John Campbell,BBC News NI economics and business editor
BBCThe number of tourist visits from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland has tripled in the past decade, new analysis suggests.
Economists at Ulster University and Dublin City University have looked at official data and interviewed industry stakeholders.
The data suggests there were 400,000 south-to-north trips in 2013- which had jumped to 1.3m by 2023.
Ken Pringle has run a café on Great Victoria Street, right opposite the Europa Bus station in Belfast, for 22 years.
Speaking to BBC News NI, he said he has noticed an increased in visitors from the Republic of Ireland in recent years.
“We would get a lot of tourists in here picking up a sandwich before getting the bus,” he said.
“I think people from the south historically wouldn’t have come up here because of the Troubles or the roads weren’t great but obviously now things are different.
“On Friday…
