Peace tourism is hoped to aid a plan to almost double income from visitors to Northern Ireland over the next decade.
A new Tourism Vision and Action Plan has set a target of increasing tourism expenditure from overnight visitors to more than £2 billion by 2035.
This would be almost double the statistics that show tourism expenditure for 2023 was at a record £1.2bn.
However, there is also concern that the UK’s new visa waiver scheme, the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), will challenge the efforts to grow tourism numbers.
All non-European visitors to the UK who do not have residency rights and who do not require a visa need to purchase an ETA in advance.
From April 2, European visitors will also need the digital travel permission, which costs £10 and is linked to a traveller’s passport. It does not apply to Irish citizens travelling into Northern Ireland who are exempt under the Common Travel Area arrangements.
Stormont Economy Minister Conor Murphy said the tourism target is “ambitious but achievable”.
“There is no doubt that that (ETA) casts a cloud over this,” he said.
“We were working on this tourism strategy, we were lobbying the British Government to change their view in terms of bringing in a travel authorisation issue.
“They have moved with it. We will continue to lobby them to point out that it is a bad idea, a bad idea for Ireland, and for international tourism on the island of Ireland.
“We will continue to press that, but we have a duty in the meantime to continue to support the tourism industry, to try and help it grow, and the business and jobs that flow from that.”
The plan includes proposals to restore funding to Tourism Ireland to press for overseas tourists to come to Northern Ireland and develop a long-term programme of events for Northern Ireland.
It also proposes expanding the visitor experience portfolio by developing and promoting peace tourism.
Speaking at the launch of the plan at Titanic Belfast on Wednesday, Mr Murphy said he believes peace tourism is an aspect that has been underplayed and undervalued.
He pointed to the popularity of the Museum of Free Derry, and murals and black taxi tours in Belfast which take in miles of peace walls to still separate communities in parts of the city.
“A lot of tourists who come here come to see the legacy of conflict, to see the history of the place, but there has always been a sensitivity around how you promote that so I think we’re giving confidence to develop a way to promote that which is sensitive to all of the issues that flow from the conflict,” he said.
“There are already significant attractions, the Museum of Free Derry when you see the numbers going there, when I come out of our (Sinn Fein) office on the Falls Road at any time of year, there are people at the murals, people doing black taxi tours around Belfast.
“That has already been going for 10, 15 years, it had been difficult to promote. It’s a sensitive area so we want to make sure we assist those people in promoting that, recognising it is an important part of our overall tourism package which is very varied.”
Stephen McNally, chairman of the Tourism Partnership Board (TPB), said collaboration has been central to shaping the plan.
“I am grateful to Minister Murphy for inviting me to steer the work of the TPB which has been most rewarding, especially given the extensive breadth of industry experience across the group,” he said.
“Collaboration has been central to shaping this Vision. I am excited about the opportunities that implementing this Vision and Action Plan will present for ensuring long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits for future generations.”
