'Come to Ulster': the imagery and activities of the Ulster Tourist Development Association in Northern Ireland 1923-1939

Since its foundation in the early 1920s, Northern Ireland remains a difficult tourist destination to promote, despite clear similarities to its neighbours in climate and attractions. Tourism has however played a key role in state-building and image-shaping in Northern Ireland, being used to showcase the region's modernity but also borrowing from contested images of rural Ireland. The activities and advertising of the Ulster Tourist Development Association (UTDA), a voluntary, government-backed organisation which promoted tourism in the early years of the new statelet, can cast a light on the politics of the troubled region, and help us understand the power of tourist media in shaping public discourse and eliciting public debate on a wide number of issues connected to identity, development, and dependency. The UTDA and its members show us some of the ways in which Northern Ireland navigated modernity in the first twenty years of existence through tourism, as well as highlighting the importance of personalities and local elites in its development and culture.

Automated summary

Despite similarities to its neighbors, Northern Ireland has struggled to promote itself as a tourist destination. The role of organizations like UTDA in shaping the region's politics and culture through tourism highlights the power of tourism in influencing public discourse and identity development. The early years of tourism in Northern Ireland show how the region navigated modernity and the importance of individuals and local elites in its development.