What is Community Tourism?
Community tourism, places local people at the forefront. Community tourism, asks the more meaningful questions ‘what makes your place genuinely special?’, and ‘how can we share it in a way that benefits everyone economically and socially?’
In practice it means identifying and developing assets already present in a community. This could be a landscape, a craft tradition, a built heritage, a heritage story, a sporting story. We work strategically with communities to translate those into authentic tourism experiences that visitors are willing to pay for, or which will draw visitors to the area.
Done well, community tourism reinforces local identity, retains spending within the local economy, and creates employment without sacrificing the very character that made a place worth visiting.
Rural Tourism Development
Across Ireland and Northern Ireland, rural communities are recognising the potential to develop tourism in their area, on their terms. We have worked with communities across the island of Ireland. Their stories can be different, but ultimately the goal is to build a strategy which will develop tourism in their area, for the betterment of the people who live there.
Take a look at our blog to find out more about projects we have worked on.
Community Tourism Workshop
Saturday 3rd October 2026 – Shen House, Belleek, Fermanagh.
09:30am – 13.00pm OR 12.00pm – 15.30pm
This is a three-and-a-half-hour event which includes a practical workshop on the foundations of the tourism landscape, tourism, and regenerative tourism as well as building the heritage story of your community and tourism development in your community. Also included is a short walk and tour of Belleek heritage village and a light lunch.
Tickets for our Community Tourism Workshop are currently available at a reduced rate! Until August 31st buy your ticket for £44 – normally £55! 20% OFF for our 20th year! More details and purchasing here.