Ministers appeal for tourists' return

Giant's Causeway: NI's most popular attraction re-opens

The island of Ireland is "open for tourism business" despite foot-and-mouth disease, ministers in the Stormont and Irish Governments have insisted.

NI Enterprise Minister Sir Reg Empey, Higher and Further Education Minister Sean Farren and Irish Tourism Minister Jim McDaid reaffirmed their governments' determination to ensure the tourism industry recovered from the slump of recent weeks.

Many Northern Ireland and Irish hoteliers and guesthouse owners have lost more than 50% of their business in the last three weeks as tourist attractions, angling waters and the countryside remained closed due to restrictions.

At a meeting of the North-South-Ministerial-Council on tourism in Letterkenny, County Donegal, the ministers also said they would continue to work with agriculture ministers Brid Rodgers in Stormont and Joe Walsh in Dublin to eradicate the disease.

Reg Empey: "Need to secure tourist industry's future"

On Wednesday, Mrs Rodgers announced movement restrictions were being relaxed, except in the exclusion zone around Northern Ireland's only outbreak in south Armagh.

She added that many venues could re-open - the National Trust was one of the first organisations to respond by opening the Giants Causeway and other popular attractions.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the Northern Ireland and Irish ministers expressed their "determination to work closely with Tourism Ireland Ltd, Bord Failte, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and with the industry in ensuring that the future for tourism in both parts of the island is a positive one and that its potential is reached to the full".

They added: "The council wishes to send out a strong message that the island of Ireland is open for tourism business and that, subject to the appropriate precautions, home market business - conferences, meetings, seminars and social events - should go ahead."

The ministers also received an update on the establishment of the publicly-owned limited company, Tourism Ireland Ltd which is to jointly promote tourism on both sides of the border.