Debate contribution: North/South Ministerial Council: Tourism

Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on 9 February 2026.

MLA

Dr Caoimhe Archibald

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

9 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

North/South Ministerial Council: Tourism

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5369149

Read the official Assembly record

Text

With your permission, I wish to make a statement in compliance with section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, regarding a meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in tourism sectoral format. The meeting was held in Armagh on 28 January 2026. I chaired the meeting, representing the Northern Ireland Executive, and was accompanied by Minister Gordon Lyons. The Irish Government were represented by Minister Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The statement has been agreed with Minister Lyons, and I make it on behalf of us both. The Council welcomed the report of the chair of Tourism Ireland on the work of the board since the last NSMC tourism meeting in April 2025. Ministers noted Tourism Ireland activity during that period, including the large number of marketing campaigns and events undertaken, continuing to strive for greater seasonal and regional spread of visits, including for example the marketing of the island as the Home of Halloween and the promotion of major sporting events. The Council noted Tourism Ireland's forward focus on increasing the value of overseas tourism; sustainably supporting economies, communities and the environment; and market diversification by expanding strategic source markets, stimulating demand for new and existing routes and strengthening strategic partnerships. Ministers noted the work of Tourism Ireland to promote economic growth through its support of sustainable benefit for SMEs and communities, business events, strategy and competitiveness, productivity and market diversification. The NSMC agreed that officials in Tourism Ireland will continue to collaborate on those matters, and an update will be provided to the next meeting in the sector. Ministers noted updates on the work of the all-island strategic tourism group, including efforts to promote sustainability for the tourism sector. The NSMC noted ongoing work to address climate change and loss of biodiversity within the tourism sector. The Council noted the ongoing collaboration between the relevant tourism agencies on the Shared Island-funded brand collaboration project and the projects under the Shared Destinations programme 2025-2030. The NSMC approved the 'Tourism Ireland Corporate Plan, 2026-28'. The Council also approved the 'Tourism Ireland Business Plan, 2026' and recommended the budget and grant provision. The Council noted Tourism Ireland's annual report and accounts for 2024, which have been certified by the Comptrollers and Auditors General (C&AGs) and laid before the Assembly and both Houses of the Oireachtas. Ministers noted a presentation on the collaboration to maximise benefits from golf tourism by Fáilte Ireland, Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland and how the agencies are working collaboratively to promote economic growth across the island. The NSMC approved an appointment to the board of Tourism Ireland CLG from 28 January 2026 to 18 December 2026. The Council agreed to hold its next NSMC tourism meeting in spring 2026. I commend the statement to the House.

I thank the Member for her questions. The Member will be aware of the recent announcement on Ireland's Hidden Heartlands, which joins County Fermanagh into the Ireland's Hidden Heartlands brand. It was agreed between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism NI just before Christmas. That is an important first step in brand collaboration. The Member will also be aware of the Shared Island project on the Causeway coastal route and the Wild Atlantic Way as regards the joining together of those routes and the shared marketing and shared signage. Certainly, I see the opportunity in further collaboration of both the Wild Atlantic Way and Causeway coastal route brands across the island, as well as Ireland's Ancient East, which is currently being reviewed as a brand by Fáilte Ireland. The brands are owned by Fáilte Ireland, and we continue to engage with them on progressing that collaboration. Ireland's Hidden Heartlands provides us with a real opportunity to look at what the benefits of collaboration are for the businesses in Fermanagh that are able to take part in that brand. That will give us something to point to in relation to building on that for the other routes and brands across the island. We look forward to the engagement on Ireland's Ancient East when they have concluded the review of that as a brand and we can seek to further incorporate that into the North.

Yes, and I thank the Member for her question. At the NSMC tourism sector meeting, my nominee, Barry Flanagan, was appointed to the Tourism Ireland board. My nomination of Barry to that important position reflects his commitment to the tourism sector in the Fermanagh lakelands region and to running his own business. The Member will know Erne Water Taxi well. He has chaired the Cuilcagh Lakelands Regenerative Tourism Network, working in collaboration with industry and government partners to develop that beautiful area for visitors. He will bring important experience and expertise to the board of Tourism Ireland. The announcement of the Ireland's Hidden Heartlands brand being extended into Fermanagh demonstrates my commitment to developing the value of tourism across the island and across all regions to support prosperity for local communities.

I thank the Member for her question. Of course, the statement refers to the NSMC and the work of Tourism Ireland, which markets the island as a whole and does so successfully. We seek to build on that to attract more visitors across the island and to the North specifically. There are some important targets in the business plan and corporate plan whereby Tourism Ireland seeks to increase visitors by 6% across the island over the coming years. However, in the North, the target is 6·5%, reflecting the huge opportunity to build on the offering that we have. It is important to point out that the announcement of the extension of the Ireland's Hidden Heartlands brand into the North clearly states in the guidance that eligible companies will continue to be able to use the Embrace a Giant Spirit branding that markets the North to the South, importantly, and to Britain, our two closest markets, where a lot of our visitors come from. It is important that we continue to promote the region as a whole. However, there are huge and significant opportunities to be had from marketing the island as a whole and including the North in those globally renowned and successful brands. Visitors from other countries do not see borders; they see the island as a whole, and we should capitalise on that.

I thank the Member for his question. As he will know, we have set up the all-island tourism steering group to align the work North and South. It includes officials from both Departments and all the tourism agencies, and it will look at how we can build on the tourism vision and action plan in the recently announced strategy in the South; there are many synergies between them. There are, of course, conversations about how we can build on the initiatives that have already been taken. As I mentioned to Ms McLaughlin, Fáilte Ireland owns the brands, and we are engaging commercially to extend them. We continue to pursue those conversations, and we have done that through all the fora that you would expect us to use. As I said, I believe that Ireland's Hidden Heartlands brand is an example of something that we can build on and that it will be a success for the businesses in Fermanagh. We have put additional funding into the campaign to support it in its first year. We will seek to take further steps on that. I am happy to write to the Member with some more detail on the time frames.

I thank the Member for raising those important issues. As she will know, I recently engaged on the issue of VAT in particular with the hospitality sector through Hospitality Ulster and the NI Food To Go Association. The Finance Minister and I committed to engaging with Treasury, with the organisations themselves, to make the case. The Member will know from her involvement in the all-party group (APG) that there is broad support for the initiative from hospitality organisations in Britain, which see an opportunity to have a pilot here. We continue to make the case to Treasury, and I am happy to stand alongside the sector to do so. It will become more of a challenge in the summer when the VAT rate in the South is further reduced. We need to put a particular focus on the issue now. We have continued to monitor the electronic travel authorisation (ETA). We have asked tourism providers to share with us their experiences and data, and we are collating that. We have asked Ulster University's Economic Policy Centre to do work on the ETA to provide us with an evidence base, and that work continues. Obviously, it has to be in place for a bit of time in order for the impact to be seen. That is where we are with it. Businesses report a strong summer, which is positive, but we will look at the actual data to understand what the impact might be and how it compares with previous years.

I thank the Member for his question. Fleadh Cheoil coming to Belfast provides us with a huge opportunity. We have seen the success that it has been in other towns and cities across the island, and we are excited about it coming to Belfast in August. Tourism NI is working closely with Belfast City Council and Ards Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann to bring it to Belfast. Fleadh Cheoil will be an unprecedented and inclusive event that will celebrate Irish music and culture. It is expected to attract in the region of 700,000 people, with an estimated economic boost of over £50 million. It will have a significant economic impact. As I said, my Department, through Tourism NI, is working with the other partners to deliver the event. I anticipate it being a huge success.

I thank the Member for his question. As I mentioned in the statement, we had a presentation on the opportunities of golf tourism. They are significant; we know that. As announced just before Christmas, the economic impact of the Open exceeded the expected benefits, and, clearly, we want to build on that. The R&A has committed to three Opens coming here. We are in conversations and engagement with the R&A to tie down exactly when the Open will come back, as it has committed to bringing it here for that third time. Of course, we will look to bring the Open back again beyond that third time.

I thank the Member for her question. She will know that that is recognised in the tourism vision and action plan. There is a significant similarity between our strategy in the North and the strategy in the South and in the conversations that we have had about skills. I have had those conversations with Ministers across the Administration in the South such as Minister Burke and his counterpart Minister Lawless, because the issue sits across Departments there. We are looking at areas in which there are opportunities to collaborate North/South; at things that we do well, such as apprenticeships, from which they can learn; at things that they do well from which we want to learn; and at areas where we can share expertise and in which there are opportunities across sectors. That work is ongoing.

I thank the Member for his question. The Open provided an opportunity to market our amazing coastline and everything that we have to offer. It was seen by a global audience. That is one of the things that those global events do: they put us on the global stage. We can continue to build on the success that we have seen in the delivery of the two Opens, as well as the further opportunities that we will see in coming years.

We have shown expertise in the delivery of big events, and I am certainly keen to work with Tourism NI on how we can bring more major events here to build on what we have had already and to attract visitors. When visitors come for an event, see everything that we have to offer and experience the amazing hospitality and welcome that they get, they are inclined to come back. That is exactly what we want.

I thank the Member for his question. That was one of the issues that was discussed at the NSMC. Obviously, Minister Lyons was in attendance. Tourism Ireland is looking at the opportunity to market the island as part of the America250 celebrations. I will be out in the States in early March, so I will have an opportunity to engage, as I always do, with Tourism Ireland when I am out there. I will look at the opportunities to market the island as a whole and at how to bring American visitors back for the America250 events here, so that we can showcase that heritage and history, which people often want to experience when they come here. If they have family or roots here, they are even more inclined to do so. We are keen to build on that.

I thank the Member. Fair play on getting your attractions in there. In all seriousness, there is an opportunity to look at how we build upon the scheduled completion of Narrow Water bridge and the tourism offering down the whole of the east coast. There are significant attractions and things that we want to showcase there. Fáilte Ireland is doing the evaluation of the brand, but I certainly see the opportunity to incorporate Narrow Water bridge, the whole of south Down and the wider area in Ireland's Ancient East to build upon the offering that is there.

Thank you, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I thank the Member for his question. I am sure that he appreciates the fact that we have many attractions across the North and that we do not mention every single one of them at every meeting, because, if we did, we would be there for a very long time. If the Member believes that there are opportunities to amplify that attraction, I am happy for him to write to me, and we can look at the issues.

I thank the Member for his question. He will know this because his constituency has a hugely strong tourism offering, but tourism is really important to the island as a whole and is a major part of our economy. It spreads prosperity across the region. It is vital that we continue to support that. One of the really important ways in which we do that is through Tourism Ireland's marketing activity. The tourism industry makes a huge contribution to our economy and provides around 70,000 jobs across the North. Importantly, over 70% of those jobs are outside the Belfast area, so it impacts across the region. That shows how integral tourism is to the fabric of our cultural and social life, as well as to our economy. People really care about the tourism product and offering in their own areas. That often translates into what makes it so successful. Tourism Ireland has completed analysis of the return on marketing and has calculated a return on investment of around 25:1 for the top four markets, which are the US, Britain, Germany and France. While those are really positive figures, we need to build on them and support tourism providers in showcasing our tourism offering across the island. As Minister, I have also had the opportunity to see first-hand the work of Tourism Ireland at a number of its events and promotions overseas, and I have had the opportunity to meet travel trade and media personnel in New York, Berlin, Boston, London and Shanghai. It is so positive to hear how highly people speak of, and their enthusiasm for, our beautiful island.

I thank the Member for his question. That was not discussed at the meeting, but I am happy to engage with the Member, Executive colleagues and others to look at how we do that. It is, obviously, hugely disappointing that we are not in a position to be part of Euro 2028, and that we will not have Casement Park built in time for it. That project is moving ahead, and we are keen to look at future opportunities for such events.

I thank the Member for his question. That issue does not really fit into the NSMC's remit, so it was not discussed at the meeting. However, we obviously want to support our local tourism industry, so I am happy for the Member, if he wants to, to write to Tourism NI or me on that issue.

I thank the Member for his question. That issue was raised by other Ministers who were present and I, because, as you have highlighted, it is common across the island. Its impacts include the housing challenges that we face north and south; people's ability, particularly in the private rented sector, to maintain their tenancies; and challenges with tourism accommodation. There are balances to be struck there. The Minister for Communities, who has just walked into the Chamber, is doing important work on the housing strategy and research that is being undertaken on the impact of short-term lets, which will be hugely beneficial in providing us with an evidence base on which to make interventions. It is also important that we learn from experiences elsewhere where actions have been taken. There have been some examples in England and Wales that we should look to assess. That is likely to be considered as part of that research. Unfortunately, the issue will, I think, continue. We will have opportunities to continue to discuss it through forums such as the NSMC.

2,936 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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