BELFAST BRIEFING:Bill Clinton believes golf courses are one of Northern Ireland's few natural resources

SHOULD NORTHERN Ireland be teeing up its Ryder cup heroes Rory and Graeme to help deliver a multimillion pound hole in one for the local economy? If Bill Clinton’s advice is anything to go by it should waste no time in doing so.

The former US president may have been half joking last week in Derry when he suggested that the North had “some of the best golf courses on earth”. But Clinton also firmly believes that golf courses are one of Northern Ireland’s few natural resources.

He believes if the North can successfully weave the right tourist message around them, it could be worth millions of pounds in revenue for Northern Ireland annually. According to a recent report compiled by KPMG’s golf advisory practice, professional tournament golf has been “relatively resilient” to the economic downturn.

The Ryder Cup is expected to deliver a £73 million (€84.5 million) boost to the Welsh economy this year but it has also showcased Wales to a television audience estimated to be in the region of 750 million homes.

With the likes of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell as ambassadors, the North could do worse than taking a swing at landing a major professional golf tournament.

McIlroy is now listed as one of the “most marketable young golfers” in the world. Northern Ireland, with its historic courses such as Royal Portrush and Royal County Down, would do well to cash in on his potential.

Golf is just one element Bill Clinton believes Northern Ireland should be promoting in an attempt to capitalise on the region’s tourism potential. The former president says he is constantly staggered by the number of people he meets who know “nothing” about the North.

It is a failing local Minister for Tourism Arlene Foster is keen to address as illustrated by her latest trip to the United States. Grand Central Terminal in New York was transformed into a little corner of Northern Ireland last week in a major marketing exercise which gave up to 750,000 commuters the opportunity to experience sounds, tastes and images of the North.

Foster says nearly 150,000 Americans visited Northern Ireland last year and she wants to encourage more to come. Promoting the North’s golf offering to Americans who “tend to stay longer and spend more” could be the key to boosting certain tourism revenues.

Clinton has also advocated increased investment in its arts and crafts sector so that it can take advantage of visitors who want to buy a “meaningful” reminder of their trip.

Golf and souvenirs may not have been top of the agenda when the Northern Ireland Executive first launched its Programme for Government three years ago but “growing the economy” was its number one priority.

Northern Ireland’s regional economic development agency, Invest NI, is strongly focused on attracting new inward investment particularly from the US. The message would appear to be getting across as demonstrated by the US-owned consulting giant, Mercer, yesterday. It unveiled plans to expand its Northern Ireland operations by creating 45 additional jobs, in a move which will double its existing presence in Belfast.

The jobs boost has the potential to deliver a £1 million boost to the North’s economy in annual salaries alone.

But while attracting new inward investment is crucial it is not the only game in town. There is a well-rehearsed argument that Northern Ireland also needs to develop a dual economy on separate strands in order to create jobs for local people and deliver prosperity. If this results in the creation of more golf-related or arts and crafts entrepreneurs and businesses that could be a good thing.

Perhaps if Northern Ireland did manage to develop a new golf-related revenue stream, it might solve a problem that is overhanging the local economy.

Nama has disclosed that in the course of its business in Northern Ireland it may have to sell off huge swathes of sites, previously passed for development, as farmland following the collapse of the local property market. The agency said, although it does not yet have an accurate picture of either the total value or the detail of the Northern Ireland secured assets, it is likely to be in the region of £3.35 billion (€4 billion). This figure includes £2 billion (€2.4 billion) of undeveloped land, £1 billion (€1.2 billion) of investments and £350 million (€400 million) of property and land under development.

Just imagine how many golf courses that could possibly equate to and Bill Clinton’s economic advice suddenly makes perfect sense.