28th November 2023
Northern Ireland has a rich heritage in the arts, with a well-earned reputation for music and literature. Some of our finest works and performers, covering many genres, have reached all parts of the globe. But the stories and the talent are rooted here and are inspirers for our Nothern Ireland - Embrace a Giant Spirit brand. Now is the time to develop them and share them with our visitors on home ground.
As part of Tourism Northern Ireland's ambition to further enhance the destination as a place for authentic culture and heritage, they want to increase the availability of innovative and demand generating tourism experiences across Northern Ireland. Tourism Northern Ireland are inviting music and literature providers to attend an online information session on Wednesday, 6th December 2023, 10.30am-12pm.
Purpose: this session will provide insights into an exciting new opportunity, aimed at supporting providers to craft compelling, brand aligned music and literature experiences that can persuade domestic and global customers to participate, visit, stay and return to Northern Ireland.
Format: to facilitate attendance by as many providers as possible, the initial information session will take place virtually via a Zoom link.
Participants: please note that this programme is open to early learner and experienced participants who wish to develop brand-aligned, market-ready music and literature tourism experiences for Northern Ireland. This includes:
- providers/businesses that have never worked in tourism with the potential to deliver a compelling music and/or literature related experience.
- an existing business (already known to Tourism Northern Ireland) but one that has not been supported through previous programmes including NI Embrace a Giant Spirit Framework, NI Spirit Trail (Distillery Programme), Historic Houses & Gardens Programme and the current Food & Drink Development Programme.
- Expressions of interest are particularly welcomed from experiences that have the potential to improve levels of activity at off-peak times, support the evening economy, as well as drive greater regional spread. Current research suggests lower levels of culture and heritage experiences exist in Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh and Derry ~ Londonderry and depending on the volume of applications, priority may be given to expressions from these areas.
Who should attend?
The sole focus is on creating compelling music and/or literature experiences which could encompass (but is not limited) to the following:
- Offer engaging, multi-sensory experiences that involve visitors in learning new skills e.g. how to write a poem, short story, play an instrument, see how a recording session works and even try to mix your own session.
- Highlight the spectacular natural settings, heritage, and cultural landscapes through the stories of Northern Ireland’s music and literature.
- Meeting a provider: e.g., an author, a poet, a musician
- Guided experiences: e.g., music or literature tours (both urban & rural),
- Multidisciplinary/ soft adventure experiences: e.g., walking/cycling music or literature tours
- Music and literature experiences for diverse customer types: e.g., from general interest to ultra luxury.
- Music and literature experiences in unusual locations: e.g., heritage locations, on boat trips etc.
- Experiences that take place at various times: e.g., from early morning to during the day and into the evening and night-time economy
- Accessible experiences, inclusive of people of all ages and abilities
NB: all providers who participate in this programme must have an experience that is based in Northern Ireland and all participants must be able to supply proof of address in Northern Ireland.
The programme will run from January - March 2024 to include training, mentoring and market testing on scheduled dates.
For more information about the programme and to register your interest follow the link below Register your interest
