Violent unrest on the streets of north Belfast will seriously damage Northern Ireland's potential tourism revenue this year unless a solution is found to the conflict within days, one of the North's senior industry leaders has warned.
Tourism chiefs fear the recent clashes between the two communities in north Belfast could deter potential holiday-makers who may be considering visiting Northern Ireland later this year.
Mr Roy Bailie, chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, said any escalation of the situation in the city could jeopardise jobs and new investment in the hospitality industry in the North.
"This is a critical period for the tourism sector because traditionally it is the time of year when people decide where they are going on holiday," Mr Bailie said. "The fact that the trouble in north Belfast is being broadcast around the world and is making front-page news seriously undermines our efforts to promote Northern Ireland as a holiday destination."
Britain's National Statistics unit yesterday published figures which show that the number of tourists visiting the UK fell in the first 11 months of 2001 to just more than 8 million people, 12.9 per cent down on the corresponding period the previous year.
Specific statistics for Northern Ireland, due to be released later this month, are expected to paint a similar picture of falling tourist numbers during 2001.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board had been hoping to attract more visitors to the North this year because of new research that shows potential holiday-makers had overcome what has been described as the "fear factor" in coming to the region. Tourism Ireland, the new cross-Border body established under the Good Friday agreement to promote the island as a holiday location, is also set to unveil a major new campaign promoting Northern Ireland as a destination.
But Mr Bailie fears that the work of Tourism Ireland could now be jeopardised by the images of rioting and unrest in specific areas of Belfast.