ONE of the world's foremost tourism experts has said Belfast's best asset when it comes to tourism is the people who make up the city.

Anita Mendiratta, a global strategic advisor, diplomat, author and on-air personality in Tourism, Aviation and Development will be speaking at St Mary's College on Thursday to celebrate 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement.

The theme of the talks is titled 'Tourism brings peace and peace brings tourism' and will look at how the Good Friday Agreement has created a tourism boom for the North, and West Belfast and helped communities build the sector in a sustainable manner designed to improve communities.

Anita Mendiratta will be speaking alongside Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy, UN World Tourism Organisation Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland.

Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Anita said the Good Friday Agreement was a big moment in history and it should be recognised.

"Sometimes people find it easy to weave events into the fabric of history but it's very important to stop for a second and recognise how important this was."

Anita said that often in tourism, places can default to just offering their attractions and they take for granted the connections people can make when they visit a place, and that connection is with the people who live there.

"When I look at Belfast and I went to Titanic Belfast I was genuinely awed by it, not just because of the story behind it but how the story was told which was spectacular. You go into the bowels of the ship and you feel the heat and you hear all the noise and it gives you an appreciation of what it took to create the Titanic.

"For me what Belfast has and what I believe it surpasses anywhere else in the world is the people of Belfast and that needs to be celebrated. The common denominator is the people, the history and the culture and what it means to be from Belfast. It's not about the hardware, it's always about the software."

Anita said that often people go to places to see a certain attraction but what makes the trip special will be having an interaction with the people who live there. 

"I think it's important for the people of Belfast to speak about why they love their home. The best way to promote Belfast is through the people of Belfast telling people about how they love this city."

She added: "The best thing Belfast can do to promote tourism is just keep it simple and focus on the people and the stories and it's what makes the city so intoxicating to visit."