US: New visa waiver scheme for international travellers could damage the ability to attract North Ireland

A tourism official expressed worry that a new visa waiver programme for visitors from other countries could hurt Northern Ireland's ability to draw Americans.

Travelers arriving in the Republic of Ireland might decide against going north because of the "added bother factor" of needing to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization, according to John McGrillen, chief executive of Tourism NI (ETA).

The UK government's new programme is comparable to the US government's method of admission without a visa.

It's probably not going to be overly expensive and it's probably not going to be overly arduous, but it's an extra hassle factor that we don't need

        John McGrillen
Short-term non-visa travellers to the UK must submit an ETA application and biometric information.
Irish nationals already have assured freedom of movement under the conditions of the Common Travel Area, therefore they won't require an ETA to visit Northern Ireland.Non-Irish EU nationals and individuals with other passports, such as those who reside permanently south of the border, must apply.The ETA is expected to be implemented early in the following year, while there are still some questions about how the programme will function.Mr. McGrillen claimed that the problem had arisen at a time when Northern Ireland was successfully luring travellers from the lucrative US market.

The government claims that having one is a must, but they also claim that no one will be checking to see whether you have one.McGrillen, John

However, he added, "It's an extra hassle factor that we don't need. It's probably not going to be extremely expensive or difficult.""If you consider an agent who has been selling Cork and Kerry for years, and we've only recently persuaded these people to begin selling Northern Ireland, the risk is that when they're speaking to a client they might suggest to them, "Well, you can save yourself that hassle by just staying south of the border," according to the author.One of the major hazards is that.Mr. McGrillen said that leaders from the tourism sector in Northern Ireland were actively lobbying Westminster to grant short-term tourists to Ireland an exemption from the ETA programme."At this time, we don't have a defined date or price, so the lack of information doesn't help either. Instead of selling for 2023, we're trying to sell for 2024 to travel agencies in the United States and elsewhere.Therefore, the lack of clarification is not really helpful.The idea that ETAs won't be physically checked on the island, according to him, is unclear.On the one hand, the government says you must have one, but on the other, they claim no one will check to see if you do, he added. "There's a little bit of foolishness there," he said.
Therefore, there won't be enforcement on the island of Ireland, but you will need to have it.
Since the Covid travel restrictions were relaxed in the United States earlier this year, according to Mr. McGrillen, Northern Ireland has seen an increase in US tourists.
He said that the surge was caused by both pent-up demand brought on by the pandemic and the strong currency.We're starting to see this idea of vengeance tourism, he claimed. "Everyone seems to want to take revenge on the virus in some way.
People are claiming, "I was imprisoned, and now I'm going to get out and make the most of it.
Since the limitations were eased earlier in the year, "certainly here, we have seen a big uptick in US travel."