To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail any work her Department has undertaken in relation to developing stewardship plans for priority tourism destinations.

Developing a Destination Stewardship approach is one of the key priorities in the Tourism Vision & Action Plan: 10 Year Plan, launched on 15 January 2025. This will include a Stewardship framework and principles to be used as a blueprint to develop tourism destinations sustainably across the North in the future. Tourism NI is currently in the process of procuring a suitably qualified and experienced contractor to co-create the Destination Stewardship Framework. The specialist contractor will collaborate with Tourism NI and all councils to gather research, data and evidence to define destinations and select one for the pilot Destination Stewardship Plan. Following this process, my Department will be in a position to advise on the identified destination selected for the pilot. My Department anticipates that Tourism NI will have completed their work on the inital stage in September 2025.