CHANGES by the British government to the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme have been criticised by a leading tourism body.
The Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance (NITA) said it was "dismayed" that the government had "refused to adapt the ETA scheme to reflect Northern Ireland’s unique position as the only part of the UK with a land border".
Legislation on how the scheme would work was laid down in Parliament on Thursday. It will require overseas visitors passing from the Republic into Northern Ireland to have additional paid-for authorisation.
But a requirement for non-Irish EU citizens living in the Republic to have to apply for the ETA if they wish to cross the border has been abandoned. Irish citizens are exempt.
However, there will be no exemption for tourists from overseas wanting to visit Northern Ireland, which the NITA said puts 25 per cent of annual tourism revenue at risk.
"Despite extensive discussions between NITA and the Home Office, including cross-party support from Northern Ireland MPs, we are dismayed that the government has refused to adapt the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme to reflect Northern Ireland’s unique position as the only part of the UK with a land border," said Dr Joanne Stuart of the NITA.
"With over 70 per cent of our visitors arriving via Dublin it is clear that the bureaucracy and potential costs involved in obtaining an ETA will lead to overseas visitors dropping Northern Ireland from their travel plans. This puts 25 per cent of all tourism spend in Northern Ireland at risk.
"We will need time to scrutinise the detail of the legislation, but we are incredibly disappointed that the government has discounted the evidence provided by the industry and has shown no flexibility to protect seamless travel across the island for most visitors.
"We believe that a short-term exemption for overseas visitors travelling from Dublin to Northern Ireland could have been delivered in line with the government’s wider policy objectives."
Stephen Farry of Alliance said while the new guidance "now facilitates the tens of thousands of people who cross to Northern Ireland on a regular, even daily basis", there is "still an outstanding issue in relation to tourist movements".
"The majority of international visitors to Northern Ireland enter via Dublin," he said.
"Indeed, the island of Ireland is marketed internationally as a single entity. Any additional bureaucracy could be an impediment or disincentive for tourists to come north."
