Tourism Industry Scheme: Experience Development Programme 2021-23

Overview

This programme will support tourism businesses to develop giant experiences (new or improved) that deliver on the brand promise and support the continued recovery of the Northern Ireland tourism sector. Where applications exceed demand, priority will be given to those projects that demonstrate the greatest potential to support our industry to rebuild and recover.

Programme Outcomes

This is an outcomes based programme and their objectives are to fund those projects which demonstrate the best prospects of delivering on the outcomes noted below. Applications under this programme should be aligned to one or more of the outcomes and to the Northern Ireland Embrace a Giant Spirit brand promise.

• Increase our domestic and international reputation as an attractive holiday destination
• Build the number of visitors who come here
• Increase the length of time visitors spend here
• Increase the amount of money that visitors spend per head
• Support the growth of our large, medium and small tourism businesses
• Support the development of an economically and environmentally sustainable tourism economy
• Support regional and seasonal extension
• Support the growth and development of our night-time economy offer

How much Financial Assistance can you expect?

The amount of financial assistance available under this programme is between £40,000 and £450,000.

Tourism NI financial assistance will not exceed:

• 80% of eligible project costs for private sector and voluntary/ community sector applicants
• 50% of eligible project costs for public sector applicants Tourism NI will not exceed the delegated percentages detailed above.

Eligibility

To apply you must be an existing tourism experience provider, located and operating in Northern Ireland.

• Private Sector - Companies and other legal entities and individuals
• Public Sector - Commercial and non-commercial semi state organisations/Local authorities
• Voluntary/Community Sector – community and not for profit bodies including companies limited by guarantee. Applicants from the Voluntary/Community sector will be required to have a Charity No./ Unique Reference Number (URN) as evidence that they qualify for this status

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

1. Business Type: You must be an experience provider located and operating within Northern Ireland. Accommodation providers and others outlined in the ineligible list above are not eligible to apply. However, in the case of accommodation providers, if your project relates to a demand generating experience separate from your accommodation provision, the experience may be eligible. They encourage you to seek guidance from the Capital Funding Team before completing an application.
2. Operational Thresholds: You (as a business) should have been operational on or before 1st August 2019. Tourism NI will seek evidence of these operational thresholds. However, in limited circumstances, if you haven’t been operational on or before 1st August 2019 you must supply Tourism NI with sufficient independent evidence that there is a strong future pipeline of business, this requirement may be reviewed.
3. Match Funding: You must be in a position to confirm match funding for the project. You will be asked to provide evidence that, in addition to Tourism NI’s financial assistance, you have the necessary level of funding to cover the full project costs.
4. Deliverability (asset ownership and other rights): You must be in a position to demonstrate ownership and/or all other rights required to operate the experience. You will be asked to provide evidence that you have the necessary ownership or other rights when you apply.
5. Deliverability (financial): You must demonstrate that you will be able to incur sufficient expenditure by 31st March 2023 to draw down all funding under this programme.
6. Deliverability (operational): You must confirm that you will be able to launch the experience (open to the public and bookable online) by 31st March 2023.
7. Project Deliverables: This is a capital funding programme and the project must result in the delivery of a new or enhanced asset. For the purposes of this programme, the resulting asset should have an estimated life of of 2 to 5 years, contingent on the amount of financial assistance awarded. In limited circumstances, where a significant return on investment can be demonstrated this time limit/holding period may be reviewed.
8. Minimum Grant Thresholds: Applications must be for a minimum grant of £40,000.
9. Business Viability: You must be able to confirm that the business was a viable business prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has taken all reasonable steps to safeguard the future of the business. Tourism NI reserves the right to seek independent evidence of this requirement where deemed necessary.

Eligible Costs

Proposed projects should fall under one of the following categories:

• New product development
• Existing product enhancement

This is a capital funding programme and as such the investment (eligible costs) must result in the delivery of a new or enhanced asset which can demonstrate an ability to deliver on the programme outcomes.

The following is not an exhaustive list, but examples of the types of projects which may be supported include:

• Enhanced animation of the visitor experience at existing attractions/ sites
• Enhanced interpretation and signage to improve the visitor experience
• Improved capacity and visitor management solutions
• Investment in infrastructure or equipment, including safety equipment which supports the delivery of world class experiences
• All weather infrastructure to enhance experiences or improve seasonality
• Investment which enhances coastal and water based experiences
• Investment which is likely to support innovation in tourism experience delivery
• Investment which supports the development of more environmentally sustainable tourism experiences
• Immersive technology solutions to manage and enhance the visitors experience, including assistive technology to enhance the experience for people with disabilities

Tourism NI welcomes applications from collaborations in relation to the development of enhanced experiences. However, a lead applicant must be nominated and the lead partner will be required to comply with all minimum eligibility criteria.

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Tourism NI for any clarifications.