Put yourself in visitors’ shoes

Speaking at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s 2012 Tourism Conference, entitled ‘Our Time to Shine’, at Belfast’s Stormont Hotel, Arlene Foster said: “As competition in tourism increases year-on-year the quality of the visitors’ experience is becoming paramount.

“2012 is a stepping stone, albeit a vitally important one, on a journey to transform the industry into one that can employ up to 50,000 people throughout Northern Ireland in the next decade. I believe there is potential to enhance existing practices and destination services to offer exceptional visitor experiences.”

Conference delegates were encouraged to examine their tourism offerings to see where improvements could be made. The Minister continued: “Much of the secret of success comes from seeing the service we have to offer through the eyes of the tourist rather than our own. Put yourself in their shoes and think what you want when you are a visitor. Most people want similar things like helpful information, a friendly smile, courtesy and value-for-money.

“We need to ensure that the visitor is at the heart of everything we do. By learning how to make the visitor’s experience of local attractions, facilities and services the best that they can be, we can shape the future of tourism here.”

International insights into visitor expectations were provided by keynote speaker, Roger Brooks, who as Managing Director of Seattle-based Destination Development International is one of North America’s most sought-after experts in the creation of excellent destinations.

Radio broadcaster Simon Calder, Britain’s leading travel commentator and Senior Travel Editor with The Independent also attended the conference.

BBC journalist Mark Carruthers chaired an expert panel discussion on visitor attitudes after delegates had explored three breakout zones themed on ‘Our friendly welcome’, ‘Our unique and authentic stories’ and ‘Our product and quality offerings’.

Arlene Foster concluded: “By exceeding the visitors’ expectations, Northern Ireland will benefit from repeat visits and positive word-of-mouth referrals by satisfied tourists. Working together to ensure we have the best facilities, amenities and the warmest of welcomes, will help us to build and sustain our competitive advantage.”

Alan Clarke, NITB Chief Executive said: “Everyone in tourism has worked very hard to join up the dots between our most significant assets, the infrastructure on the ground and the experiences, stories, history and culture that we can share with our visitors. The result is that our tourism landscape has evolved beyond recognition.

“We now have a set of world-class visitor attractions and world-class products in place aligned to what is really distinct about Northern Ireland – the signature projects of Titanic, the Causeway Coast, the Walled City of Derry, St Patrick and the Mournes. These are our most important natural and cultural tourism assets and our totally unique tourist destinations.

“Visitors now have great reasons to choose Northern Ireland, great reasons to stay longer and good reasons to spend more, all of which is fundamental to achieving our ambitious tourism growth targets”.