Co Armagh tour guide Donna Fox has raised concerns around the new phase of the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Scheme, which she says could be challenging for travellers crossing from the Republic.
Non-European travellers without a visa or immigration status must obtain an ETA for entry into the UK, which costs £10 per person.
Eligible Europeans will need an ETA to travel to the UK from April 2, 2025.
According to the UK government, you do not need an ETA if you have a visa; have permission to live, work or study in the UK; you are a British or Irish citizen; you are travelling with a British overseas territories citizen passport.
If you live in Ireland and are travelling from Ireland, an ETA is also not required.
Many businesses and figures in Northern Ireland have suggested the region be made exempt from the scheme, due to fears that tourism will be affected by fewer travellers visiting via the Republic of Ireland.
It’s argued that if extra paperwork is required, some tourists may decide to stop at the border when visiting Ireland.
Donna, who leads tours in Armagh and across Northern Ireland, says that a lot of people outside Europe don’t know that there’s two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, which could lead to confusions for travellers.
“It definitely will be detrimental to tourism and hospitality,” she said.
“People arriving from the airports down south might take a trip up north and not know anything about it. If they do know about it, they might say, ‘we’ll stay down here’, because the cost is £10 per person and you have to apply online before you travel and you might have to wait to have your application authorised.
“It sort of cuts out last minute choices,” she added.
Donna says that anybody who works in tourism is likely to be affected.
“It’s going got be very difficult for tour operators. Say they have a 30-seater coach going around Ireland, which a lot of groups do. There’s 30 people on the coach and that’s going to be another £300 for the overall cost of the group.
“The difficulty is it’s up to each individual to apply themselves.”
She added: “There’s going to be no border controls so people may just either not know about it or just say ‘I’m sure I’ll probably not be checked anyway’.
“But then say you had a health issue or you were in a car accident, that’s when your difficulty would arise and you might not be covered by travel insurance.”
Others who have critiqued the move include the now former Economy Minister Conor Murphy, who had pressed the Home Office to reconsider the implementation of the scheme, claiming it will have a “devastating” impact on tourism.
He had met with Seema Malhotra MP, Home Office Minister for Migration and Citizenship, to outline his concerns.
He said: “I have made it clear to Minister Malhotra that solutions to the ETA Scheme are needed to protect the north’s tourism sector.
“Ideally, a complete exemption should be introduced for those crossing into the north but not travelling on to Britain.
“At the very least a time-limited exemption for people visiting up to seven days would cover most of our international visitors.
“The existing exemption for French school groups shows that a solution is perfectly possible. A similar, pragmatic, and flexible approach could be taken by the Home Office to avoid damaging tourism growth in the north.”
Key findings from recent Tourism Ireland Sentiment Research across international markets found that due to the introduction of the ETA requirements, one-in-four people in Europe, and one-in-five people in North America, say they would make the decision not to travel.
Mr Murphy added: “Our all-island economy is vital, and seamless all-island travel is key to building on the growth we have seen in our tourism sector.
“I share the strong concerns expressed by the tourism and travel industry here and will continue to press the British Government for a solution to this challenging issue.”
Judith Owens MBE, CEO of Titanic Belfast and Chair of the NI Tourism Alliance (NITA), also expressed concerns.
She said: “The introduction of the ETA scheme poses a substantial threat to Northern Ireland’s tourism sector.
“With approximately 70% of our international visitors entering via the Republic of Ireland and crossing the land border, the additional requirement of obtaining an ETA could deter many from including Northern Ireland in their travel plans.
“This not only jeopardises an estimated £210 million in annual revenue but also risks diminishing our global tourism appeal.
“These visitors represent approximately 1% of total international visitors to the UK and we urgently call on the UK Government to agree to an exemption to mitigate these adverse impacts and safeguard the future of our tourism industry.”
Donna added that while £10 is “not expensive”, it leads to more paperwork, as while the ETA is valid for up to two years for a stay of up to six months, it won’t be valid if your passport expires.
“I think it will impact us particularly here in the Armagh/ABC area. We’re so close to the border so it could impact us more than Belfast or the North Coast,” she said.
“If you’re flying into Belfast or any of the UK airports, you’re advised before so you can apply for it, but if you’re flying into Dublin, you’re not prompted to do that, so it mightn’t even cross your radar.
“In my mind it’s not a good thing. We were battered enough with COVID and tourism was picking itself up and going well. Last year was a good year.”
