'An evening celebration of Northern Ireland' Trade event

5th March 2024

A representative from the Ards and North Down Borough Council Tourism Development (TD) team, represented Ards and North Down at Tourism Northern Ireland’s “An evening celebration of Northern Ireland”.

This event took place at the beautiful College Green Hotel (formerly The Westin) on Wednesday 28^th February.

The event was for approximately 60 ROI based Operators, DMC's, Industry Associations and ROI Media. It provided the opportunity for Northern Ireland Industry to collaboratively promote Northern Ireland as a leisure and business tourism destination as part of an “Immersive Experience Exchange”.  It was great opportunity for the NI industry to engage with this lucrative audience and nurture and develop new and existing relationships and contacts. 

Copeland Distillery, based in Donaghadee, and Echlinville Distillery, Kircubbin, provided samples for the industry to take away and enjoy.  These proved to be extremely popular, so Visit Ards and North Down stand was very busy!

Ards and North Down also featured on the menu – with both Portavogie Prawns and Glastry Ice Cream being showcased as some of Northern Ireland’s finest produce.

A specially curated entertainment piece featuring a collective of leading Northern Irish musicians was also enjoyed. This included renowned Derry pianist Ruth McGinley, Belfast vocalist Philippa O'Hara and string musicians from Ulster Orchestra. The performance included special arrangements of some of Northern Ireland’s most loved musicians including Snow Patrol and Van Morrison.

Our TD team will now follow up with the ROI contacts made, harnessing relationships for future collaborations, however, there has already been interest in a media trip and future collaboration with a renowned Tour Operator.