This would be in addition to the nearly £13
million of investment spent on developing
hotels in the Province over the last five years.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Investment (DETI) confirmed they have spent
millions of pounds investing in the tourist
industry as a "vital" element of the Ulster
economy.
In a breakdown by parliamentary constituency,
Economy Minister Nigel Dodds outlined a
total investment of £12,859,514 which has been
spent on hotel development since the financial
year 2003. This is down to a growth in hotel
room sales, which have risen by 6.9 per cent
since 2003.
The DUP minister said if this growth was to
continue for the next five years, with all factors
remaining equal, an additional 3,300 hotel
rooms would be required – equating to 66 hotels
by 2013.
Speaking of the potential hotel developments
for the future, he said: "The Northern Ireland
Tourist Board is currently aware of around 50
potential hotel projects for Northern Ireland.
While many of these are expressions of interest
at this stage, I am very encouraged at the level
of interest shown by the private sector in hotel
development."
The largest investment made by the department
for hotel development came last year
when nearly £6 million was pumped into seven
constituencies across the Province.
The biggest such allocation was to Fermanagh
and South Tyrone which saw a whopping £3.5
million invested for the development of Castle
Hume. This was followed by North Antrim,
which received £1,717,551 for the Galgorm
Manor Hotel.
In 2006, South Down saw the largest investment,
with just over £2.5 million to help develop
the Slieve Donard Hotel.
Over the five years, Fermanagh and South
Tyrone received the most investment overall,
with instalments each year. The total figure
amounts to £4,893,755 – just over £2 million
more than the second area, South Down, which
received £2,753,990 over the five years. The
money has gone into developments such as the
Killyhevlin Hotel, Mahon's Hotel, Hotel Carlton
and the Carrybridge Hotel and marina.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Tourist
Board said: "2007 was a record year for tourism.
With this level of growth, the Northern Ireland
Tourist Board is aware of the need for additional
hotel stock and we continue to work hard
with our partners to ensure supply meets
demand."


Tourism 'worth £500m a year'

TOURISM is worth an estimated £501
million annually to Northern Ireland,
said Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Minister Nigel Dodds as he outlined the
value Ulster's new-found tourist industry
has for our economy.
It also contributes to nearly 40,000
jobs.
But while the minister said he regards
the tourism industry as "vital" to the
Northern Ireland economy, a new travel
guide has said the Province is lacking in
the green department.
As the DUP minister broke down the
total income generated by tourism with
regards to revenue and jobs provided in
response to an Assembly question, the
latest edition of the Lonely Planet guide
to Ireland said the country was at risk of
losing its reputation as the Emerald Isle.
It said the country is still not doing
enough for the environment, branding
us a nation of car lovers with a carbon
footprint double the global average.
Mr Dodds said tourism supports
approximately 38,700 full and part-time
jobs. Last year 2.05 million out-of-state
visitors generated an estimated £366
million of revenue while domestic
tourism was worth £135 million.

Assembly pulls in the visitors

A DEDICATED visitors' centre could be
built at Stormont because of the tens of
thousands of tourists flocking to the
Northern Ireland Assembly, it emerged
yesterday.
The Assembly Commission – which
looks after the running of Parliament
Buildings – said development of a tourism
centre in the grounds could begin within
two years.
The commission revealed that almost
42,000 visitors travelled to see the landmark
overlooking east Belfast between
the restoration of devolution last May and
the end of December.
DUP MLA Simon Hamilton said the
record figures – which equate to well over
1,000 tourists a week – made a clear case
for investment to tap into the tourism
potential.
"I think those figures underline what a
tourism asset Stormont actually is," he
said.
"And I think those record figures are very
much in spite of the comparatively poor
visitor facilities we have at Stormont."
He urged the commission to include a
dedicated visitors' centre in their plans
for a new development close to
Parliament Buildings to deal with staff,
press, education and accommodation.


Bodies link with Order to push 'cultural tourism'

PROMOTION of Orange Order
demonstrations will be maximised
through the Order working
in conjunction with the
Northern Ireland Tourist Board
(NITB) and Tourism Ireland,
according to Nigel Dodds,
Minister of Enterprise, Trade and
Investment.
Mr Dodds was responding to a
question raised in the Assembly
on this issue.
A spokesman for NITB said:
"The cultural and heritage strategy
which has input from NITB,
the Orange Order and Mr Dodds'
department, will be completed in
the spring.
"In addition, we helped the
Orange Order to provide information
for visitors and make their
2007 Enniskillen parade more
accessible and inclusive for all.
This was well received and is likely
to happen again with other
Orange Order parades."
Mr Dodds disclosed that
Tourism Ireland are involved in
working on a Williamite Trail,
which is the route taken by King
William on his way to victory at
the Battle of the Boyne.
A spokesman for the Orange
Order said to the News Letter:
"We believe the time is right to
reap the benefits of cultural
tourism.
"More tourists will benefit both
Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland."