To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail (i) what work he has undertaken to assess the seasonal economic boost to towns on the north coast; (ii) the findings of any assessments; and (iii) what work he has undertaken, and plans to undertake, to improve the economic benefits.

Parts (i) and (ii) - Accommodation statistics provided by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) for the Causeway Coast & Glens local government district area for 2019 indicate that:

Hotels and guesthouses, bed and breakfast and guest accommodation in the area experienced substantially higher room occupancy rates during April-September 2019 compared with the main autumn/winter period.

Average room occupancy for hotels was 77% for April-June 2019 and 82% for July-September 2019 compared with around 50% for the remainder of the year.

Guesthouses, bed and breakfast and guest accommodation experienced higher average room occupancy during July-September 2019 (45%) than they did in April-June 2019 (31%), with average room occupancy for the rest of the year dropping to around 11%.

Note: Small sample sizes. Full year data is unavailable for 2021 due to Covid-19 related closures.

Tourism Northern Ireland analysis of cardholder spend on key tourism-related categories (bars, eating places & restaurants and hotels) in the Causeway Coast and Glens area in 2019 indicates:

Tourism related spend in quarter one (January-March 2019) accounted for just 13% of tourism related cardholder spend for the year, compared with 40% for July-September 2019.

Quarters two (April-June 2019) and four (October-December 2019) each accounted for just under one-quarter of tourism related cardholder spend in 2019.

Note: Analysis is based on available cardholder spend in Ballycastle, Ballymoney, Bushmills, Coleraine, Limavady, Portrush and Portstewart.

(iii) Tourism NI has a close working relationship with each of the eleven local authorities across Northern Ireland, including Causeway Coast & Glens (CC&G) council, and are meeting regularly with those councils to discuss areas such as marketing, business support and key local tourism projects. Understandably, the Covid 19 pandemic has had a hugely negative impact on tourism in the CC&G area, other neighbouring council areas, and indeed across all parts of Northern Ireland, but the CC&G area has established significant market growth and brand recognition over several years.

There has been ongoing business activity in the Causeway Coastal Route area in relation to business collaboration working that includes the tourism private sector, public sector and voluntary sector. A number of formal tourism cluster groups have been operating for a number of years now under the Invest NI’s Collaborative Growth Programme. Tourism NI and CC&G council are supportive of these independently facilitated cluster groups, namely the Causeway Coast, Limavady/Binevenagh and Taste Causeway in terms of industry and business support provision.

There are significant opportunities that exist around CC&G’s role as part of the £72m Causeway Coast & Glens Regional Growth Deal, meaning that further investment in the area as an already successful tourism destination is being considered. Tourism NI is working closely with CC&G council on their Regional Growth Deal, to help to market test and develop projects such as Dunluce Castle, to ensure that investment in tourism is aligned to Tourism NI’s key strategic objectives.

Tourism NI will once again work closely with key partners to plan for and support delivery of the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2025, including engagement with councils and the business community to maximise the economic benefits of hosting such a prestigious tournament. This will build on the successful model deployed in 2019, including industry workshops, toolkits, a dressing and animation programme and customer service excellence training initiatives.

In October 2021, Tourism NI awarded CC&G council with £293k financial assistance as part of a new Market Led Product Development funding programme to build the strength of the Northern Ireland experience brand, aligning with core segments, and have the potential to maximise demand in future years. CC&G’s successful application and programme developed a number of new events and initiatives including Slow Food Banquets and Unique Dining Experiences.

Tourism NI will continue to work closely with colleagues in CC&G council, as well as other stakeholders in the area, to identify and develop tourism projects in the North Coast area, in this strategically important region of Northern Ireland.