NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Johnny Andrews, has welcomed news that the Executive will invest £900,000 to keep the Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry open. However he said that the facility needs ‘to be managed professionally, by a private sector company’, to make sure it is profitable into the future.
“The aquarium is an important facility for Northern Ireland and it has been badly deprived of investment, so this cash injection is vital, as long as it is delivered quickly”, Johnny commented. “NI Conservatives in the Strangford area have been involved heavily in the campaign to keep Exploris, so we welcome the new money. However we also want to see a profitable, successful facility, whose future is secure for many decades to come.”
“Despite the campaign to keep it open, visitor numbers have been falling at the aquarium. There needs to be a clear plan to reverse this trend, dealing with problems getting to the facility relating to poor public transport and an over-priced ferry service, which is also losing money. Capital investment is certainly necessary, but Newtownards council and the new super council need to be much braver about changing the management structure at Exploris. We believe the best option is to run the aquarium as a public / private sector enterprise. This model works brilliantly at the Titanic visitor centre, which is managed efficiently by a private company, but remains in public ownership.”
“Progress on Exploris has been frustratingly slow. There has also been a huge cost involved in examining its future and the council has embarked upon numerous legal consultations and business plans. New public money for the facility is important, but both the council and the Executive must make the aquarium sustainable and efficient, otherwise crises will continue to arise. The council does not have enough expertise to run tourist facilities and Exploris is not the only venue that is losing money. The aquarium in Portaferry is a top attraction for everyone in Northern Ireland and our political leaders need to take a long-term view.”