Tourism Northern Ireland

Open Now for Registration - Get Open Ready Webinar ⛳ As The 153rd Open returns to Royal Portrush Golf Club this year we are delighted to invite you to our upcoming webinar on Tuesday 25th February 2pm-3:30pm to help you prepare to showcase Northern Ireland on the world’s stage. Following on from our webinar in November, this is the next event in our series of industry engagement activity. This session is a chance to find out about The 153rd Open and the opportunities to get involved as we focus on our toolkit that will be launched ahead of the webinar. When? ➡️ Tuesday 25th February 2pm-3:30pm Who is this relevant for? ➡️ Open to any businesses or individuals who wish to get involved in The 153rd Open. What this session will cover? ➡️ Get Open Ready – an update on accommodation & certification. ➡️ How to best use The 153rd Open toolkit. Simple steps and checklist on how to get ready. ➡️ Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council – local update and community/business engagement. ➡️ Marketing and promotional opportunities. ➡️ Latest information and updates on local opportunities & jobs. ➡️ Welcome training opportunities. ➡️ Volunteer Programme. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/ecZdw79A and register your place.

Great collaboration between Tourism Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland & VisitBritain in bringing luxury travel buyers from China to showcase experience attractions & accommodation offerings in the region for their future clients. Brilliant work Mary McGee business solutions team at Tourism NI, Iris Wang Asia manager at Tourism Ireland, Tatie Shu & Angie Tong at Visit Britain. There is so many other people behind the scenes organising these types of familiarization trips which are so important in building confidence of what we can do as a destination to these fantastic overseas operators. ☘️ 🙌 #embraceagiantspirit #fillyourheartwithireland Loughinsholin Tourism Cluster Visit Derry Visit Belfast

Tourism Northern Ireland recently organised a learning journey to Dublin and Wicklow as part of its ongoing support for the Northern Ireland Distillery Network. This initiative brought together 12 distilleries from across the region, fostering connections, networking, and knowledge exchange among peers, with a shared focus on sustainability, food and beverage, and retail within their visitor experiences. The itinerary included visits to six diverse distilleries, ranging from smaller craft operations to larger estate-based facilities, offering valuable insights into best practices and innovative approaches. The Northern Ireland businesses which took part in the learning journey were Titanic Distillers, The Echlinville Distillery, Hinch Distillery, Bushmills Distillery, Rademon Estate Distillery, Killowen Distillery, Ireland Craft Beverages - Two Stacks Whiskey, Wild Atlantic Distillery, The Copeland Distillery, The Boatyard Distillery, Walled City Brewery and Woodlab Distillery. The group visited Teeling Whiskey Distillery, Pearse Lyons Distillery, Roe & Co Distillery and Stillgarden Distillery , all based in Dublin, and Powerscourt Distillery and Wicklow Wolf Brewing Company | B Corp™, both in Co Wicklow. By strengthening connections within the Northern Ireland Spirits Trail Network and encouraging collaboration with industry leaders across the island of Ireland, the learning journey aimed to enhance visitor offerings, foster innovation and amplify community impact. Gary Quate, Food and Drink Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland, said: “This learning journey provided owners and managers with the opportunity to engage directly with successful practices and explore innovations that benefit businesses and visitors alike. "We look forward to seeing the ideas and partnerships which will emerge from this initiative as the distilleries work to deliver even more compelling reasons to visit in 2025 and beyond.” He added: “Tourism Northern Ireland would like to extend its thanks to the industry partners who took the time to meet with us and who so generously hosted us during our short time with them. “Their hospitality and willingness to share their experiences were invaluable to the success of this initiative.”

Tourism Northern Ireland’s Spring Marketing Campaign is due to launch on Monday 20th January. The activity which runs until 31st March will reach approximately 62% of adults in the Republic of Ireland and generate over 67 million opportunities to see or hear the campaign. In Northern Ireland it will reach approximately 68% of adults and generate over 37 million opportunities to see or hear the activity. To learn more about how consumers across the Island are planning short breaks to Northern Ireland, who is most likely to take a short break and what they are looking for please check out our latest Consumer Sentiment Analysis https://lnkd.in/eTnWBkDp

Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister, Caoimhe Archibald, visited Studio Ulster today, a £72m Belfast Region City Deal project developed by Ulster University, in partnership with Belfast Harbour & Northern Ireland Screen. Joined by Ulster University’s Vice-Chancellor, the CEO of Studio Ulster, Declan Keeney, gave the Minister a tour of the world’s most cutting-edge virtual production studios and research facilities, set to transform NI's creative industries. Opening in 2025, Studio Ulster will lead in virtual production & tech innovation. Discover more: studioulster.com #WeAreUU

Tourism Northern Ireland was delighted today to support the launch of Tourism Ireland’s marketing strategy and plans to promote the region overseas in 2025. Attended by the Economy Minister Conor Murphy, the event at the ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall brought together hundreds of tourism industry leaders from around Northern Ireland. In 2025, Tourism Ireland will roll out an extensive and targeted programme of activity benefiting regions across Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. Given that sustainable development remains at the core of Tourism Ireland’s plans for the year ahead, there will be continued focus on attracting tourists who are likely to see more, do more, enjoy more and therefore, spend more when they visit. New for this year is ‘Slow Tourism Month’. An estimated half of all visitors to the island of Ireland choose not to use a car. Tourism Ireland will enable more exploration with trip ideas that allow for dwell time in communities and scenery and that can be enjoyed by rail, bus or with tour partners, winning overnight stays across regions. Tourism Ireland will also unveil a new global advertising campaign across 13-plus overseas markets this year. The organisation will also refresh and build on the strong foundations of its ‘Fill your heart with Ireland’ campaign featuring two of the Derry Girls to make the island of Ireland stand out as a ‘bucket list’ destination. Among those who spoke at today's event was John McGrillen, CEO of Tourism Northern Ireland, who provided an overview of the organisation’s plans for the upcoming year year including its new Spring marketing campaign, which is due to launch later this month. Mr McGrillen also spoke about experience and destination development and referenced the opportunities the upcoming 153rd Open at Royal Portrush will present for the region. Speaking at the launch, Economy Minister Conor Murphy said: “I believe strongly in the importance and value of tourism as a driver for sustainable economic growth in communities across the north. “I very much welcome Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans and their work to ensure the north is showcased on the international stage and that this part of our island is a destination of choice for overseas visitors, who can bring value for communities, workers and businesses right across this region.” Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Overseas tourism to Northern Ireland delivered £672 million in revenue in 2023 and, importantly, helped to support around 70,000 jobs across Northern Ireland. "Over half of all visitor spend comes from those travelling to Northern Ireland from overseas. "We’re ambitious to support growth for local Northern Ireland businesses, the economy and communities and are targeting growing overseas visitor spend in Northern Ireland to £1.3 billion by 2035."

Tourism Northern Ireland was delighted this week to support a visit to the region by a group of luxury travel buyers from the China market. Organised as part of Showcase Britain, the visit was made possible thanks to a collaboration between VisitBritain, Tourism Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland. The group took part in the familiarisation trip to sample luxury experiences and accommodation offerings in the region with a view to including them in future inbound programmes for their clients. The group began their visit to Northern Ireland yesterday with a trip to Titanic Belfast, where they enjoyed a tour of the visitor attraction. Last night, the buyers were officially welcomed to Belfast by Mayor Micky Murray during a special reception at city hall. The group were also met by John McGrillen, CEO of Tourism Northern Ireland, who addressed the visitors in the Lord Mayor’s parlour. Also present at the reception was Consul General, Li Nan, Nikki Paterson, Business Solutions Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland, Iris Wang, Asia Manager at Tourism Ireland, and Tatia Shi and Angie Tong, from VisitBritain. In the coming days, the group will visit a host of Northern Ireland tourist attractions and experiences and sample some of the region’s famous food, drink and accommodation offerings. Stops on the tour include Waterman House, the Giant’s Causeway, The Bushmills Inn, Glenshane Country Farm , Hillsborough Castle & Gardens and the Game of Thrones Studio Tour. The group will be staying in The Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast, by Hotel Partners, the Galgorm Collection and at the Slieve Donard. Nikki Paterson, Business Solutions Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland, said: “This familiarisation trip is an excellent opportunity for local businesses to tap into the luxury travel market in China. “It presents our local industry with an exciting opportunity to showcase their products and services and establish great connections with this very select group of travel buyers. “The group are keen to discover high-end experiences which appeal to affluent travellers, distinctive offerings that set us apart and products which are market-ready and attractive to Chinese travellers. “Under our Embrace a Giant Spirit brand we have built a strong and distinctive regional spread of experiences and we are very proud of the world class offering we have.” She added: “This trip has been a fantastic opportunity to work with our tourism partners in VisitBritain and Tourism Ireland and strengthen those working relationships.”

📹Economy Minister Conor Murphy has launched a Tourism Vision and Action Plan to grow the sector over the next 10 years. The goal is for tourism expenditure from overnight visitors to exceed £2 billion by 2035. The plan sets out 17 actions which are critical to achieving this ambition in a way that promotes regional balance, raises productivity, creates good jobs, and lowers carbon emissions. Read the plan ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eq2bZvRh Tourism Northern Ireland Tourism Ireland Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance (NITA) HOSPITALITY ULSTER Northern Ireland Hotels Federation Belfast Metropolitan College Titanic Belfast

Department for the Economy NI Minister Conor Murphy has launched a plan for tourism expenditure to exceed £2 billion by 2035. The ‘Tourism Vision & Action Plan: 10 Year Plan’ sets out how we plan to create a thriving, sustainable tourism industry for the future, enriching local quality of life and creating a year-round destination, across the north, that will stand out in international markets. The Minister launched the plan at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast that hosts one of the north's most visited attractions, Titanic Belfast and at Belfast Metropolitan College campus where tourism students develop the skills for a future in the industry. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gZSTaFey