AQW 21501/17-22
Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry
Tabled Date: 06/07/2021
Answered On Date: 18/01/2022
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) for his assessment of the future tourism opportunities on the north coast; and (ii) the projects his Department has been involved in developing in this area.
Answer:
Tourism NI has a close working relationship with each of the eleven local authorities across Northern Ireland, including Causeway Coast & Glens (CC&G) council, and are meeting regularly with those councils to discuss areas such as Covid Recovery Plans, Business Support and key local tourism projects. Understandably, the Covid 19 pandemic has had a hugely negative impact on tourism in the CC&G area, and indeed across all parts of Northern Ireland, but it has established significant market growth and brand recognition over several years. In November 2019, Tourism NI launched its new Experience Brand, Northern Ireland - Embrace a Giant Spirit, which features a number of visitor experiences in the CC&G area including Whiskey on the Rocks, Beyond the Bridge and Catch & Sea. Tourism NI will continue to work in partnership with CC&G to develop further visitor experiences in the area so they can meet the expectations of both domestic and international visitors in the months and years ahead - many of these are anchored in the natural landscape and coastlines. The area also boasts several Game of Thrones based visitor experiences, which have been extremely popular in recent years and leave a lasting screen tourism legacy from this internationally renowned TV series. There has been ongoing business activity in the Causeway Coastal Route area in relation to business collaboration working that includes the tourism private sector, public sector and voluntary sector. A number of formal tourism cluster groups have been operating for a number of years now under the Invest NI’s Collaborative Growth Programme. Tourism NI and CC&G council are supportive of these independently facilitated cluster groups, namely the Causeway Coast, Limavady / Binevenagh and Taste Causeway in terms of industry and business support provision. Recent Tourism NI led Consumer Sentiment Analysis has indicated that rural and outdoor based destinations were popular in 2020 and 2021 post-lockdown and that prospective visitors will favour these destination attributes in the short-medium term going forward. The CC&G’s abundance of visitor experiences based on these key elements should place it in a strong position in the post-recovery phase. There are significant opportunities that exist around CC&G’s role as part of the £72m Causeway Coast & Glens Regional Growth Deal, meaning that further investment in the area as an already successful tourism destination is being considered. Tourism NI is working closely with CC&G council on their Regional Growth Deal, to help to market test and develop projects such as Dunluce Castle, to ensure that investment in tourism is aligned to TNI’s key objectives. In August 2020, Tourism NI launched a new Experience Development Programme capital funding scheme, as part of the Tourism Recovery Action Plan, to financially support tourism providers in creating experiences that reflect the new tourism brand and stimulate demand for local tourism. Several projects in the CC&G area were successful, including Broighter Gold and Aquaholics, in receiving collectively over £500k of financial assistance. In addition, as part of a Website Development funding programme that Tourism NI also launched in 2020, several projects in the CC&G area were also successful, Causeway Coast Foodie Tours and Old Bushmills, in receiving collectively over £40k of financial assistance. Both of these programmes are running again in 2021, and several tourism providers from the North Coast area have applied. Applications are currently undergoing assessment. Tourism NI will once again work closely with key partners to plan for and support delivery of the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2025, including engagement with councils and the business community to maximise the economic benefits of hosting such a prestigious tournament. This will build on the successful model deployed in 2019, including industry workshops, toolkits, a dressing and animation programme and customer service excellence training initiatives. In Oct 2021, Tourism NI awarded CC&G council with £293k financial assistance as part of a new Market Led Product Development funding programme to build the strength of the N. Ireland experience brand, aligning with core segments, and have the potential to maximise demand in future years. CC&G’s successful application aims to develop a number of new events and initiatives including Slow Food Banquets and Unique Dining Experiences. Tourism NI will continue to work closely with colleagues in CC&G council, as well as other stakeholders in the area, to identify and develop tourism projects on the North Coast in this strategically important area of N. Ireland.
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