The Mid South West region is renowned for having a wealth of natural beauty, world class attractions and some of the best tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland.

The Loughs and Lakes of Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh are a superb recreational and tourism resource and strongly differentiates our region from other destinations in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Sperrins are a defined Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (one of only eight in Northern Ireland) and the cross-border Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark is designated by the Geopark Network and UNESCO.

However, we need to promote our natural beauty to a wider audience from around the globe, we need to entice more tourists to our attractions and we need more quality visitor accommodation.

Tourism NI research confirms that the main barriers to out-of-state tourism growth in MSW include the physical accessibility of the region, information and signposting, and digital connectivity. Therefore, actions taken to address the deficits in our basic economic infrastructure in MSW will also help to expedite the growth of our tourism sector.

We recognise the need to stimulate investment in tourist-related infrastructure including supporting more hotel and accommodation provision in key locations in MSW where there are evident gaps to underpin our future ambitions for the tourism sector.

Our commitment is to address the challenges outlined above. Read more about our ambitions in the Regional Economic Strategy