Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Developing, promoting and marketing Northern Ireland through film

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board - now Tourism NI - created films that aimed to sell Northern Ireland as a holiday destination. Members of staff documented the region through stills and moving images, the films they created capturing various facets of life in Northern Ireland, its society and history, people and places . 

They were particularly busy in the mid-1950s to late 1960s, with the films of this period capturing Northern Ireland at an intriguing time - post-World War Two and pre-Troubles.

Later, as the conflict in Northern Ireland escalated, there was increasing pressure to close the Board. Resilient staff adapted creatively to the uphill struggle, finding new ways and places where they could responsibly encourage tourists to visit. Despite the obstacles they faced, they continued to create films during the 1970s and 1980s, earning the nickname the ‘Fermanagh Tourist Board’.

This collection of colourful and charming travelogues was compiled from materials deposited and held by National Museums Northern Ireland and with the kind assistance of Robert Blair. It includes films used by the Tourist Board as well as those they created.