25 Sep 2026
Tourism 2030: Turning Momentum into Growth
2030 is a pivotal moment in our tourism journey, with significant investment already transforming places, attractions, infrastructure, public realm, culture and visitor experiences across Northern Ireland. As we look towards 2030, new and enhanced attractions will enter the market, destinations will continue to evolve, and visitor expectations and behaviours will keep shifting.
This conference explores how we can connect our strengths, create greater value through collaboration and build a stronger, more competitive tourism destination for Northern Ireland.
Conference Programme
Session One: Northern Ireland in 2030
Mark Rodgers - Founder of Landmark Luxury Travel
Mark Rodgers hosts the session.
Dr Caoimhe Archibald - Minister for Economy
Dr Caoimhe Archibald, Minister for Economy, opens the conference and shares the vision for the future of tourism and its role in driving economic growth, regional prosperity and opportunity across Northern Ireland.
Laura McCorry - Chief Executive of Tourism NI
Laura McCorry sets out Tourism NI’s vision for tourism by 2030. Centred on a connected tourism ecosystem and the idea of Total Tourism, this session explores how collaboration across the sector can connect individual experiences and create a competitive advantage for Northern Ireland as a tourism destination.
Dr Kate Simpson - Keynote Speaker
Dr Kate Simpson explores how systems thinking and ecosystem leadership can create greater value through collaboration. This session challenges delegates to consider how connecting strengths and shared leadership can create greater opportunities for everyone to succeed.
Session Two: Winning Attention
Neal Davies - Chairman of TBWA\Ireland
Drawing on his experience advising some of the world's leading brands, Neal Davies explores how organisations can win in today's attention economy. Neal examines the forces reshaping consumer attention, how successful brands stand out in crowded markets, stay relevant and convert attention into growth, and what these lessons mean for tourism brands competing for attention in a crowded marketplace.
Carmel Scott - Head of Marketing at Tourism NI
Carmel Scott explores how destinations can capture attention, create meaningful connections with audiences and work collaboratively to convert inspiration into visits, bookings and economic growth.
Alice Mansergh - Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland
Alice Mansergh outlines how Tourism Ireland is creating demand for Northern Ireland in international markets. She considers how distinctive stories and propositions can help Northern Ireland stand out in a crowded global marketplace and convert attention into a visit.
Final Session: Making it a Reality
Eimear Callaghan - Director of Client Engagement at Tourism NI
Eimear Callaghan outlines how Tourism NI will support the industry to capitalise on the opportunities ahead. She introduces business support programmes designed around industry needs, with clear pathways to support and improve access to insight, expertise and practical tools.
Michael Beare - Co-Founder of Finn Lough
Michael Beare of Finn Lough brings the conference themes to life through the experience of Fermanagh, sharing how industry partners came together around a collective tourism challenge. He demonstrates how shared ambition and collective responsibility can drive positive change, with every business and organisation playing a role.
About our Conference Speakers
Dr Caoimhe Archibald - Minister for Economy
Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA is the Minister for Economy in Northern Ireland, with responsibility for driving forward the region's economic vision and supporting growth across key sectors, including tourism.
Dr Kate Simpson - Keynote Speaker
Dr Kate Simpson has over 20 years’ experience working on cross sector partnerships and multi stakeholder collaborations with a wide range of public, private, and not for profit organisations and is focused on creating collective solutions to complex problems. Kate’s career has encompassed international development, environmental management, academia and corporate organisational development. At the heart of this work, Kate has been building cross sectoral collaborations that create the energy, innovation and relationships to make good change happen. Currently she works with Place Matters, a UK charity committed to community led place-based change. She writes and speaks regularly on topics of leadership; systems change and how to make change happen when the ambition is big and the plan unclear (spoiler: it usually starts with finding some friends).
Neal Davies - Chairman of TBWA\Ireland
With more than 35 years of experience helping brands navigate growth and change, Neal is Chairman of TBWA\Ireland and previously served as Global President and CEO of Effie Worldwide. Having worked across more than 50 markets, he brings a wealth of international expertise in marketing effectiveness, brand strategy and leadership.
Laura McCorry - Chief Executive of Tourism NI
Laura McCorry is Chief Executive of Tourism NI, bringing over 20 years of experience in tourism, heritage and destination development. Previously Head of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, she led a period of significant growth and was awarded an MBE in 2023. Passionate about sustainable and inclusive tourism, Laura is focused on delivering Northern Ireland’s Tourism Vision and growing the visitor economy for communities, businesses and visitors alike.
Alice Mansergh - Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland
Alice Mansergh is Chief Executive at Tourism Ireland, the organisation with leadership responsibility for marketing the island of Ireland to overseas visitors. Collaborating with industry and government, Alice and the Tourism Ireland team are proud to grow the contribution overseas tourism makes to economies and communities across the island. Previously, Alice spent 19 years leading large-scale commercial organisations at Google. As Managing Director, UK & Ireland Customer Solutions, she helped hundreds of thousands of businesses to digitise and succeed online. During a period in London, Alice led Google’s own consumer marketing, growing iconic brands like Google Chrome to market-leading positions. Alice is passionate about tourism and has not let a year of her life go by without holidaying around the island of Ireland. From 2018 to 2023, she served on the board of Fáilte Ireland.
Michael Beare - Co-Founder of Finn Lough
Michael Beare is the co-founder of Finn Lough in Fermanagh which offers guests a luxury retreat immersed in nature on the shores of Lough Erne, where wellness, relaxation and outdoor adventure come together. Michael is leading a cluster of Fermanagh tourism businesses to better connect the visitor experience, maximising the potential of the Lough, and aiming to drive increased spend and longer stays in the area through three key workstreams. Michael is also working with Invest NI on this project.
Mark Rogers - Founder of Landmark Luxury Travel
Mark Rogers is the founder of Landmark Luxury Travel, a bespoke luxury tour company which offers guests far more than a traditional guided tour. As a third-generation seanchaí, he creates exclusive, private experiences that connect visitors with the history, heritage and people of the North. He is also the founder of Dalriada Kingdom Tours, which offers regular guided group tours of the Causeway Coastal Route.
Eimear Callaghan - Director of Client Engagement at Tourism NI
Eimear is Tourism NI's Director of Client Engagement, leading teams to support the growth of tourism to £2 billion by 2030, through a sharpened focus on Differentiation and Competitiveness. She has over twenty years of destination development and marketing experience gained in the public and private sectors, with previous roles focused on Experience Development, International Sales and Golf Marketing.
Carmel Scott - Head of Marketing at Tourism NI
Carmel Scott is Head of Marketing at Tourism Northern Ireland, leading destination marketing, brand, PR, digital and campaign activity designed to grow visitor demand and support tourism businesses across Northern Ireland. With more than 20 years' experience in marketing, communications and destination development, she has worked with public, private and tourism sector partners to deliver impactful campaigns and build strong destination brands.