The cash, announced by Economy Minister, Diane Dodds, has been earmarked to help boost demand among local consumers and help providers to deliver experiences that reflect Tourism NI’s Embrace a Giant Spirit campaign.

Successful applicants in the private or voluntary sectors can secure up to 80 per cent funding towards the costs of implementing improvements to their offerings. Public sector enterprises will be able to get up to 50 per cent of their costs reimbursed.

Mrs Dodds said on Monday that she believed the programme would help local tourism providers capitalise on their assets and connect more of them with the customers that they need. She urged all ‘forward-thinking, innovative providers’ to apply for the assistance.

Brian Connolly, markets and product experiences development officer with Tourism NI says that the new scheme comes at a critical time for the survival of many of Northern Ireland’s tourism businesses:

‘The programme will help tourism providers develop new and attractive experiences and excite visitors to explore all that Northern Ireland has to offer,’ he added. ‘Covid-19 has had a profound impact on the tourism sector and through this new programme, we want to support tourism experience providers in their journey to recovery.’

For full details of eligibility and details on how to apply, visit here.

The closing date for applications is September 25 at 3pm.

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‘Embrace the Place’ was a pilot initiative developed following an investment by Tourism NI and an open call for the best talent in the arts sector to create new innovative content to animate key tourism sites across Northern Ireland.

The four successful projects developed content to reflect the heritage of some of Northern Ireland’s iconic visitor destinations including Belfast’s Maritime Mile, Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, Navan Fort in Armagh and the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh.

DumbWorld and Titanic Foundation’s ‘All The Things We Are’, a striking piece of audio-visual contemporary art, has been installed at the Riverbox since August and has delivered footfall on the Maritime Mile.

Theatre company, Kabosh created A Bellaghy Tale, a theatrical walking tour which took place across three weekends in September.  The tour, which began at Seamus Heaney HomePlace and linked key sites closely related to the life and work of Seamus Heaney in the village of Bellaghy, enabled visitors to connect with the sense of home and belonging, a strong theme of the work of Seamus Heaney.

The Armagh Rhymers and Armagh Pipers Club presented Macha at Navan Fort, a spectacular multi-media performance featuring music by renowned composer, Niall Vallely.  Commencing at the Navan Centre, the two evenings in September included a dramatic performance by Armagh Rhymers, musicians from Armagh Pipers Club and audio-visual displays together with a promenade to the Fort itself.

Snow Water created ‘Folk Park Live!’ which takes visitors on a musical journey charting the stories of those who had to leave Ulster over the course of 300 years with a live performance from each musician has filmed at 12 locations across the Ulster American Folk Park. January 2020 will see a new permanent exhibition, a QR code guided tour of the Park, a Folk Park Youtube Channel and Spotify playlist and a piece of vinyl, which will be available at the visitor centre.

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