Looking at the North through eyes of the tourist

Sustained peace could see tourism spending double in Northern Ireland,writes Róisín Ingle in Belfast

It was time for some plain speaking as the Northern Ireland's Tourist Board's (NITB) ambitious corporate plan was launched last week. Over breakfast, NITB chairman Mr Roy Bailie was frank about the challenge of increasing annual visitor numbers by 7 per cent to two million by 2004.

"Anybody who thinks you can sell tourism in an environment with so much disruption is kidding themselves. You can do your best, but you can never maximise tourism," he said.

According to Mr Bailie, who has been at the helm of the NITB since 1996, the industry loses approximately £250 million sterling each year (€405.4 million) because of the annual Drumcree-related disturbances.

International tour operators have made it clear to him that for the two-week period in July they are unlikely to risk encouraging holidaymakers to visit the area.

"If Drumcree blows up into a massive problem, the visitor numbers cannot be achieved. Tour operators avoid coming here in July," he said.

Against this background, and the devastating impact last year of foot-and-mouth disease, the board is planning a strategy Mr Bailie believes will succeed in growing numbers and increasing visitor spend.

The creation of Tourism Ireland, the body established to market the entire island, is expected to give the North a much higher profile internationally. Invest Northern Ireland will fund the board's tourism accommodation development, while changes at senior management level, including a new chief executive Mr Alan Clarke, are expected to give fresh impetus to the board.

In terms of resources, the NITB has a budget of £5 million sterling for 2002/2003 while a further £15 million is available under the Peace II Programme for event, marketing and physical development support.

The corporate plan stresses the importance of "looking through the eyes of the visitor" at Northern Ireland.

"Future visitors will place importance on the maintenance of peace and stability in Northern Ireland and a resolution of parades disputes. These are prerequisites if tourism is to achieve its potential," the document states.

Currently, tourism accounts for only 1.8 per cent of Northern Ireland's GDP, a third of the figure for the Republic. Visitor spending is £263 million but "that money could double if there was sustained peace", said Mr Bailie.

DESPITE his realistic assessment of the challenges ahead, Mr Bailie is confident the targets contained in the corporate plan can be met.

"It isn't all doom and gloom," he said. He pointed to the fact that bed numbers have doubled in Belfast since 1995 while across Northern Ireland visitor accommodation has increased by 30 per cent.

"There has been a huge increase in marketing expenditure which will lead to increased visitors.

"We have steadily been increasing tourism by 2.5 per cent per annum the biggest challenge is the perception people have of Northern Ireland around the world," he said.

The perception of the tourist board itself is also in dire need of enhancement. The Northern Ireland Audit Office recently released a damning report into hospitality spending by the NITB's New York office.

One senior employee was found to have spent £25,000 in one year on entertainment expenses. Mr Bailie would not comment on the specific details of the report but said if areas of weakness were identified "it would be up to us to put them right".

He said morale had been badly damaged by the revelations.

"The tourist board is full of professional people, no other tourist organisation has had to deal with the kind of factors that exist in Northern Ireland. The criticisms weren't put into any context, the report didn't look at all the good work being done," he said.

It had been a privilege to work as chairman of the NITB, he added.

"I finish my term at the end of this year and it would be my sincere hope that in a couple of years the people behind this corporate plan will be criticised for not being optimistic enough," he said. "Northern Ireland has so much to offer, if the environment was right this would be the easiest job on God's earth."