Debate contribution: Hospitality and Tourism: East Antrim

Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on 11 June 2024.

MLA

Mr Danny Donnelly

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

11 June 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Hospitality and Tourism: East Antrim

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4496117

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am happy to have the opportunity to contribute to the Adjournment debate. I thank my constituency colleague Cheryl Brownlee for securing the debate. There is no shortage of options for tourists who visit East Antrim. Some are well known and renowned. For example, Carrickfergus Castle, which was mentioned, is one of the best-preserved Norman castles anywhere in these islands and is well preserved as a monument after 750 years of military operation. Several miles up the road is the Gobbins, a spectacular cliff-face walk that has been restored to its former glory, along with a new cafe and exhibition and visitor facilities in nearby Ballystrudder. Our fascinating historical connections are evidenced through some of our brilliant museums, including Carrickfergus Museum; the Andrew Jackson cottage, which tells the story of the seventh US president, whose parents emigrated from Carrickfergus; and the Larne Museum and Arts Centre, which is located in the redeveloped and restored Carnegie Free Library in Larne. North of Larne, we have the famous Antrim Coast Road, which is recognised as one of the greatest coastal drives in the world. Each village along that road, including Ballygally, Glenarm, Carnlough, Waterfoot and Cushendun, has its own sights and attractions, many of which have been positively highlighted by our growing film and TV industry, with shows such as 'Game of Thrones' being filmed in the area. I could talk all day about the opportunities for tourism in East Antrim, but, given the time constrains, I will focus on what we need to do to confront the challenges facing hospitality in our constituency and what the Executive and UK Government could do to support our hospitality and tourism sectors. It has been pointed out many times that tourism and hospitality are interlinked. You cannot have a good tourism destination without hospitality. It should be acknowledged that much of the tourism to East Antrim consists of tour groups, as the previous contributor mentioned, that visit specific sites over the course of one or two days. Many of those tours stop at Carrickfergus Castle, which is, obviously, welcome, but many immediately leave the town and head north without visiting the rest of Carrickfergus, missing out on the sights of the town and the positive hospitality that Carrick's many restaurants, bars and coffee shops have to offer. In other words, many people pass through our key towns and villages, but few stay for the day or overnight. I noticed an interview with Howard Hastings in the 'Belfast Telegraph' today. He mentioned visitors, particularly those coming from GB. He said:

"I believe a lot of people in GB, when they think about holidays, only think about travelling east rather than west. There’s what they call in tourism terms a ‘well of ignorance’ about Northern Ireland. They’ve chosen not to learn about us... and what we do... visitors from Great Britain who come to Northern Ireland... bring with them three things: their passports, euros and plug socket adapters."

There clearly is some work to be done to make Northern Ireland an attractive place for tourists from GB. The vast majority of international tourists who come to Northern Ireland come through the Republic of Ireland as part of a wider visit to the island of Ireland. Most will spend two or three days focused on Belfast, passing through East Antrim on the way to other tourist locations such as Portrush or Derry. In that respect, our tourism sector is under threat from the long-term impacts of Brexit, particularly if cross-border tourism is negatively impacted by the UK Government's plans for electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for non-UK and non-Irish citizens. We must work with the new Government to ensure that that measure does not hinder cross-border tourism, which is desperately needed. Brexit has also resulted in a workforce crisis, as I have heard from many business owners who work in our hospitality sector in East Antrim. Brexit and the outgoing Government's obsession with confronting immigration have led to a reduction in available staff for many of our hotels, since many of our valued hospitality staff were EU nationals. The loss of EU funding will diminish opportunities for future planning and restoration such as we had in the past. For example, the restoration of the Gobbins, which we talked about, was delivered partly due to EU Peace funding. It remains to be seen whether UK equivalent schemes can deliver, but, so far, that appears unlikely. We must do what we can to link our tourism attractions in East Antrim to the local economy so that people who visit them will benefit our local economy and businesses. More widely, the workforce crisis in our hospitality sector has led to shortages for many local businesses such as bars and restaurants, many of which can open only on certain days or restrict their days by, for example, opening only at weekends or in the evenings. Some have reduced menus as a result of not having sufficient resources. That decline is sadly evident in East Antrim and across Northern Ireland. It also reflects the difficult reality for many families who, in the cost-of-living crisis, cannot afford to eat out or to pay for increasingly expensive meals. Other financial issues require the intervention of either central government in the UK or the Executive here. Many local B&B owners have told me that the rates system does not work for them, as it is increasing their costs during an already difficult cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crisis. Some of the larger hotels in the constituency are similarly concerned about VAT and would welcome an urgent review of VAT for hospitality, saying that the margins of doing business are very slim. I note that that was one of the suggestions that Trade NI made in its economic report, 'The Prosperity Dividend', which was launched last year. I look forward to hearing from the Economy Minister about what his Department can do to improve prospects for our tourism and hospitality sectors. I appreciate that much of what I have mentioned is outside his responsibilities, and, indeed, we need a coordinated approach from several Departments, including Finance, to any rates review; Infrastructure, to ensure effective transport links, particularly along the Belfast to Larne railway line; and Communities, to work to enhance our local heritage, including local campaigns to restore and improve historic buildings and other sites. I ask the Economy Minister —.

No problem. I agree with the Member who secured the debate that we have great potential and that we must do what we can to harness it for the benefit of our businesses.

1,100 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:44 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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