To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail any work her Department is undertaking regarding the regulation of short-term holiday lets.

My Department’s and Tourism NI’s powers to regulate the visitor/tourist accommodation sector, commonly referred to as short-term holiday lets, are set out in the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (“the 1992 Tourism Order”). The 1992 Tourism Order requires all visitor/tourist accommodation in the North to be inspected and certified by Tourism NI before they can operate, and existing businesses undergo further statutory inspections at least once every four years to ensure that specified minimum quality standards are met.These minimum quality standards are set out in regulations, and denote the quality and provisions of standards, cleanliness, maintenance, safety, essential facilities and comfort etc. Tourism NI enforces these regulations through its statutory Certification Scheme. My Department and Tourism NI recently completed a review of the visitor/tourist accommodation Certification Scheme and its associated statutory criteria regulations, and are currently preparing to launch a public consultation on proposed changes to obtain wider stakeholder and industry views. These proposed changes relate to the significant changes in market trends regarding the types of accommodation being provided by industry, e.g. the rise in new and alternative accommodation offerings such as aparthotels, glamping pods etc., as well as introducing changes to the minimum standards and offerings visitors expect. It should be noted, however, that the 1992 Tourism Order does not provide any power for my Department or Tourism NI to limit, cap or control the number or spread of properties providing accommodation for visitors/tourists.