FOUR of Northern Ireland’s five new regional tourist boards will be taking their own stands at the British Travel Trade Fair for the first time this year.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board will still have its own stand, but there will be separate stands for the Causeway Coast and Glens, Kingdoms of Down, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism and Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau. Derry Visitor and Convention Bureau has decided not to exhibit, although manager Catherine O’Connor declined to say why.
Northern Ireland’s Odyssey Complex project in Belfast is expected to be the destination’s most talked about attraction at the show.
The first phase of the vast entertainment centre opens this November. An IMAX cinema, Warner multi-screen cinema, shopping complex and science centre will open next March.
Visitors will also be able to pick up details of new hotels planning to open in Belfast over the next 18 months, including a 175-room Forte Posthouse which will be located in the city centre.
Jim Paul, marketing manager of the NITB in London, said the tourist board was hoping to use BTTF as the launchpad for its new brand for Northern Ireland.
“We are trying to find a unique brand for Northern Ireland that distinguishes it from the rest of Ireland,” said Paul. “Hopefully we will be able to launch this at Birmingham, but that might be a bit optimistic.”