Campbell Welcomes Fermanagh As New Monaco At Start Of Rally Ireland

Northern Sports Minister, Gregory Campbell, welcomed Rally Ireland to Enniskillen, the chosen location to launch the World Rally Championship series on Thursday.

Speaking at the Launch of the World Rally Championship series and the opening round of Rally Ireland, the Minister said: "Monaco has provided the backdrop for the launch of the WRC for the past 30 years.

"Now it's Enniskillen's turn to be centre stage with the magnificent Enniskillen Castle and breathtaking Fermanagh scenery providing a striking backdrop for the opening ceremony of the WRC and the first stage of the rally.

"I am particularly pleased that my department has provided significant funding of £850,000 towards the Rally Ireland event and that a region west of the Bann is to benefit from this prestigious rally championship.

"Just as last year at Stormont, the location will be a big attraction for visitors and spectators.

"For international broadcasters, it will provide spectacular TV pictures of the Fermanagh Lakelands, and showcase Northern Ireland to audiences all over the world.

"Hopefully that TV coverage will in turn produce lasting benefits to the area, particularly in terms of tourism and return visitors."

Tourism Minister Arlene Foster said: "Rally Ireland presents a major opportunity to promote Northern Ireland to an international audience.

"When the event last took place here in 2007, it attracted over 250,000 spectators and reached almost 90 million people across the globe.

"Rally Ireland also has the potential to bring significant benefits to our local economy, as it is estimated to have contributed around £35million in revenue to the economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in 2007.

"The Northern Ireland Executive has set challenging targets for tourism here and despite the current economic climate, statistics for the first half of 2008 show that tourist numbers and the amount they spent here were up compared to the same period in 2007.

"We must now build on this achievement and continue to attract significant events on the scale of Rally Ireland."