Opinion

All-Ireland approach to hospitality needed

The weekend before the Twelfth has traditionally been marked by an exodus of northerners travelling south, to avoid the tensions and potential unrest of what is known as the high point of the marching season.

This year life is different. With many Covid-19 restrictions still in force in the 26 Counties, including a ban on indoor dining, cross-border travel from north to south is not as attractive as it was.

Indeed the situation has been reversed. The likelihood of a quiet Twelfth and the opening up of much of the northern hospitality industry has sparked an expected influx of southern visitors to the north.

Irish Rail, for example, reports that train tickets from Dublin to Belfast have almost sold out for the coming weekend.

This will provide a welcome boost for the the north’s hospitality industry, which has been struggling for survival for the past eighteen months.

However, the welcome for increased visitor numbers comes with the standard Covid-related health warning. Despite the relaxation of rules in much of the hospitality industry, the advice remains the same regarding wearing face covering, washing hands and limiting contacts.

Although the overriding message is that visitors are welcome provided we all apply common sense, a more formal approach would also be helpful. The administrations in both Belfast and Dublin have opted for a form of health passport to allow travel in a way which balances individual freedom with public safety.

The Republic is adopting the Digital Covid Certificate scheme, which despite its teething problems, is likely to become the EU’s health passport.

The north has produced a proof of vaccination document, which is similar in intent. The obvious way forward to allow risk-reduced cross-border travel is to standardise the two systems, so that the Irish hospitality industry, north and south, can operate on a common basis.

Southern visitors who enjoy their northern experience will hopefully return on a regular basis with increased numbers. Northern visitors to the south are likely to return to pre-Covid levels as soon as restrictions allow.

So if we are witnessing a new two-way flow in travel and tourism within the island, we need an all-Ireland approach to hospitality regulations.

That would allow the safer movement of people across Ireland and make the distinction between north and south largely irrelevant.