THE two main loyal orders have hit out at tourism chiefs for omitting major attractions marking the Province’s marching culture from an online campaign to promote Northern Ireland in 2012.
Both the Twelfth of July and the annual Scarva demonstration are not included in the Our Time, Our Place initiative that showcases a calendar of events taking place over the course of the year.
The centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant – set to be formally commemorated by Unionists in September – is also not listed.
However, events such as the annual St Patrick’s Day parade in Belfast, the West Belfast Festival and the Feile an Earraigh (Irish traditional spring festival) are all included in the 2012 itinerary.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) recently launched a television advertising campaign aimed at providing a platform for a year-long series of events to attract visitors to the province.
They hope occasions such as the opening of the new iconic visitor attraction Titanic Belfast to coincide with the centenary of the liner’s fateful maiden voyage and the Irish Open golf tournament, staged in Portrush in the summer, will help change the image and perception of the region.
However, both the Orange Order and the Royal Black Institution feel aggrieved that their main events – which attract tens of thousands of spectators and participants – have been apparently ignored in the promotional drive.
David Hume, director of services with the Grand Lodge of Ireland, said: “It is extremely disappointing if the Twelfth of July celebrations, one of the largest outdoor events in the Northern Ireland calendar, is not mentioned, although we would hope that our flagship venues, due to be selected over the next few weeks, will be added to NITB websites as has previously been the case. It is also deeply disappointing that the tourist board has not mentioned the Ulster Covenant in any way.
“There will be a large commemoration parade for the centenary of the Ulster Covenant in September by the loyal orders, and we have no doubt that it will bring considerable numbers of participants and spectators from elsewhere in the UK.”
Mr Hume claimed that the tourist board was not alone in “ignoring” the Covenant, pointing to a lack of interest from members of the museum community and the broadcast media.
He said: “Sadly, the ‘establishment’ appears to wish to ignore this major event, despite its continued cultural relevance,”
A spokesman for the Royal Black Institution also expressed dismay that the annual Sham Fight at Scarva, the biggest one-day event at any single location in Northern Ireland, had also been left off the list of major attractions.
He said: “The Sham Fight continues to attract between 80,000 and 100,000 visitors every year. It is an incredibly successful event and the omission is particularly disappointing as we have been working hard with the tourism authorities north and south of the border to promote it.”
When contacted by the News Letter, an NITB spokesperson confirmed the tourist body does promote selected Orange flagship parades on its main website.
She said: “NITB provides a link to the Orange Lodge website for visitors who want details of the Twelfth of July activities. The Scarva Sham Fight is listed on the NITB consumer website on an annual basis and the event organisers have engaged proactively with us to provide updated information.”
She added that to be considered for inclusion on the specific ni2012 portal, it was the responsibility of “event organisers to submit their event information to our visitor servicing department for website inclusion”.