To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail any action her Department is taking to support the sustainability and growth of tourism and hospitality businesses in areas with a high dependence on seasonal tourism, including support to address increasing operating costs.

Tourism NI provides a suite of free advisory business supports and marketing opportunities which are open to all tourism and hospitality businesses here including hybrid workshops, webinars, masterclasses and e-learning courses.

A range of educational and instructional toolkits support these initiatives and is tailored to tourism businesses at various stages of development.

Tourism and hospitality start-up businesses are also encouraged to avail of dedicated supports and programmes such as Go Succeed, which is funded across the eleven councils and assists businesses from start-up through growth and scalability.

Embedded in expertise and insightful research, these initiatives cover a range of areas including digital transformation, people practices, enhanced marketing, inclusion and accessibility, and innovation with a focus on reducing costs, improving productivity and enhancing sustainability. These can be accessed through the Business Hub on TourismNI.com.

As a direct response to rising operating costs, Tourism NI developed a specific range of bespoke supports and programmes to address cost management and reduction. Specific modules include Pricing for Profit, Managing Wage Costs and the Leaner and Greener series, containing practical steps to reduce costs through the management of waste, water and energy.

Furthermore, tourism businesses have free access to MyTourismNI, a dedicated e-learning platform, which features modules on Operational Effectiveness, Streamlining Business Processes, Business Planning and Financial Fundamentals.

In addition, Tourism NI plays an important legislative role in the certification of accommodation, providing guidance on business owners' obligations when starting and running various types of accommodation. A range of support, advice and guidance is available online and through visits from a dedicated Tourism NI Officer.

Additional Business Support programmes focus on key strategic development needs such as Business Resilience, Workplace Excellence, Digital Excellence and Sustainable Tourism. These programmes provide a more in-depth approach through dedicated action planning. The programmes are advertised widely and are accessed by application subject to eligibility criteria.

Launched in June in response to challenging operating conditions, the Tourism Business Resilience Programme was designed specifically to support long-term financial resilience and sustainability in the sector. The programme offers fully funded one-to-one expert financial guidance to help businesses review cost centres and build long-term financial resilience. These programmes are advertised widely and places are awarded in line with key criteria. There are currently four participating businesses on this programme from the Causeway Coast and Glens area.

As well as promoting business sustainability and long-term competitiveness, Tourism NI is actively supporting the development of new tourism experiences and attractions across the north, including within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area, to drive long-term appeal and differentiation.

To do this, Tourism NI provides a range of online resources that support the design, development and enhancement of high-quality tourism experiences aligned to market and visitor expectations. Covering the visitor themes of culture and heritage, food and drink, and landscapes and outdoors, these resources help businesses strengthen the quality, appeal and market readiness of their tourism offering.

Through its Experience Development team, Tourism NI works closely with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council to identify opportunities that build on the area's unique appeal and contribute to local economic growth.

This includes identifying high-potential tourism experiences that may benefit from participation in Tourism NI's Experience Portfolio, which provides ongoing strategic support to enhance quality, market readiness and commercial appeal, while strengthening our overall destination offering.

Tourism NI currently has sixteen businesses in the portfolio representing 15% of the overall group.

In addition, the Sustainable Tourism Business Programme has six businesses from the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough which have participated across five completed cohorts.

The Council's Tourism Development team also participates in Tourism NI's Embrace a Giant Spirit Council Ambassador Network, a quarterly group bringing together tourism managers from all regional councils. The network promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing and a consistent approach to tourism experience development, ensuring best practice is shared and opportunities are maximised across the sector.

In addition, Tourism NI supports and participates in a range of in-person industry events and works closely with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council to engage directly with tourism businesses, share expertise, highlight available support and encourage the development of new and enhanced visitor experiences.

Tourism NI's investment in marketing campaigns and promotional activity helps drive demand for tourism and hospitality businesses at no cost to them. Tourism NI promotes a variety of marketing opportunities for businesses to get involved in to maximise their reach to targeted audiences and increase visibility for both individual businesses and the wider destination.