Outdoor NI - Out and About

On August 13th the World famous Tall Ships sailed into Belfast Lough and the OutdoorNI team was there to make the most of this great event.

The Belfast Maritime event, which ran from August 13th to 16th, saw a 35 strong fleet of unique ships from all over the world dock along Belfast Lough for an event that many say was unrivalled in Belfast’s recent history. The event is believed to have drawn over half of the country’s population to the capital. Saturday alone saw around 250,000 people visit. CAAN took this opportunity to actively promote OutdoorNI and its other brands - WalkNI, CycleNI and CanoeNI. A steady flow of consumers visited the OutdoorNI stand seeking information, whilst LIFE, an Outdoor Activity Provider put an estimated 1000 young people up the climbing wall adjacent to the stand. Around 750 families entered an OutdoorNI competition with the majority indicating that they would like to be kept informed about up-coming news and
events relating to outdoor activities in Northern Ireland. As CAAN’s Marketing Executive Chris Armstrong explains, “The Tall Ships event gave CAAN a great opportunity to promote outdoor recreation to a wide range of consumers. Despite some unpredictable weather there was a great atmosphere throughout the whole event. We received many genuine enquiries from families aiming to encourage their kids to get out and enjoy the activities Northern Ireland has to offer, so we were only too happy to help”.

September 2009 saw CAAN representatives promote Outdoor NI at another two important shows on the events calendar both North and South of the border. The annual Garden Gourmet Festival, held in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens on the 19th and 20th of September, featured a range of floral and culinary delights for everybody who attended. As well as a flower show, now into its 28th year, there were fruit and vegetable displays, plant and craft stalls mixed with live music to add to the summer festival atmosphere. CAAN staff were delighted with the wide range of genuine detailed enquiries seeking information on both family orientated daily activities and short breaks in Northern Ireland. This year’s National Ploughing Championships were held in Athy,
Co. Kildare from September 22nd to 24th. As well as showcasing an array of both modern and vintage farming machinery there was a whole host of other intriguing marquees to keep the whole family amused. Averaging around 50,000 people each day, the Ploughing Championships were a great way for the CAAN staff to promote the consumer brand of Outdoor NI. “This show enabled us to reach a certain market which may not have previously seen Northern Ireland as a realistic destination to go and do outdoor activities” Chris Scott, CAAN’s Activity Tourism Manager.