To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Be a Tourist at Home campaign; what estimate he has made of how much additional money was spent at tourist sites in Northern Ireland over the period of the campaign; and how much additional revenue was generated as a result of the initiative. (96311)

The main purpose of the voucher based Be a Tourist at Home campaign was to increase awareness of the Northern Ireland cultural tourism product within the home market and to encourage Northern Ireland residents to become ambassadors for it.

Assessment was by industry and consumer questionnaires. An evaluation of the value of PR around the event was also carried out.

Feedback from participating venues indicated 74 per cent. found it beneficial and would participate again.

63 per cent. of survey respondents indicated that without a Be a Tourist at Home voucher they would not have visited the venue or any venue of a similar nature that weekend. 96 per cent. of users reported that the vouchers had influenced their decision to visit the venue of choice and 93 per cent. agreed the promotion had encouraged them to get out more often.

There are no estimates of how much money was spent at individual sites or cumulatively over the period of the campaign and no measurement of additional revenue was attempted.