The IRA ceasefire has come too late to rescue the 1997 tourist season in Northern Ireland, according to Mr John Herlihy, owner of the Portaferry Hotel in Co Down. If the ceasefire held, said Mr Herlihy, the impact on tourism would be felt next year.
A spokeswoman for the Waterfoot Hotel, outside Derry, said there was now an opportunity to win back families from Dublin and Cork who came to the North after the last ceasefire.