By
Robin Morton
03 June 2005
Holidaymaker
numbers in
Northern
Ireland
have surged by 12% over the past year, according to new data
from Tourism Ireland.
But the
organisation's chief executive, Paul O'Toole, warned that
despite the increase there was no room for complacency.
He said
emerging eastern bloc and long-haul destinations posed a
major challenge, especially with the availability of cheap
air fares from Britain.
Mr O'Toole
was speaking at a meeting of Northern Ireland tourism chiefs
held in the Stormont Hotel in Belfast yesterday.
He said a
concerted effort was required to reinvigorate the British
market, which had begun to "soften".
Mr O'Toole
said: "Northern
Ireland
tourism continues to perform strongly with a 12%
holidaymaker growth in the past year," he said.
"But emerging
international trends mean that the industry here cannot
afford to become complacent."
According to
Tourism
Ireland,
the number of overseas visitors to the province has risen by
29% over the past three years, with revenue going up by 12%.
But Mr
O'Toole said patterns were changing with people in Britain
leaving their booking until late, and becoming increasingly
attracted to eastern Europe.
"This places
additional pressure on the industry in Northern Ireland to
provide a high quality, value for money, holiday
experience," he added.
"We need to
remember that competition is growing faster than the pool of
travellers, and that current levels of growth in Northern
Ireland are only sustainable by taking cognisance of the
changes in the marketplace and staying ahead of the posse in
terms of our competitiveness."
Mr O'Toole
said the new strategy to win back the British market
involved focusing on the three central themes of promotion,
product and welcome.
Joe Byrne,
Tourism
Ireland's
director of markets and customers, said visitors had to be
offered a unique experience.
He said a
survey had shown that the attractions of Northern Ireland
highlighted by visitors were the "welcome, hospitality and
chat and humour of the people."
