“Inspiring Exceptional Outdoor Places” – The Outscape 2024 Conference

14th March 2024

The Outscape 2024 Conference on 7 March 2024 inspired delegates to aim for exceptional outdoor spaces in Northern Ireland

(Please note: All recordings from the day can be watched via the embedded videos below)

John McGrillen, CEO of Tourism NI, who attended the event, commented: 

“This Conference has inspired so many in this sector to show ambition and drive in achieving world-class outdoor spaces in Northern Ireland. It is particularly timely given the focus of Tourism NI on the outdoors and the irrefutable evidence of visitor demand for the outdoors.”

Interventions in the outdoors can bring another dimension to our natural landscapes, with the power to attract visitors, put a destination on the map and transform economies. The line-up of Conference speakers from Belgium, England and the Republic of Ireland gave delegates a clear picture of what world-class interventions look like in the outdoors and the ingredients to the success for each of their developments: 

  • Limburg Cycle Network , Belgium – Ward Segers, Visit Limburg 
  • Beyond the Trees Avondale, Ireland – Daithi de Forge, Coillte
  • South West Coast Path, England – Julian Gray, South West Coast Path

The speakers acknowledged a number of common themes that were pivotal to their success as well as the success of other world-class outdoor spaces. These are summarised in the Exceptional Spaces Framework

  • Vision & Ambition: clarity of vision is a must along with leadership to overcome challenges.
  • Innovative / Unique Design: design alone can create iconic outdoor spaces. 
  • Place & Community Centric: any intervention should fully embrace its natural environment, place and community and strive for regenerative tourism impact.
  • Visitor Focused: investment decisions should be based on solid visitor research and subsequently, operational excellence must be delivered across the visitor journey.

The Conference afternoon session showcased three very different examples of what exceptional looks like in the outdoors in Northern Ireland including: 

  • National Trust – Janet Vance, National Trust NI
  • OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory – John Howard, Mid Ulster District Council
  • Fodder in the Woods, Laura Bayley, Fodder NI

Whilst it was recognised during the Conference panel sessions that there are challenges for Northern Ireland, the overwhelming conviction was that there are lots of opportunities for landowners, local authorities and others to raise the bar in developing exceptional outdoor spaces.

Dawson Stelfox MBE, chair of Outscape, concluded the Conference highlighting three key messages for the day:

  • Be ambitious: to achieve exceptional requires a clear vision and leadership to overcome the inevitable obstacles in Northern Ireland such as funding, gaining buy in and planning
  • Partnerships are crucial: working collaboratively is important for success in Northern Ireland especially given the complex funding landscape for outdoor projects
  • Aim for authenticity: when striving for exceptional, we cannot copy and paste from examples elsewhere, instead strive for an authentic visitor experience appropriate to the environment and community.

 

Daithi de Forge, responsible for the development of Avondale in Wicklow, offered a parting thought to delegates:

Much of my inspiration for Avondale ‘Beyond the Trees’ came from my visits to exceptional places in Europe and talking to leaders who had achieved exceptional interventions elsewhere. So don’t hesitate in reaching out to me and others, we are keen to share our learnings.”

 

Conference Recordings

Presentation Title: Inspiring Exceptional Outdoor Places on the World Stage

Presented by Catherine Flanagan, CEO of the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AVEA). Note, Catherine’s talk begins at 20:48.


Presentation Title: Avondale, Beyond the Trees

Presented by Daithi De Forge, Head of Recreation at Coillte

 

Presentation Title: The South West Coast Path

Presented by Julian Gray, Director of the South West Coast Path

 

Presentation Title: Visit Limburg Network

Presented by Ward Segers, Visit Limburg

Presentation Title: Exceptional Outdoor Spaces

Presented by Aideen Martin, Outscape


Presentation Title: National Trust NI

Presented by Janet Vance, National Trust

 

Presentation Title: OM Dark Sky and Observatory

Presented by John Howard, Mid Ulster District Council

Inspiring Exceptional Closer to Home – Panel 2 Discussion

Feat: Aideen Martin, Laura Bayley, Janet Vance and John Howard.

 

What Does This Mean for Us in Northern Ireland? Panel 3 Discussion

Feat. Dr. Paul Mullan, Director of the National Lottery Heritage Fund in NI, Caro-Lynne Ferris, Executive Director of Outscape, and Maria McAlister, Interim Manager of Landscapes and Activities at Tourism NI.

 

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