Figures from the Northern Ireland tourism industry have warned £160m of visitor spend and half a million tourists could be impacted by plans for a US-style visa waiver document for journeys across the border.
he impact was outlined by tourist chiefs to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, after a recent Westminster vote on the Nationalities and Borders Bill.
If taken forward, the Government proposals mean EU citizens who are not Irish will have to apply online for pre-travel clearance to cross the border.
Dr Joanne Stuart from the NI Tourism Alliance said there had been “no consultation at all with the industry” on the plans and said the single-entry system “would just be unworkable and completely impractical”.
Under new post-Brexit immigration and border control legislation going through Westminster, non-Irish EU citizens living in or visiting the Republic of Ireland would require an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to cross the border into Northern…