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A DUP MP has suggested that Northern Irish tourism companies should \u201caggressively\u201d target tourists in Dublin to tell them \u201cyou\u2019re in the wrong part of the island\u201d.<\/p>\nA DUP MP has suggested that Northern Irish tourism companies should \u201caggressively\u201d target tourists in Dublin to tell them \u201cyou\u2019re in the wrong part of the island\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ian Paisley Jnr, speaking to delegates from Visit Belfast and Visit Derry during a British parliament committee on Tuesday, suggested that Dublin was unfairly marketing in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
He asked if Northern Ireland should \u201cput it right back in their face.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been put to me that 70 percent of Dublin airport\u2019s marketing budget on the island is spent in Northern Ireland to attract people to go south\u201d Mr Paisley said.<\/p>\n
Why don’t we have an aggressive strategy that tells every single Irish-American in Dublin, ‘You’re in the wrong part of the island, you need to be up north’<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just wondering, should we have an aggressive marketing strategy that says whenever you get off a plane in Dublin, \u2018Visit Derry, Visit Belfast, Visit the Causeway, why aren\u2019t you going north?\u2019, and put it right back in their face?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe song most Americans sing is \u2018Danny Boy\u2019 \u2013 that\u2019s nothing to do with the Republic of Ireland, it\u2019s to do with Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t we have an aggressive strategy that tells every single Irish-American in Dublin, \u2018You\u2019re in the wrong part of the island, you need to be up north\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The delegates, Gerry Lennon from Visit Belfast, and Odhran Dunne from Visit Derry, both said that more marketing was essential, that resources were tight and that they need more public sector funding.<\/p>\n
Lady Sylvia Hermon asked how Brexit will effect tourism in Northern Ireland as the specter of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remains.<\/p>\n
Mr Dunne replied: \u201cWe\u2019re like every other agency and stakeholder, it\u2019s the unknown and very hard to prepare for.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs advocates of tourism, and trying to grow that economy, our priority has to be that the consumer journey is easy and seamless.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue of hard border is not conducive to progressive tourism, and that would be a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit Belfast\u2019s Gerry Lennon said: \u201cAnything that would add layer of complication to people crossing border or flying in is not a good thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve enough problems trying to catch up with other destinations, without adding any layers of complication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit Belfast have had \u201cone or two\u201d conferences that have rejected Belfast as their preferred location, due to Brexit-related uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Both men noted the tourism industry had been negatively impacted without a minister in place since the Stormont collapse, and that the industry had been working off a draft tourism strategy for ten years.<\/p>\n
When pressed on whether he was optimistic about the introduction of power-sharing talks in Northern Ireland to restore the assembly, Mr Lennon replied: \u201cThat\u2019s way above my pay grade.\u201d<\/p>\n