From fears over the lives of staff and customers, to the devastating financial impact of the lockdowns, the next episode of UTV’s current affairs programme, ‘Up Close’, looks at how Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector is navigating its way out of the pandemic, and will feature interviews with Lough Erne Resort General Manager, Joanne Walsh, and Executive Head Chef, Noel McMeel.

Airing at 9pm on Friday, June 25, 'Up Close – Summer Reservations’, presented by UTV’s Paul Reilly, hears from pub, restaurant and hotel owners who tell their personal stories of sleepless nights, and the deep financial and human cost of trying to keep their businesses afloat during the worst days of the pandemic.

Industry body representatives give a broader picture of what happened to the hospitality and tourism sectors once the pandemic hit.

The programme also looks to the future, with real optimism among those interviewed that with foreign travel curtailed, and the promise of good weather ahead, a bumper summer could be looming as ‘staycations’ become the norm.

The Lough Erne Resort in Co. Fermanagh is a very popular wedding location. Speaking to Paul about the impact the pandemic had on weddings at the resort, Joanne said: “As we locked down in March [2020], we had 88 weddings booked for the rest of the year – we ended up doing 20 weddings, of a much smaller scale."

Discussing how she thinks couples have compensated for not having a disco and dancing by being creative, she added: "I’ve seen some fun things; I’ve seen hypnotists, and I have seen comedians.

“A family did a Mr and Mrs quiz as a surprise for the couple, so it’s still being allowed to have fun."

Talking about the future of the post-lockdown hospitality sector, Noel said: "Will it get better? Massively. There is a massive bright future there; I smile because I know how brilliant it will be.

“You have to have dark days sometimes to have great, bright ones, and I think that we have to be positive, and we have to march forward.

“I know that the people in this great industry in Northern Ireland will march forward and it will be a great success."

During the programme, Paul speaks to many other business owners and industry representatives, including Hospitality Ulster’s Colin Neill, who says the past year has been horrific for the sector.

“It's fair to say as an industry we've been to hell and back. It has been the biggest challenge ever faced by the hospitality industry, by the individual business, the business owners and the staff, and it's not over yet, but we're going in the right direction,” he said.