Royal Hillsborough and Historic Moira foodie pilot gets thumbs up
June 6, 2022
A pilot programme to distinguish Royal Hillsborough and Historic Moira as leading foodie destinations in Northern Ireland has been a huge success.
The programme, which was launched by Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council (LCCC), has attracted forty local hospitality businesses who have worked together to expand the service currently available by creating a number of tourism packages for visitors to the area.
The packages offer customers a choice of high-end, authentic, local products as a combined experience. Twelve ready-made itineraries have been created so far with ideas for days out, overnight stays, historic day trips and romantic weekends.
Speaking about the programme, Chair of LCCC’s Development Committee, Alderman Amanda Grehan, said: “By collaborating and sharing knowledge, our local hospitality industry has been hugely successful in driving sales, dwell time and visitor spend in these two rural areas, as well as increasing awareness of what is on offer to residents and tourists alike.
“This was a pilot programme and through its success we are excited to enter into the next phase to develop more packages and further cement the relationships forged over the past months”.
Lynne McCabe, owner of Ralphs Moira and Lisnacurran, said: “‘’The programme has been most welcome to help bring together collaborations with other local businesses. Restaurant and accommodation deals are working really well for us at Ralphs and Lisnacurran Guest houses. Royal Hillsborough and Historic Moira have so much to offer within the area and also act as a springboard to ‘Eat Stay Sleep’ a base from which to also visit the rest of our beautiful country.‘’
Alan Greer, Business Development and Sales Executive for Hillsborough Castle, said: “‘I was delighted to take part in Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s Royal Hillsborough and Historic Moira RTCE programme. It has been really helpful to connect and reconnect with other local business owners as we all recover from the trials of the past two years, and find ways of collaborating to promote all the highlights of our very special towns. I hope that we can continue to build on these relationships as we seek to attract more visitors to Royal Hillsborough and Historic Moira.”
The pilot was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) through its Rural Tourism Collaborative Experience (RTCE) programme. For more information go to www.visitlisburncastlereagh.com/royal-hillsborough-and-historic-moira
