MANY hotels across Northern Ireland are fully booked on their first weekend of reopening this year with concerns about an influx of visitors from the Republic where coronavirus restrictions remain.
The north took major steps out of lockdown on Monday after almost five months under tight restrictions, with hotels, B&Bs and other travel and tourism venues allowed to open their doors.
The forthcoming bank holiday weekend has seen a surge of accommodation bookings with many hotels in Belfast, Derry, Newry and across the north fully booked or with limited availability.
It is understood many bookings are visitors from the Republic escaping the Irish government's continuing covid measures.
However, it comes just days after Stormont health minister Robin Swann said health officials remain concerned about infection rates in the Republic and the slower level of vaccination.
Recent figures show that Donegal had the second highest incidence rate of Covid-19 in the Republic. Irish health minister Stephen Donnelly has ruled out blocking non-essential cross-border travel.
Current guidance states visitors to Northern Ireland from within the Common Travel Area, of which the Republic is part of, should self-isolate upon arrival for 10 days, unless they are exempt.
Amid an anticipated influx of visitors from the Republic, DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley has voiced concerns about the "lag in the vaccination programme in the south" and the "lack of clear guidance surrounding the Common Travel Area".
"The economy needs visitors from the Republic, England, Scotland and Wales to be able to sustain business," he said.
"But the government needs to look at the freedom of travel. It needs to give clarity around this issue, there is a certain degree of ambiguity.
"My concern is around the lack of clear guidance surrounding the Common Travel Area and in the lag in the vaccination programme in the south.
"But we need the custom to be able to sustain our economy."
Janice Gault from the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation said the guidance around travel is "somewhat confusing".
"Hotels have reported a strong performance since opening building up to a very busy weekend," she said.
"The bank holiday is proving to be very popular confirming the considerable pent-up demand for hotel breaks and their hospitality offering.
"Bookings appear to be strong throughout Northern Ireland with resort properties proving to be very popular.
"There are some bookings from south of the border, but it is not a bank holiday there. Hotels reopen on 2nd June south of the border and further announcements on easements are due this week.
"The guidance around travel is somewhat confusing and the hope is that this will be clarified for the public and businesses alike."
Julie Hastings from Hastings Hotels said they were "gearing up" for a busy weekend.
"I'm delighted to report that all seven of our hotels have been really busy since reopening and we are gearing up for an even busier bank holiday weekend with limited capacity remaining," she said.
"It has been great to welcome guests through our doors and provide the first-class service and hospitality that Hastings Hotels is renowned for.
"This year, more than ever, is set to be the summer of the staycation and already, accommodation for June to August is up compared to this time last year."
Joanne Stuart from Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance also spoke about the impact of current health advice to visitors outside the north.
"The biggest thing that it causes for us is the inability to promote Northern Ireland outside of Northern Ireland," she told the Stormont economy committee.
"Obviously we can’t be seen to encourage people to travel when there is guidance saying that you must self-isolate if you’re visiting for leisure purposes.
"This will have a big impact on the demand for this year.
"We’ve seen great support of our home market and staycations, but that will not sustain the industry.
"We need our visitors from GB, we need our visitors from the Republic of Ireland and then obviously later in the year, we would hope to be able to welcome international visitors."
Asked about concerns about an influx of visitors from the Republic, a Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The prevalence of Covid in ROI remains significantly higher than in NI, therefore will be some risk associated with travel into NI".
She said the north had "little presence of variants of concern which are more transmissible".
"If those variants were to become prominent then we could begin to see a rise in hospital cases and potentially deaths."
