NI tourism sector split on impact of new travel permit
Despite warnings, the expansion of a UK travel permit scheme to EU visitors is not impacting tourism to Northern Ireland according to some businesses in the sector.As of Tuesday, visitors from the EU will join those from the rest of the word in needing an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK.The head of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance has said this amounts to a barrier for tourists who have come to the Republic of Ireland and may wish to visit Northern Ireland.However, a hotel group and a tour company have both told the BBC they have not seen an impact to their business.
Colin Johnston managing director of the Galgorm Collection said that while the sector had campaigned against the ETA, once it was explained to visitors "it lands fine and they understand it".Speaking on the BBC's Talkback programme he said some guests had been spooked by the "substantial negativity in our media" about the ETA, adding that "we're maybe doing more damage to ourselves by continuing to talk about it".Heather Rennie McGill from the tour company Rabbie's said it is an issue of "communication and how we make it easy for customers to do the legal stuff they need to to enter the country".She said that when the ETA was first introduced in 2023 for visitors travelling to the UK from outside the EU there was an impact "on the level of service or customer care that we had to do but I didn't see it impact our bookings."However, she said that the system was causing anxiety for some customers and was an unwelcome extra cost.The UK Government has said that the ETA will help prevent abuse of the immigration system.
'Deeply concerned'
Joanne Stuart, the head of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance has said that Northern Ireland is being removed from the itineraries of tourism trips for a number of companies to the island of Ireland due to the expansion of the scheme."We are promoted as part of the island of Ireland and that's always been based very much on seamless travel."She told the BBC that 69% of holidaymakers spending time in Northern Ireland come through the Republic."We've put this barrier in the way... and we're starting to see the impact of that."Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said she was "deeply concerned about the impact of the introduction of the ETA scheme and what it will mean for our tourism sector".Archibald said she had engaged with the UK Government as recently as last week on the issue and repeated calls for Northern Ireland to be exempt from the scheme.Previous calls for an exemption for Northern Ireland were rejected by the last UK Government, who said said it would result in "an unacceptable gap" in UK border security.
What is an ETA and how do you get one?
The ETA is a permit which non-British and non-Irish citizens, who do not require a visa, will generally need to enter the UK.That will include international visitors who arrive in Dublin and then plan to travel to Northern Ireland.It currently costs £10 to apply using the UK ETA app or online through GOV.UK, however, this fee will go up to £16 on 9 April.According to the government website, those who apply for an ETA will usually get a decision within 3 working days, although they claim many could "get a much quicker decision".The travel journalist Lisa Minot told BBC News NI that for most people it "should be a matter of minutes".An ETA lasts for 2 years or until your passport expires and you can travel to the UK as many times as you want while you have an ETA.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
29 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Who won Race Across the World today? BBC final recap
See which of the four teams managed to win Race Across the World series 5 🏃♂️ Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Race Across the World has crowned the winners for series 5. The winning pair walks away with the grand prize after the final leg. But which team made it to the last checkpoint first? The fifth winners of Race Across the World have been crowned after a rollercoaster final on the BBC. The remaining teams faced one last dash to reach the last checkpoint on a truly mammoth journey. After eight weeks - and around 14,000km - four pairs successfully completed the journey from the Great Wall of China to Kanyakumari in India. It is an incredible journey that has taken them across two of the most populous countries in the world - via Nepal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, all good things must come to an end, as they say. The final of Race Across the World's fifth series took place tonight (June 11) and just over seven hours separated the top three teams heading into the last leg. But which of the pairs managed to run out as victors at the end of the race? Here's all you need to know: Who won Race Across the World series 5? Race Across the World series 5 finalists | BBC Heading into the final leg of the mammoth race from China to the bottom of India, mother and son duo Caroline and Tom were in the lead. They reclaimed the top spot at the end of last week's seventh leg - as then-leaders Brian and Melvyn saw themselves tumble to the bottom of the leader board after opting for the rural route and avoiding Mumbai and falling 17 hours behind. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Caroline and Tom had a nearly seven hour lead over sisters Elizabeth and Letita. Young Welsh couple Fin and Sioned were ever so slightly further behind at seven hours and 48 minutes - having clawed back from a 33 hour deficit earlier in the season. It set things up for a dramatic final dash across the southern states of India. But who made it to Kanyakumari first? Caroline and Tom were the first to reach the last checkpoint and thus were crowned winners of Race Across the World series five. What does the winner of Race Across the World get? The winning couple walk away with a £20,000 jackpot - as well as bragging rights of course. It has been the same prize since the show began back in 2019. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fortunately for fans, the show is not completely over as there is still one episode left in the season. Race Across the World will be back next week (June 18) with a reunion special that will reunite the five teams six months after the end of the race. It promises unseen footage, behind-the-scenes insights and plenty more. Find out how to watch it here. Have you got a story you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at . It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Winners of Race Across The World 2025 crowned
Four teams in the 14,100km (8,761-mile) race successfully crossed Asia, the world's largest continent, to make it to the finish line. Caroline and Tom with the check-in book (BBC/Studio Lambert) During Wednesday's episode, Caroline and Tom had to find Vattakottai Fort where the final sign-in book was waiting. After turning the page to discover they were the first team to make it to the landmark they hugged, overcome with emotion. Writing their names in the book, Tom said: 'That's a really good feeling, I'm lost for words, I can't believe it. 'Fifty-one days racing through countries I never thought I'd go to. 'I never thought we'd come this far, I never thought we'd achieve so much and I've never been prouder of my mum – she got me through it.' Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia came second, just 19 minutes behind the winners, with teenage couple Fin and Sioned third. Brothers Brian and Melvyn arrived in fourth place, three hours and five minutes behind Caroline and Tom. Winning pair Tom and Caroline (BBC/Studio Lambert) The winning pair began the last leg in the lead, six hours and 54 minutes ahead of Elizabeth and Letitia. They started from the seventh checkpoint, Panaji in Goa with just over 1,000km (600 miles) to traverse across the southern Indian states to reach the finish line. Reflecting on their win, Tom said the race was 'the best experience of my life'. Caroline said: 'We've learnt so much, we've enjoyed it and to actually win it as well as to have the experience is the best thing that could have happened to us.' The contestants traversed areas of China, Nepal and India, covering more than 14,000km over 51 days. The teams will reunite for a special episode airing at 9pm on Wednesday June 18 on BBC One where they will reflect on the race and the impact it has had on their lives. All eight episodes of Race Across The World are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
The treaty Gibraltar wants, for the future we all need
For over five years, Gibraltar has been at the centre of one of the most complex, technical, and geopolitically sensitive negotiations undertaken by the United Kingdom and the European Union since Brexit. The process has consumed me. It has occupied close to half of my time in elected office, taken over almost every waking hour of the last five years, and, in truth, deprived the people of Gibraltar of their Chief Minister in the way they are used to having him, that is, from fixing housing and parking complaints to defending their sovereignty in the international arena. For much longer than I would have wanted, I have been behind closed doors, in physical or virtual boardrooms, working through the details of a document that will shape the next generation of our people. It has been a relentless, exhausting endeavour. Throughout this time, the UK and Gibraltar teams have worked together seamlessly, 'hand in glove', without a flash of daylight between us. We have worked in close partnership with both Conservative and Labour prime ministers and foreign secretaries; from Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and James Cleverly to David Cameron and now David Lammy. What we have negotiated is not the product of fragmented agendas, but the position of a unified British family determined to find a solution worthy of our people. Without a treaty, Gibraltar could be staring down the barrel of a hard border, marked by endless queues, disrupted supply chains, and a deeply uncertain future for many of our businesses. Our hospitals and elderly care homes would face chronic understaffing, and the surrounding region would suffer the almost certain loss of employment for many of the 15,000 cross-border workers who depend on Gibraltar's economy to support their families. The services we deliver to our people would all come under strain. Our public finances would be pushed to the brink. The self-governing Gibraltar we have built would be diminished, replaced by something poorer, more isolated, more inward-looking, and ultimately less able to thrive as a proud, British European Territory. Instead, we now stand at the threshold of something remarkable, and not just for Gibraltar, but also for the United Kingdom, for Spain, and for Europe and our people. Something bold. Something forward looking and hopeful. Something that finally breaks free of the negative inertia that has defined too much of our recent past. Unlocking potential across borders This is politics at its most elevated. The service-led principle of working for our people's benefit and not the performative personal antagonism that too often infects public life. Real, hard graft that overcomes challenges to deliver progress. This is the kind of result our people demand when they voice distrust and decry the political 'establishment'. Our Spanish and EU counterparts, for their part, have brought to the table a seriousness of purpose that also reflects the gravity of the moment. They, too, have recognised that this treaty is not merely about fluidity of movement, but about unlocking human and economic potential across borders. Make no mistake: the treaty that is now within reach is not one that the Gibraltarians have been forced to accept. Our people voted for us to have a mandate to turn our New Year's Eve agreement of 2020 into a UK/EU agreement/treaty. So we say 'yes' to this agreement, but not because we don't know how to say 'no' when we have to. We did so, emphatically, in 2002, when we triggered a referendum to reject Jack Straw's proposal of joint sovereignty with Spain, and I am just as adamant today that this treaty will not in any way compromise British sovereignty over Gibraltar. That will be set out, black upon white, in the treaty when it is published. It is a legal undertaking given by both sides in clear and unequivocal terms. So to be clear: in this treaty we have not ceded any control of Gibraltar to any authority. Just like today, only Gibraltar will decide who enters Gibraltar – exactly as we agreed in 2020 when Dominic Raab was foreign secretary and Boris Johnson was prime minister. This treaty unleashes the potential to usher in a new era. One in which we move beyond the tired narratives of the past on constant sovereignty disputes, towards a future defined by hope, cooperation and shared prosperity. It will pave the way for better jobs, more investment and lasting stability for Gibraltar and the wider region. It can deliver more harmonious human relations and a better quality of life for all our people. When you read it, I ask that you to look up from the pages of this treaty and see that better reality as it peers back at us from the future. This will be the treaty Gibraltar wants. It will be a treaty the UK and the EU can be proud of. And it will be a treaty that will propel us all to the better future politicians are elected to deliver. When the time comes, back Gibraltar and its proudly British people by backing the Gibraltar treaty.
