2022-2032 Vistitor Experience Development Plan

4 1.2 Designing a Visitor Experience Development Plan for Fermanagh and Omagh Fermanagh Lakelands & Omagh and The Sperrins In 2021, recognising this opportunity, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, TourismNI andWaterways Ireland came together to work collectively on the delivery of a Visitor Experience and Development Plan (VEDP) for the Fermanagh and Omagh district. As a partnership, they developed a brief for the delivery of a visitor focused plan and in late 2021 appointed Urban Scale Interventions (USI) to deliver a co-design process that would result in a ten year VEDP for the district. Fermanagh and Omagh’s outstanding natural and cultural heritage, its recreational trails and water & boating experiences are at the heart of the district - attracting people from all over the UK, Ireland and beyond. The VEDP provides a pathway for an integrated network of visitor experiences to flourish as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and adapt to the climate emergency and continuing geo-political challenges. The Fermanagh and Omagh destination contains two distinct tourism propositions: the ‘Fermanagh Lakelands’ and ‘Omagh and The Sperrins’. The Fermanagh Lakelands proposition is located wholly within the district in County Fermanagh, while Omagh and The Sperrins sits on the southern tip of the Sperrin Mountains which span from Strabane, eastwards to Slieve Gallion and north towards Limavady, in the counties of Tyrone and Londonderry and is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Fermanagh Lakelands has to date benefitted from a strong domestic market for tourism, with Omagh and The Sperrins as a proposition being earlier in its journey. It is important to note that both are in distinctively different stages with their tourism proposition, development and maturity. They are also currently operating separately, providing an opportunity to define greater strategic alignment for promotion and cross selling within the region and extension of stay and spend. 2019 represented a significant milestone for Northern Ireland (NI). Tourism became a £1 billion industry, however Covid-19 has had devastating consequences on the growth ambition to double this to £2 billion by 2030. Indicators now forecast that 2025 will see the return of international travel to 2019 levels and put the tourism industry back on the growth trajectory. Gortin Glen Forest Park