Tourism Northern Ireland

**REMINDER** Responses are required for the Quarterly Survey by this Friday, 31 January. Our fight goes on, but we really need your help! Please complete the survey asap. For link to survey, click here: https://lnkd.in/eZQDbChk

Tourism Northern Ireland hosts golf club development day Tourism Northern Ireland has brought the region’s golf clubs together for a specialised development day in preparation for the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club. During the Golf Club Development Workshop, which took place at Shandon Park Golf Club in Belfast, attendees were given a detailed overview of the upcoming Championship and were offered support and advice on how best to maximise the opportunities the world-class event will bring to Northern Ireland. When The Open was last held at Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2019, it became the biggest sporting event ever held in Northern Ireland, delivering a combined economic and media benefit of more than £100 million to the region. The success was a ground-breaking event for tourism in Northern Ireland, demonstrating the region’s ability to seamlessly deliver world class events. The sell-out event, which saw 237,750 golf fans in attendance, set a record for a championship staged outside St Andrews at the time. During today’s engagement session, Tourism Northern Ireland updated the clubs on how the region performed as a golfing destination in 2024 and discussed plans to continue the growth of golf tourism between now and the end of the decade. Those gathered also an heard an overview of The 153rd Open from Connor Wells, Head of Marketing, at The R&A. Attendees also took part in a Digital Marketing Workshop, facilitated by Michelle Connolly from ProfileTree - Web Design and Digital Marketing, which was aimed at helping golf clubs best promote their offering to golfing visitors to Northern Ireland this summer and beyond. In addition, Tracey Mooney, from NMD Business (Newry, Mourne and Down District Council) also presented a case study on the Heart of Down golf club cluster package, which has been successful in encouraging golfers to visit the region. George Diamondis, Golf Marketing Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland, said: “The return of The Open to Royal Portrush Golf Club this summer will once again highlight the exceptional golf offer we have here in Northern Ireland. “Today’s workshop was about bringing clubs from across the country together to learn how to best maximise the opportunity the Championship will bring. “Golf Tourism surpassed a milestone value of more than £70 million for the first time in 2024, with more than 29,000 visitors travelling to Northern Ireland to play golf. “It is an incredibly exciting time and working with the clubs to ensure we meet the expectations of the international visitors is vital to continue the growth in this thriving sector.”

🔔 Deadline approaching for local food and drink producers to register your interest 🔔 Deadline: 5pm on 31st January 2025 We are inviting expressions of interest from local food and drink businesses with unique products that would appeal to the tourism and hospitality sectors, including hotels, attractions, venues, and food and drink outlets. This proposed event aims to raise awareness of our local food and drink while fostering connections to support the sourcing, serving and promotion of local produce across tourism-related businesses. Who Should Apply We would like to hear from: ➡️ Businesses offering unique food and drink products with compelling stories to tell. ➡️Producers that align with the principles of local sourcing, sustainability, and quality. ➡️Those who can engage through tastings, samples, and high quality interpretation. ➡️Please note that this callout will help us assess demand and feasibility for hosting such an event. ➡️Please note that completion of an Expression of Interest does not guarantee a place. In the event of over-subscription, a selection criteria may be applied. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/dYXRCJYQ and register your interest.

📣 Calling Event Organisers 📣   Have your say - Tourism Events Future Approach Survey   As key stakeholders, we would like to invite you to complete this survey to capture your views.   Events, whether they are homegrown or those that we attract to these shores, have played an important role in the transformative growth of tourism in Northern Ireland over the last decade, to become a £1bn economy by 2019. A new 10-year Tourism Vision and Action Plan was launched by the Economy Minister recently, setting ambitious targets to become a £3.5bn tourism economy by 2035.   Falling out of this, Tourism NI is considering its approach to future tourism events support and how this might align to the Minister’s ambition and the objectives set out in the plan.   Your insights as a key stakeholder are critical to shaping any future approach to support delivery of the Tourism Vision, that reflects the current context and makes the most of the extensive opportunities. Tourism NI has therefore engaged Festivals and Events International (FEI) to assist us in carrying out a scoping exercise to inform future considerations. This includes a series of consultations, including this industry survey.   The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and focuses on identifying priorities, opportunities, and challenges in the events sector. Please feel free to share with others. If you have any problems accessing the survey or any other questions please email alison.hunt@feiuk.com.   To complete the survey visit https://lnkd.in/ev3ut6qA and have your say. The survey will remain open until Friday 14 February.

Tourism Northern Ireland was delighted today to support the Hospitality Inspires student conference in Belfast. Organised by the Institute of Hospitality - Northern Ireland, the event at the Europa Hotel aimed to inspire careers in tourism and hospitality while also providing an interactive platform for employers in the industry to directly engage with students and educators. More than 350 students from the region's Further Education colleges, Belfast Metropolitan College and Ulster University attended the event. A job fair also took place giving students the opportunity to visit employer stands which were showcasing the vast and diverse range of job opportunities across Northern Ireland in the hospitality, tourism and leisure. Attendees were welcomed to the event by Aaron Logan FIH IS, Regional Chairman for the Institute of Hospitality - Northern Ireland. Guest speakers at the event included Eimear Callaghan, Head of Experience and Industry Development at Tourism Northern Ireland, who spoke about the important role tourism plays in Northern Ireland while also highlighting key priorities for the year ahead. Other speakers included Rob Rees, Group Head of People & Culture at Hastings Hotels, Northern Ireland, and Simon Maguire, Hospitality Consultant. There was also a panel discussion involving Fionn Forbes, Events Admin Support at the Crowne Plaza Belfast, Rose McGuigan, owner of Bites by Rose, Katelyn Leetch, Conference & Events Co-Ordinator at the Crowne Plaza Belfast, and Anthony Farrell, co-founder of the CocktailKegCompany.

Tourism Northern Ireland welcomes future young leaders Young people taking part in a future young leaders programme were today given an insight into how tourism continues to make a positive contribution in Northern Ireland. The group, aged 18 to 25, visited Tourism Northern Ireland in Bedford Street for an immersive visit as part of the Common Purpose Northern Ireland Legacy programme. A global not-for-profit development organisation, the mission of Common Purpose is to develop leaders who can cross cultural, institutional, and social boundaries, both at work and in society.   Founded in 1989, the organisation delivers compelling, surprising, and powerful leadership programmes and workshops in more than 100 cities and online.   The Northern Ireland Legacy programme is part of the Common Purpose Global Legacy campaign, which invests in young people so they can become a connected generation of leaders with the confidence to make a difference and a clear vision for what their legacy will be. The group were welcomed to Tourism Northern Ireland by Carolyn Boyd, Industry Development Manager and Jessica Hoyle, Experience Brand Development Manager. During the visit, the group learned about the work of Tourism Northern Ireland, gained an understanding of the importance of shaping compelling tourism experiences, and were given an overview of career pathways and good jobs in the sector. The group also explored how the organisation’s work contributes to shape Northern Ireland.  Speaking after the meeting, Carolyn Boyd, Industry Development Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Common Purpose delegation to our offices today.   “It is so important to highlight the contribution tourism makes to Northern Ireland and the role it has played in transforming the region as it continues to boost the local economy and provide good jobs across the sector.” Victoria Moore, Projects Leader at Common Purpose, said: “Tourism NI has long been a supporter of Common Purpose and we were delighted that the organisation hosted a group of young leaders as part of the programme. “The group gained an invaluable insight into how tourism is key to creating a forward-and outward-looking Northern Ireland.”

Tickets available for HOSPITALITY ULSTER Carnival – Industry Party 2025 Tuesday 4th February 7pm Northern Ireland's biggest Hospitality industry party returns on Tuesday 4th February, taking over the Limelight Complex in Belfast to create a special celebration for business owners and staff of all ages (18+) and tastes. With three entertainment zones and two chillout zones along with premium street food this is your opportunity to reward the people who make the hospitality industry, and your business, great with tickets priced at just £25 per person including food*. Headlining the HU Carnival 2025: ❇️ Luke Combs UK ❇️ Roll With It (Oasis Tribute) ❇️ Big Love (Fleetwood Mac Tribute) ❇️ Morgan Wallen UK ❇️ With your Special Guest Host/DJ Julian Simmons! PLUS ❇️ Premium Street Food (included in your ticket) ❇️ Carnival dancers and performers ❇️ Special effects, lighting and pyro ❇️ Magicians and face painters Tickets are now on sale (open to non-members) Find out more at https://lnkd.in/es5D5uW8 and book your ticket today!

Tourism Northern Ireland has been in Orlando in the US this week for the PGA Show. More than 30 golf industry partners from across the island of Ireland are attending the show, which is the longest running and largest global gathering for the business of golf. Tourism Northern Ireland and its partners have been promoting Ireland’s golf product to the US market ahead of what will be an exciting year with The Open returning to Royal Portrush Golf Club in July. Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland

Northern Ireland Hotels Federation Housekeeping Awards Open for Entries 🏆 Members interested in taking part should complete the short online form by Friday 31st January. There are two new competitions this year Housekeeping Team of the Year and Housekeeper of the Year. The winners will be announced at a special Awards Dinner on Wednesday 19th March in the La Mon Hotel & Country Club. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/eFDQzCJR and register your interest.

Eimear Callaghan, Head of Experience & Industry Development at Tourism Northern Ireland is encouraging businesses to ‘Power Up’ this Spring with the help of an exciting new programme of support events. With a range of webinars, in person events and workshops taking place over the coming months, as well as online learning via the Tourism Northern Ireland e-Learning platform, MyTourismNI, there’s a host of opportunities available. ✅ Check out upcoming events at https://lnkd.in/eSuynThE ✅ Start your e-learning journey on MyTourismNI at https://lnkd.in/e53HzgEX ✅ Sign up to our mailing list at  https://lnkd.in/dcr693zC to keep up to date with upcoming events and opportunities.