Belfast unveils birth-to-death story of Titanic

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Belfast is launching an impressive new tourist attraction — the 100 million-pound ($160 million, €120 million) Titanic Belfast visitor center, which offers a taste of the excitement and opulence surrounding the doomed trans-Atlantic liner.

Some 100,000 tickets have already sold. Belfast is betting the center, which opens Saturday will deliver a lasting tourist tonic to the conflict-scarred city.

Any visitor's first impression will be of its stunning exterior: four jutting prows of the ship, lined in silver steel paneling six stories high. It sits beside the Belfast Lough dockside where the ship was built from 1909 to 1911 and set sail for her sea trials on April 2, 1912.

A three-week festival featuring talks, walks and seven stage shows, including "Titanic The Musical," also begins Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the ship's launching.

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom and second largest on the 

 island of Ireland.

Belfast is currently experiencing a successful tourist boom, being one of the most visited cities in the UK, and the second most visited on the island of Ireland. In 2008, 7.1 million tourists visited the city. There are numerous popular tour bus companies and boat tours running throughout the year.
Frommer's, the American travel guidebook series, listed Belfast as the only United Kingdom destination in its Top 12 Destinations to Visit in 2009. The other listed destinations were Istanbul, Berlin, Cape Town, Saqqara, Washington DC, Cambodia, Waiheke Island, Cartagena, Waterton Lakes National Park, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, Alabama and the Lassen Volcanic National Park.
To further enhance the tourist industry in Northern Ireland, the Belfast City Council is currently investing into the complete redevelopment of the Titanic Quarter, which is planned to consist of apartments, hotels and a riverside entertainment district. A major visitor attraction; Titanic Belfast, opens in March 2012. They also hope to invest in a new modern transport system (high-speed rail and others) for Belfast, with a cost of £250 million

Source: yahoo