Fears Northern Ireland tourism boom could be hampered by travel certificate scheme
A post-Presidential travel boom could be cut short due to new rules for tourists entering Northern Ireland from next year, tour operators say.
It follows the visit of Joe Biden to both sides of the border earlier this month, igniting interest from travelers from across the Atlantic and around the world.
However, a scheme which is expected to come into force in late 2024 could hamper the hopes of a spike in visitors in the future.
The Government is set to introduce Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), in other words, a fee will need to be paid and forms filled out before tourists can legally enter the UK, including Northern Ireland.
It has led to a warning from tour companies operating across the island of Ireland that north of the border could be be adversely affected by a lack of tourists willing to pay a fee fill out the required documentation.
Nuala Saul operates Brack Tours which caters for tourists, including Americans, wanting to explore the island of Ireland by coach.
She told UTV that she may have to market her tours differently, including the removal of Northern Ireland from tour packages.
"70% of the visitors to Northern Ireland come in through Dublin Airport, so that is going to affect our international visitors," she said.
"If we have clients coming in, they're willing to do both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland but they don't have to do Northern Ireland, they can very clearly just drop it off their itinerary."
Efforts to ramp up cross-border travel have increased since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago, with peace and prosperity boosting the tourism sector.
Carlingford Lough Ferry operates daily during the summer months, taking commuters and tourists back and forth from Greenore in the Republic of Ireland to Greencastle in Northern Ireland.
Paul O'Sullivan is its owner and he said anything that impedes cross-border travel could impact his business.
"Any visa like that which would impede people's travel or make people second-guess whether they're able to travel across the border [on] an uninterrupted basis is going to have an impact," he said.
"So we hope that common sense would prevail for the good of both regions on both sides of the border, that that wouldn't happen."
Just on the other side of Carlingford Lough, lives Pamela Houston.
She runs an alpaca farm which welcomes visitors from all parts of the UK and Ireland as well as international travelers. Visitors from California has told her earlier this week what a 'hidden gem' her attraction was. It is something she doesn't want to lose out on.
"We get a lot of our visitors coming up from Dublin so any introduction of an additional barrier or paperwork is not going to be good news for us or Northern Ireland."
A Government spokesperson told UTV its working with tour operators to minimise disruption to the industry.
The hope is tourists will be able to roam freely between north and south to take in the beauty of the border region.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.