Robin Swann, Ulster Unionist MLA for North Antrim and Party Chief Whip, has slammed a bid by Sinn Fein to turn a review into the Northern Ireland Tourist Board as “a cynical republican move to create a single tourism body for both the Province and the Irish Republic”.
Mr Swann said:
“Sinn Fein has claimed that if attractions like the Ring of Kerry, the Giants Causeway, the Marble Arch Caves and Cliffs of Moher were packaged as a single destination, more and more people would strongly consider coming to Northern Ireland and the Republic on holidays.
“But what Sinn Fein seems incapable of understanding is that while cross-border co-operation is certainly one of the benefits of the peace process which the Ulster Unionist Party helped broker, an all-Ireland republican agenda is definitely off the radar, especially in terms of tourism.
“The decision for a review of the Tourist Board in Northern Ireland should not be misinterpreted as a cynical ploy to create an all-island body. That is not on the cards and any such proposal will be strongly opposed by the Ulster Unionist Party.
“Tourism co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic is a much more constructive way forward rather than trying to impose an unworkable all-Ireland republican agenda on the people of Ulster.”