To ask the Minister for the Economy what consideration she has given to developing the agritourism sector as a means of promoting regional balance and supporting rural communities.

Agritourism presents a valuable opportunity to support regional balance and promote the sustainable development of our rural communities. Tourism NI actively supports numerous agritourism-related businesses through tourism development programmes and initiatives. Regional balance is a key priority for Tourism NI and its teams work closely with regional councils to identify and support businesses, including those in rural communities and the agritourism-related sector, who can confidently enhance the destination proposition and confidently underpin the wider development of tourism. DAERA delivered the Rural Tourism Scheme under the 2014-2020 Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme. This scheme, co-funded by the EU, invested almost £9 million in tourism and heritage related capital infrastructure projects across the north, with the aim of increasing footfall and economic prosperity for rural areas. In developing a new rural policy, DAERA is engaging with other government departments to explore future opportunities for supporting rural communities and to help identify how DAERA can work more effectively with them in the future to help deliver better outcomes for our rural people and places.