Dates: Thurs 26th& Friday 27th January 2023

Tourism Northern Ireland in conjunction with the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AVEA) is hosting a learning journey to the Republic of Ireland (ROI) in late January 2023. 

AVEA is the representative association for visitor experiences and attractions (VEAs) on the island of Ireland.  Founded by the sector in 2017, it seeks to represent the interests of VEAs to achieve their full potential through knowledge exchange, member networking, research, and advocacy.  AVEA’s 100+ members include iconic sites such as Kylemore Abbey and the Guinness Storehouse, smaller strategically important sites like Wexford’s Johnstown Castle, Hook Lighthouse, and Offaly’s Birr Castle.  Its members include privately-owned businesses, national/local authority sites, for-profit, and not-for-profit entities.  AVEA members generate an estimated €500m per year in revenues.

Overall objectives:

• To glean a range of learnings from Visitor Attraction managers / operators 
• Examine operational considerations, innovations, experience development, revenue generating ideas from counterparts in ROI
• Share key learnings, barriers, blockers and opportunities from counterparts in ROI
• Look at operational models in terms of resources- staffing/ volunteers and capacity building
• Consider opportunities for cluster development, cross-promotion, and collaboration with other tourism businesses within the local ecosystem
• Consider Sustainability within the attractions - their sustainability policies and any learnings from implementation
• Food, beverage and retail at the attractions- how are these handled and what learnings can be shared?
• Learn more about the benefits of research, networking, knowledge exchange, peer-learning, and constructive dialogue with other practitioners within the VEA sector
• Create a space for dialogue, collaboration, and idea exchange between the NI participants

Who should attend?

• Attractions who have identified ROI & Overseas visitors as a key opportunity and are already investing in promotion to these markets. 
• Whilst the final programme detail is in scope the dates are set for a one-night stay departing from Belfast on Thursday 26th Jan returning on Friday 27th Jan 2023.
• Each participant will be asked to participate fully in experiencing each site, to engage in each hosts’ presentation and be prepared to reflect and report on how they can apply their experience and learnings to their own business. 
• This will include participation in a group post-evaluation meeting. 
  We would also like a commitment to offering a reciprocal host visit at some point in 2023. 

As part of our commitment to support the tourism industry fully recover and develop, this is a fully-funded industry development opportunity. Places on this programme are extremely limited to ensure that all participants benefit from a tailored experience. 

TNI and AVEA will review your expression of interest based on the matched aims and objectives of the journey. In the event of over-subscription, a criteria will apply.

This expression of interest form will close Wednesday 21st December.