Twenty-six managers of top visitor attractions from across the East and South regions have just returned from York in the UK as part of Fáilte Ireland’s first ever Visitor Attraction – Management Development Programme. The new programme was custom designed to meet the rapidly changing expectations of our visitors and the desire to really connect with a destination.
Over the past six months local managers and owners have been taking part in studies focussing on all areas of management culminating in the research trip to York, which (with its medieval heritage) holds many similarities to areas such as Kilkenny and Waterford. The group saw first-hand how visitor attractions there are helping to provide memorable experiences for visitors.
York was selected as part of the programme, for its popularity as a Roman, Viking and Norman tourism heritage City in the UK, and its ability to provide practical insights for the 26 major Irish attractions participating the Management Development Programme.
The group of Irish visitor attractions spent time at a number of key attractions and received briefings from specialists on attraction interpretation, heritage event management, curation, volunteer management and innovation.
Colm Breheny from Fáilte Ireland said –
“Visitor attractions are central to delivering the memorable experiences that our visitors are looking for. They allow visitors to immerse themselves in the surroundings, interact with people and hear the history and stories of the place.
On completion of the management development programme the participants will graduate and receive a Failte Ireland certificate on March 4th in Kilkenny Castle. More importantly, the great learnings from the visit - including visitor interpretation techniques and innovative ways of immersing people in their visitor attractions – can be applied to the way we do business here.”
Commenting on his recent visit to York, Mark McGovern, of Kilkenny’s Smithwicks Experience, said:
“The visit to York showcased the potential to increase domestic visitor numbers by engaging visitors of all ages in their local history and culture. Ireland’s South East region is steeped in history and this provides an ideal hook for targeting significant growth in both domestic and international visitors.”
ENDS
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