THE Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) launched an advertising campaign to attract business events from the Republic to the North this week. It is hoped that this campaign will also boost tourism in border counties.

The advertising campaign will run until the end of March and will cost about £110,000 stg. It aims to increase the number of Irish businesspeople deciding to host conferences, company away days, employee incentive breaks and other business events in the North.

The campaign will promote the North’s hotels, its conference facilities and other amenities. Among the best known conference venues in the North are the Waterfront Hall and the purpose-built Odyssey complex which houses the biggest exhibition space in the North.

The campaign from the NITB will focus mainly on the Dublin market and will target event management companies and in-house event organisers. The campaign will also highlight golfing facilities, with a view to attracting people organising corporate events in the border region.

The North’s tourism infrastructure has been developing, with recent developments such as the £25 million stg Lough Erne Golf Resort on the outskirts of Enniskillen Co Fermanagh, on the border with Monaghan. Crom Castle in Co Fermanagh, only a short drive from Clones, which is owned by Lord Erne, is also marketing itself as an elite venue for small meetings and functions.