Northern Ireland hopes for Yes vote

Northern Ireland's hoteliers and restaurateurs are hoping that the peace deal will be ratified when the Irish public cast their votes on22 May.

They believe that the North would see a return to the figures enjoyed during the first ceasefire, when business increased by 56% and visitor numbers from south of the border jumped by 155%.

It is estimated that 20,000 new jobs would need to be filled in the North's tourism trade if peace were cemented.

Jim McDaid, the South's tourism minister, has just launched a IR£1m marketing campaign for his native Donegal which although it is in the Republic is immediatelyadjacent to Northern Ireland and geographically part of Ulster.

A joint marketing campaign for the entire northern coast of Ireland could be launched quite quickly, industry insiders said, and would be part of the plans for co-operation between North and South.

A new parades commission has also been set up to oversee the summer marching season where the spin-off tension has been causing nervous tourists to stay away.