Lack of plan to extend tourist route to NI 'makes no sense'

The lack of plans to extend the Wild Atlantic Way tourism brand to Northern Ireland "makes no sense", members of Stormont's economy committee have said.

The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) coastal route, which stretches from counties Cork to Donegal, was branded by the Republic of Ireland's tourism body Fáilte Ireland, and has been credited with bringing millions of tourists to the west coast of Ireland.

On Wednesday, committee members were told the body had not agreed to requests to extend the brand to the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland.

Michael Wickham Moriarty from Tourism Ireland said an agreement would be needed between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland to extend the brands.

Fáilte Ireland recently extended its brand campaign Hidden Heartlands to County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.

Stormont's former economy minister Conor Murphy and his successor Caoimhe Archibald had expressed support for using the Wild Atlantic Way and other brands.

Tourism promotion on the island of Ireland is split between three agencies.

Fáilte Ireland promotes the Republic of Ireland, Tourism NI promotes Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland jointly markets the whole island to international visitors.

Moriarty, from the cross-border body Tourism Ireland, told the committee the brands were "owned by Fáilte Ireland".

"So it's ultimately an agreement between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland on this extension or any other extensions," he added.

David Roberts from Tourism NI acknowledged that Fáilte Ireland had not agreed to extending the Wild Atlantic Way brand.

"Fáilte Ireland's agreement to date has been that they have agreed to extend Ireland's Hidden Heartlands, so the broader request is there around extending the brands," he added.

But Roberts said the Causeway coast already had a "strong brand" for encouraging tourism.

He said there was a "very strong customer awareness of the Causeway coast" that "resonates very well with potential visitors".

"Yes, the brand is kind of important, but ultimately it's about the experience," he added.

The matter was raised by Social Democratic and Labour (SDLP) assembly member Sinéad McLaughlin.

"In the papers the Fáilte Ireland presented to us, they've very clearly said that there are no plans to licence the Ireland's Ancient East or the Wild Atlantic Way brands to Northern Ireland," she said.

McLaughlin said they "can't get to the bottom of it" and described the "lack of a joined-up approach" as "absolute total madness".

Alliance Party assembly member Kate Nicholl said: "To me, it makes no sense. It is this amazing brand and we're just stopping rather than extending it on."