Moyle Council 'wronged' in Tourism promotion

Previously Sinn Fin Councillor and Chair of Moyle District Council, Cara McShane, had slammed the Tourist Board for excluding Moyle Council from a recent meeting in Coleraine, organized to discuss the vision for the North East area’s tourism industry.

The meeting included officers from Ballymena, Coleraine and Larne Councils.

Mr McKay said: “We in Sinn Fin found it extremely unusual, to put it mildly, that Moyle Council was the only council in the area which was left out of a meeting with the NITB Chief Executive to discuss tourism in the north east.

“Local people in the tourist industry were equally unimpressed with the Tourist Board’s lacklustre response after it was flagged up with them.

“I have pressed the Tourism Minister on this matter over the past number of weeks and I am glad that she has now admitted that the decision was the ‘wrong thing to do’.

“She also said that the NITB’s justification for the snub was “not an excuse” and the Minister has personally assured me that this will not happen again.

“The Minister has agreed to pass on my proposal that the Chief Executive of NITB hold a similar engagement meeting with Moyle Council to compensate for this neglect and I fully expect, as will Moyle Council, that this will take place. If it doesn’t further questions will have to be asked.”

In his question to the Minister, Mr. McKay said:

“Does the Minister agree that the north coast has a key part to play in the aim of attracting 25 million tourists? Does she also agree that NITB has not helped that process by recently leaving Moyle District Council off the north coast council invitation list for a key engagement with the chief executive of NITB? That move has not gone down well locally, to say the very least. Does the Minister agree that the NITB chief executive should hold a similar engagement exercise with Moyle District Council to help to compensate for that snub?”

The Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

“I share the Member’s disappointment that Moyle District Council was not invited to that event. I have spoken to the Tourist Board about that, and I think that it was the wrong thing to do. I was told that it was not meant in any way as a snub, but that the Tourist Board was dealing with a lot of industry people and felt that it had good representation from Moyle. That is not an excuse as far as I am concerned. “As I said, I have spoken to the Tourist Board about that and I will certainly pass on the Member’s comments about Moyle District Council having a meeting with the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

“Developing the north coast is a key part of what we are trying to do for Northern Ireland. It is one of our big signature projects. I know that Moyle District Council is very closely associated with the signature project on the Causeway Coast. Therefore, I find it difficult to understand why Moyle District Council was not invited on that occasion. However, the matter has been taken up and I assure the Member, and all Members who represent North Antrim, that it will not happen again.”