Tourism NI’s Chief Executive show support

John McGrillen, CEO of Tourism NI, visited Portrush this week to meet with local tourism industry representatives as well as the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough, Alderman Mark Fielding.

During his visit Mr McGrillen discussed how Covid-19 has affected local businesses and why staycations are the immediate priority.

“Here in Northern Ireland the message will be about staying at home, supporting local. It will focus on the fact that we have a fantastic offering on our doorstep for people who live here and for our visitors coming across the border. We will be building on our successful ‘Say Hello to More’ campaign which created awareness of the value for money opportunities here”.

“Typically 30% of our overnight spend is domestic but now we have a significant number of people who would normally travel abroad but can’t and they might want to take a holiday at some point. Their options are limited to the island of Ireland and that’s our opportunity.”

“For the Republic of Ireland market there’s a challenge with the perception of distance. Our future theme will be how a “small step” can lead to a “giant adventure”.

Mayor Fielding said: “This is a challenging time for the tourism and hospitality sector which is so important to our economy. We are grateful for all of the assistance, guidance and investment from Tourism NI throughout this crisis. Council has a vital role to play in assisting the recovery by collaborating with stakeholder agencies and the tourism providers to ensure we optimise opportunities for a return to business in our area”.