2012… the year when Northern Ireland puts itself forward as a progressive and dynamic destination, with a vibrant capital city. “Our Time, Our Place” – NITB have done an amazing job in getting the message out there, but what is the reality for a visiting tourist who wants to experience this vibrancy?

After the introduction of new licensing laws – the reality is clubs chucking you out at 2am, when the party is just getting started in places like Berlin. The reality is thousands of customers scrambling for taxis at the same time. People ordering as many drinks as they can before closing. Parties starting up in residential areas at 3am.

Then there’s the lost money to local businesses, bars and restaurants at a time when they need it most.

Similarly over Easter weekend, when Belfast was launching the world’s biggest and newest Titanic visitor attraction, vsiitors couldn’t have a glass of wine with their dinner on Good Friday. The town was packed with international tourists, imagine their confusion when the waiter explains to them that they can’t get a drink, or their disappointment ghen they get to that historic pub they read about in Lonely Planet…. and it’s shut, on a Friday night.

So it turns out you can have a good time, just not at the time you want.

Full story on BBC News here

Title stolen from @pablomcc