Marketing Northern Ireland

In the 1950s brochures, the main image of Northern Ireland is one of paradise and also wildness... Northern Ireland was being portrayed as an idyllic, natural environment where calmness and tranquillity prevailed. In the 1960s serenity was a dominant component of the image....in the 1970s we see the dominant component this time is scenery ....in the brochures of the 1980s we see a return to people as a dominant component of the stereotypic image.
That there was not one single reference to the troubles in the 1992 entire booklet published by the NITB and the 1992 Michelin Guide in 1992 had been criticised. There was nothing to reassure the traveller that he or she will be safe, no hints at all as to what parts of Belfast and NI it might be advisable to avoid on certain occasions (Belfast like any other large city has its dangers, not all of which are related to the troubles, such as theft and mugging), and no suggestion that there is anything worth seeing in the more notorious parts of the city like West Belfast (such as the wall murals) (the image of Ireland, ). Conveying past incidents was criticised by many.
Not mentioning what people needed to know before travelling and not informing potential travellers, could contribute to an even more negative image of NI than already existed. After a long period of extensive negative media coverage many were suspicious of visiting the area. Nevertheless, the reviews and comments above would seem to suggest that more open acknowledgement of the troubles by the NITB in their promotional literature, coupled with reassurance that tourists under normal circumstances are unlikely to come to any harm, would assist their marketing endeavours.
The objective for 2003 is to portray the image of Ireland and give information on the island of Ireland to the consumer.
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