Titanic story a ‘beacon’ to boost Ulster tourism
Tourism Minister Arlene Foster with UK Minister for Tourism & Heritage John Penrose on a tour to see work progressing at Titanic Belfast, hailed by travel expert Simon Calder yesterday as a "beacon" for the province's tourism industry. Picture: Michael Cooper
THE Titanic story is Northern Ireland’s to tell and will be a beacon attracting visitors to enjoy every other feature that the province has to offer, one of the most respected figures in the travel industry said yesterday.
Speaking after a tour of the Titanic building Simon Calder, travel writer with the Independent newspaper, said he had no doubt that after the years of being held back, the province’s time had come.
“I honestly think that this will be the turning point for Northern Ireland tourism, a brilliant idea that has been well-executed.
“We’re still seven weeks away from knowing exactly how it will look, but everything from the startling design of the building to what I’ve been able to see of the contents suggests that this will be an immediate success and I don’t say that lightly because many tourist attractions fail to deliver the best of intentions.”
After many years travelling the world, the award-winning journalist and travel pundit said there remained concerns, not least the uncertainty surrounding air links to the province.
However, looking to the Titanic Signature building and natural attractions such as the Fermanagh lakes and the Giant’s Causeway, where the new tourist centre opens this year, he said people should be confident about what they had to offer the world.
“I can understand that certain self-doubt amongst the people of Northern Ireland about how rich Northern Ireland is as a destination,” he said.
“That is simply because it has been under-delivering and underperforming for decades due to reasons of political strife and sectarian violence.
“There’s always unfortunately a lag between that effectively coming to an end and then people thinking let’s go to Northern Ireland for a holiday.
“I think we are now at that point and the very iconic Titanic Belfast will be the catalyst for Northern Ireland finally achieving the kind of results that those of us that have been coming here for years think it richly deserves.
Tourism Minister Arlene Foster said the Titanic story and events such as Londonderry’s role as the European City of Culture in 2013 were pivotal to the success of the province as a whole.
“2012 is about changing global perceptions and trying to get tourists to come to Northern Ireland,” she said.
“We believe it’s a huge opportunity with all the events that we have planned and all the capital expenditure we have made over the past three years in signature projects such as Titanic, all the work we have carried out in Londonderry in relation to built heritage and the Giant’s Causeway visitors’ centre as well.
“I think that what a lot of people in Northern Ireland don’t understand is that Titanic is a global brand and sometimes we don’t see that living here right beside the shipyard where it was actually built. So one of our key objectives this year is to bring Titanic home to Belfast so that when other places around the world claim ownership of it, we can actually say it was built here in Belfast and this is where you should come for the authentic story about the Titanic.”
Responding to recent concerns expressed about the sensitivities around the loss of the liner with 1,500 lives and the celebration of the ship’s creation, Mrs Foster said those would not be overlooked or ignored.
“It is 100 years since the Titanic went down and I think it is time to reflect and we will do that over the weekend anniversary of the sinking with church services and the re-dedication of the memorial garden at the City Hall which is very important. But we do need to look forward as well and that is what the signature project is about.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
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