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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Orange Standard

True Benefits Of The Twelfth Come Under Focus

Article 1 ~ November 2004

The Twelfth of July has the potential to become Northern Ireland's major tourist attraction, and Orange Lodges across the country have been playing their part in highlighting the economic benefits of the event.

Each year, thousands of visitors attend parades and in so doing they spend a considerable amount of money. The presence of the Twelfth in one small town, it has been revealed, resulted in £175,000 being netted by local businesses there on the day.

Now in an effort to counter the negative publicity which those who oppose our cultural expression seek to impose on the Twelfth, statistics are being provided to back up the assertion that the Orange parades bring economic benefit.

And given the numbers who participate and who watch, it is clear that the Twelfth needs to be accorded its proper place as one of Northern Ireland's premier festivals.

With this in mind, hundreds of Lodges and individuals have responded to a survey launched by the Institution prior to the 2004 Twelfth, and the results are currently being analysed.

Although the details are not being publicly released just yet, it is already clear that there are major economic benefits from the Orange demonstrations through the visitors which they generate in many areas.

Aspects which are currently being analysed include how much, on average, Orangemen spend on the preparations for the Twelfth, as well as on the day itself.

The survey will also give a picture of the number of visitors who come to view the parades.

And already it is clear that considerable monies go into the economy whether to restaurants, shops or transport companies.

The call from Grand Lodge for assistance in providing a survey met with an outstanding response.

Hundreds of individual replies and Lodge and District responses have been coming in to the Orange Order headquarters at Schomberg House.

The results of the major survey will be presented in a report to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and other agencies.

Schomberg House even had assistance of a local council in helping provide a pilot study of tourist potential in one area.

And the final survey will show the side of the Twelfth which sometimes goes without notice - the positive benefits to the Northern Ireland economy.

Meanwhile, another positive development has been that the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has just informed the Grand Lodge of Ireland that it will be including details of the 2005 Twelfth in its brochures next year.

The move has been described as a welcome development by Grand Master Robert Saulters, who said he was delighted that the annual Twelfth parades would be featured.

The Grand Master said this would help inform tourists who were in the province and wished to visit a Twelfth demonstration.

The NITB has also agreed to provide separate listings and details of venues in its webpages, as well as the general mention in tourist literature.

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