Northern Ireland's tourism industry is reaping the benefits of the peace dividend, with visitor numbers up 11 per cent last year.
The strong growth was boosted by a 22 per cent increase in the number of visitors travelling from the Republic, contributing to a record 1.64 million visitors.
Despite the faltering peace process, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) deputy chief executive, Mr Mark Alexander, is confident of further progress if there is no return to violence.
After Britain, the Republic is Northern Ireland's most import ant source of tourists. The NITB has been encouraged by independent research, undertaken in January, showing that half the adults surveyed in the Republic expressed keen interest in visiting the North in the near future.
The results of the research, by Irish Marketing Surveys, are the most positive since 1994 and reflect the confidence that existed before the creation and suspension of the assembly in the North. In 1993 only 16 per cent of the adults questioned expressed an interest in visiting the North.
By means of its short breaks brochure, the NITB now hopes to convert the intention to travel into actual visits. Launched yesterday by the actor Stephen Rea, the brochure features over 400 "punt-for-pound" offers, whereby weekend or midweek breaks can be paid for in Irish pounds, the equivalent of a 20 to 25 per cent discount. The campaign is being backed by a £300,000 advertising campaign.
Apart from threats to the peace process, the other obstacle facing tourism in the North is Britain's decision to stay outside the euro zone. Sterling's strength against the euro has made visiting Northern Ireland more expensive.
Mr Alexander noted that the North's 11 per cent growth in tourists compared to a 7 per cent increase in the Republic and zero growth in Britain.
Last year almost 400,000 people visited from the Republic, 800,000 from Britain, 160,000 from continental Europe and 160,000 from North America.