to mark the launch of an Airtricity advertising campaign, around the theme ‘it’s like getting 8 weeks free electricity, also revealed some interesting gender and regional differences across Northern Ireland:
- Most men prefer a historic day out at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (58%)
- Over a half of women describe Belfast Zoological Gardens (54%) as a perfect day out, the same number of young adults (18-24s) also voted a trip to the zoo as a great summer day out
When it comes to regional differences:
- The folk at Titanic Belfast will be pleased to hear that almost half of people in Belfast (48%) consider it as one of their perfect days out
- The beautiful Carfunnock Country Park scored highly with residents in the rest of County Antrim with 45% voting for it as a perfect day out
- Fun is also high on the agenda for people in County Armagh, with Barries Amusements Portrush (32%), Dundonald International Ice Bowl (30%) and W5 at Interactive Discovery Centre (28%) all making their top eight perfect days out
- In County Down the stunning Castle Ward gets 47% of the local vote
- Over a third of people (34%) in County Derry are seeing stars, with a trip to the Armagh Planetarium making their top eight perfect days out
Gill Brady, Marketing Manager at Airtricity commented on the findings: “It’s great to discover the top eight perfect days out in Northern Ireland as chosen by local people. The research uncovered some really interesting but also fun results.
“There are any number of fantastic days out in Northern Ireland and we want our customers to enjoy them. With our ‘it’s like getting 8 weeks free electricity’ offer we hope to encourage people to switch to Airtricity, getting our cheapest unit rate discount for electricity today for a whole year, leaving more money to spend on perfect days out.”
Ruth Burns, Destination Marketing and PR Manager of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board says the long summer evenings offer a great opportunity for families to spend quality time together and create memories that will last a lifetime.
“Northern Ireland is the perfect location for a family day out with hundreds of places to visit and events taking place over the summer months that will keep the whole family entertained,” said Ruth.
“As well as the top eight perfect days out as voted for by the Northern Ireland public, there are a wealth of forest parks, beaches, castles, walks and activities where you can discover the great outdoors, and some of our best festivals also take place at this time of year including the superb B/E Aerospace Festival of Flight in Newcastle, Co. Down (August 3 – 10) and the Auld Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim (August 27 – 28),” she added.