Belfast Capitalizes on Titanic Fever With New Attraction at Visitor's Center

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Monday, March 19, 2012

The city of Belfast in Northern Ireland is looking to capture some of the excitement of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic by building a tourist attraction dedicated to the "unsinkable" ship.

The city has built the Titanic Belfast Visitor's Center at the site where the Titanic first left port on its journey from England to New York.

The ship was built in the shipyards of Belfast and as the most expensive and luxurious ship of its time. The ship took three years to build and served as an extraordinary example of the city's engineering and ship building prowess.

The purpose of the new center is to give visitors an interactive experience to uncover the deep history of the Titanic from its inception all the way up to the present day.

"The Titanic Belfast extends over nine galleries, with multiple dimensions to the exhibition, drawing together special effects, dark rides, full-scale reconstructions and innovative interactive features to explore the Titanic story in a fresh and insightful way," according to the Titanic Belfast website.

"The journey goes beyond the aftermath of the sinking, to the discovery of the wreck and continues into the present day with a live undersea exploration center," the website adds.

Construction for the building began in May of 2009 and the site is expected to open to tourists on March 31, 2012.

The Titanic sunk off the coast of Newfoundland on April 15, 1912. The ship was carrying 2,200 people, which resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people including passengers and crewmembers.

A highly popular film based on the disaster directed by James Cameron and starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio hit theaters in 1997.

At the time of the release, the "Titanic" was the most expensive film ever made and grossed over $1.8 billion.

The film is set to be re-released for #D viewing on April 4, 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary that the "unsinkable" ship set sail out of Belfast onto its historic and tragic journey.