- The new Titanic center in Belfast's Titanic Quarter.
Built on the same shipyard where the liner was constructed, 100,000 people have already bought tickets for the attraction, while it’s envisaged that 425,000 people will visit the dramatic structure in its first year.
It is estimated that it will need to attract 300,000 people a year to break even.
On Saturday, First and Deputy First ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness officially cut the ribbon to let the crowds file into the center.
Also present was 105-year-old Belfast man Cyril Quigley, who saw the Titanic leave Belfast more than a century ago.
The design of the building is based on the bow of the Titanic. It tells the story of the famous ship's sinking and the more than 1,500 people who died, this in a series of nine galleries.
First Minister Peter Robinson said the Titanic center marks not just a commemoration of the internationally recognized story, but a new
beginning for Northern Ireland on the world stage.
"It is a genuinely global brand that will be a superb draw for visitors to our shores reflecting the importance that the Northern Ireland Executive attaches to tourism as a major arm of our economic strategy," he said.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said people should be proud of Titanic Belfast.
"Titanic is such a global story that it is only right and fitting that it is properly remembered in the city of its birth.
"For too long, perhaps more than anything because of a sense of profound sorrow, the Titanic has never been truly remembered at home but all that has now changed and I have no doubt that Titanic Belfast will be a focal point for locals and visitors alike, now and in the future," he said.
The launch of Titanic Belfast
also marks the beginning of
the Titanic Festival, which runs until April 22 and includes concerts, a light show and the opening of a memorial garden at Belfast City Hall.
