What Impact Will The ETA For EU Visitors Have On Tourism?

Last week new regulations came into force so that visitors from the European Union, as well as the rest of the world, are required to have an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) in order to enter the UK. There are real concerns that the expansion of the ETA requirement to EU visitors will have a big impact on tourism in Northern Ireland, but so far it appears that the jury is out.

For example, there could be EU tourists who have come over to the Republic of Ireland who may have thought it would be great to visit NI as well, however the requirement of an ETA could put them off crossing over the border.

Communication Is Key

However there are some in the sector who believe that if the new regulations are understood well in advance it should have very little negative impact. Heather Rennie McGill is from the tour company Rabbie’s and she is quoted in an article on the BBC News website as saying it is about:

“communication and how we make it easy for customers to do the legal stuff they need to to enter the country”. She said that when the ETA was first introduced in 2023 for visitors travelling to the UK from outside the EU there was an impact “on the level of service or customer care that we had to do but I didn’t see it impact our bookings.”

Preventing Abuses In The Immigration System

The ETA, the UK government believes, will help to prevent abuses in the immigration system and will shore up any gaps there may have been in border security. Applying for an ETA will cost £16 after April 9th (it is currently £10 to apply for one) and those who apply should get a decision within 3 days at the very latest. The ETA lasts for 2 years or until your passport expires.

There are others in the industry who are not as upbeat as Rennie over the new system. Here is more detail on this, as copied from the same BBC News article. It reads:

‘Joanne Stuart, the head of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance has said that Northern Ireland is being removed from the itineraries of tourism trips for a number of companies to the island of Ireland due to the expansion of the scheme.

“We are promoted as part of the island of Ireland and that’s always been based very much on seamless travel.”

‘She told the BBC that 69% of holidaymakers spending time in Northern Ireland come through the Republic.

“We’ve put this barrier in the way… and we’re starting to see the impact of that.”

‘Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said she was “deeply concerned about the impact of the introduction of the ETA scheme and what it will mean for our tourism sector”.

‘Archibald said she had engaged with the UK Government as recently as last week on the issue and repeated calls for Northern Ireland to be exempt from the scheme.’

Tourism is a very important sector of the NI economy, so anything that impacts the smooth running of their operations will be damaging. The ETA scheme needs to be as seamless as possible in order to ensure it does not have a negative impact.