Working collaboratively to accelerate the growth of tourism Local economic growth

Mid Ulster: grow visitor economy to £50 million by 2021

Previously the region of Mid Ulster had failed to exploit its tourism potential driven by a lack of recognition of the value of growth in the tourism sector to the overall local economy. The publication of a new five-year strategy in April pointed to a “lack of visibility” in the overall Northern Ireland tourism marketplace. While Mid Ulster is recognised for its retail offering and historical sites, a lack of collaboration meant that it registered just 4.6 per cent of the overnight trips in Northern Ireland and 3.6 per cent of the overall spend in 2014. An overview of past performance concluded that Mid Ulster tourism was dominated by day trips and those visiting family and friends.

The strategy has put a strong emphasis on both increasing visitor numbers to the area and retaining them for longer. The vision is “To enhance Mid Ulster’s image and reputation for visitors and grow the visitor economy to £50 million by 2021 as measured by overnight visitor expenditure”. To do this the council have identified three strands incorporating the Seamus Heaney legacy; archaeological sites, history and heritage; and outdoor activities.

In Heaney, the Council aim to further promote the £4.2 million Seamus Heaney HomePlace at Bellaghy opened in 2016 and add to its wider potential by surrounding it with inter-linking initiatives and connections to the wider tourism and hospitality sector.

Soaked in archaeology, history and heritage, most notably its association with the Flight of the Earls and the plantation legacy, Mid Ulster aims to benefit from the global trend that has seen cultural tourism emerge as the most rapidly growing sub-sector of the industry. To do this, the strategy sets out ambitions to combine its assets as a package offering to tourists and positions the area as a centre of excellence for history and heritage. Promoting this offering and developing an itinerary will be key to ensuring that visitors can be dispersed throughout the council area, as will plans to develop a year round programme of events.

In many ways, outdoor activity in Mid Ulster needs similar organisation and collaboration as the cultural tourism sector. Mid Ulster has benefited from pockets of investment and improvements in areas such as the Sperrins, while areas such as Lough Neagh are underutilised. Visibility problems for Mid Ulster’s offering has driven a desire for greater coherency and increasing competitiveness against other local authority attractions. Expanding awareness and promotion of existing and new sites for outdoor activity, spanning from leisure walks to extreme sports, will focus both on site development and management. The strategy also proposes a special focus on accessibility to key sights.

All three strands aim to support an ongoing focus towards food and events which already exists in the council area. By collaborating its assets and developing the Mid Ulster brand, the strategy aims to fully realise the potential of tourism to become an economic driver, helping to sustain more jobs and businesses, particularly as a year round sector.