Tourism initiative launched by NI Hotels Federation

The Northern Ireland Hotels Federation (NIHF) has published a report claiming that tourism will create more jobs in Northern Ireland than manufacturing over the next five years.

According to the report, entitled “The Blueprint for Tourism”, the hospitality sector could also become the most effective short-term contributor to employment growth in the province.

The “Blueprint”, which is the result of a major review of the tourism and hospitality industry conducted for the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, was presented at a conference in Belfast on Tuesday October 16.

Speaking before the conference, President of the Federation Howard Hastings said that during 2000, employment in the hospitality sector grew at more than twice the Northern Ireland average and 50 per cent faster than the entire service sector.

He added: "Currently the local economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty as a result of the global slowdown and the events of September 11.

"However, Northern Ireland as a tourist destination is better placed than other regions in the UK and Ireland to grow strongly over the next few years."

Mr Hastings said his organisation had concluded that tourism could deliver significant numbers of new jobs by 2010, at a lower cost to government, and faster, than any other sector of the economy.

Urging the government and private sector to work with the industry in creating a cohesive strategy for tourism, he said Northern Ireland had demonstrated in the past that it could attract visitor numbers on a par with Ireland and the UK.

Concluding Mr Hastings said that Northern Ireland had only one opportunity to seize the initiative that it could not afford to “get it wrong”. (MB)