To ask the Minister for the Economy for an update on work undertaken by Tourism NI in relation to enhancing inward tourism from the United States of America, particularly with regard to the Ulster-Scots and Scotch-Irish heritage.

It is estimated there are twenty to fifty million people in the US of Ulster-Scots descent. Tourism Ireland’s “US Market - A Strategy for Growth 2018-2025” sets out the ambition for the US market together with a strategy and action plan to drive growth, owned collectively by Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism NI and industry.

The strategy sets out an ambitious agenda to grow visitor numbers and revenue on the island of Ireland and one of its objectives is to leverage niche products and experiences including the Irish Diaspora, and Scots Irish / Ulster Scots.

A US/North of Ireland Working Group has been established that includes Tourism NI, Tourism Ireland, the Ulster-Scots Agency and other stakeholders to reflect on the shared cultural heritage.

A programme of events is being planned to promote and celebrate the Ulster-Scots contribution to the creation and development of the US in the run up to the 250th celebrations.

To drive wider business from the US market, Tourism NI delivers an annual programme of activity aimed at increasing programming and inbound bookings from international tour operators working in the sectors of travel trade, golf and business tourism.

Tourism NI support the North’s tourism industry to attend major trade shows in the US such as IMEX America which is the largest meeting of event planners in the world, and last year welcomed 76 buyers from the US market to its annual flagship event “Meet the Buyer”.