Editorial: Northern Ireland is on the tourist tail, as the visit by Dr Ballard to the popular Titanic centre reminds us

The visit to Belfast by Dr Robert Ballard yesterday was a reminder of such much that is good about present day Northern Ireland.

It was his mission to locate the wreck of the famous ship in the 1980s, 73 years after the Belfast-built luxury liner sank.

Dr Ballard, said he was "humbled" to see an exhibition on his work take pride of place in Titanic Belfast, the exhibition centre which is 11 years old.

He was delighted that “the story of my work is being told as part of the authentic Titanic story here in Belfast”.

An amazing aspect of the Titanic story is how it has grown with time. There is far more global interest around the world, in countries such as China, than there was in the decades after the tragedy.

Northern Ireland seemed if anything ashamed of what had happened, when in fact it was the decision to charge the boat through an ice field that led to disaster, not any shortcomings by the skilled workforce in Harland and Wolff. Titanic Belfast is now at the heart of a buoyant tourist industry in Northern Ireland. who would have thought in the dark days of the 1970s that so many people would now consider NI part of the global traveller trail.

We have in recent years hosted major cultural and sporting events, one of the most notable of which – the prestigious Open golf tournament – went so well that it is due to return. Whatever the political difficulties in Northern Ireland, we have attractions that transcend that in the eyes of visitors. In fact, many people who come here are curious to find out why there was such bitter division between people of the same race, and who shared a Christian heritage.

NI is also a great place to live, and since lockdown young people have been returning to live here. They can have a job in London but work from Ulster.