Ireland’s visitor attraction and experience operators come together in force today in County Clare for the annual 2 day AVEA (Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions) conference to discuss the future of the sector.
Over 200 delegates from the island of Ireland sees the largest conference gathering in the 6-year history of AVEA conferences; demonstrating the desire for support amongst the industry during the currently challenging times.
CEO of AVEA Catherine Flanagan says, “We have been inundated with members of our sector wishing to join our conference today, with a waitlist in place; this demonstrates just how much the industry appreciates the ability to come together today and to work together towards building business and developing knowledge and skills for all visitor attractions and experiences.
By working collaboratively, sharing learnings and deepening the well of expertise in our sector, our members will all be better equipped to navigate challenges, develop international and domestic markets and be digitally adept for future-proofing their businesses.
Our recent industry figures are showing improvements in year-on-year visitor numbers however, the industry is still well behind pre-COVID levels (by 42%). Over the next two days of our conference, we will be learning about best practices from award-winning international visitor experiences and attractions, learning how best to use AI tools to improve the business offering and learning about plans for future promotion from Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland and how the industry can best work co-operatively with those promotions.
Post-covid is a new landscape for Irish tourism operators, while it has some new and additional challenges, it also lays out fresh ground for new opportunities, new ways to develop and do business and new ways to shine a light on Ireland for the international visitor market.”
The conference theme for 2023 is “World Class Experiences – Local Authenticity,” which will place a focus on how tourism businesses must deliver excellent and memorable experiences to their visitors while remaining true to the spirit of Irish hospitality.
The conference is also placing a major focus on sustainable tourism. Catherine says, “We will also place a focus on the industry’s environmental responsibility, social equity, economic health and cultural vitality. A number of experts in each of these areas will share their expertise and knowledge with our conference delegates as we work towards building a robust yet sustainable tourism model.”
To reduce the carbon impact of the conference, the organisers are offering a return coach transfer from Dublin for delegates, they will also enjoy a complimentary tour and coffee at Aillwee Burren Experience, Doolin Cave, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, King John’s Castle and the International Rugby Experience. All delegates will also enjoy a learning journey while in County Clare, travelling to the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Geopark, and Caherconnell Stone Fort.
Over the next 2 days, delegates will hear from tourism leaders Jenny de Saulles (Director of Sector Development Fáilte Ireland), Alice Mansergh (CEO of Tourism Ireland), Eimear Callaghan (Head of Experience and Industry Development, Tourism Northern Ireland), Eoghan O’Mara Walsh (CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.)
International speakers include the Head of Hampton Court Palace Rachel Mackay and Rich Neville, who led the operations teams for ABBA Voyage and the BBC Earth Experience in London. Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese, will report on changing trends for booking experiences online, and John Harte from ATS Heritage will reveal findings from AVEA research on how visitor attractions meet the requirements of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
For further details on the AVEA conference see, www.avea.ie.