In this article I reflect on Tourism NI’s draft Corporate Plan 2025–2028, which I was invited to comment on through its consultation. I outline what the Plan proposes, why it matters for Northern Ireland’s tourism sector, and where it falls short. While the document sets out ambitious goals around regional balance, jobs, productivity, sustainability and organisational strength, I found the consultation process confusing, overly bureaucratic and heavy with jargon. I explain why I chose not to respond and suggest how Tourism NI could have made the consultation more meaningful.
I received an email from Tourism NI asking for feedback on its draft Corporate Plan 2025–2028 (The Plan). Given that it will shape the sector I work in for the next few years, I thought it worth reading.
The Plan aims to implement the recently published Tourism Vision & Action Plan: 10-Year Plan to 2035 and sets out what Tourism NI ‘will undertake over the next three years to help realise that vision and fulfil the potential of NI’s tourism industry’ (The Plan, p.3). With the consultation deadline of 22 October 2025, I considered whether to submit a response.
The draft positions tourism as vital to Northern Ireland’s economy, communities and international reputation, aligning its work with the return of the NI Assembly and the Tourism Vision & Action Plan. Its message centres on five priorities: (1) regional balance by spreading benefits beyond Belfast (The Plan, pp.3–4, 20–21), (2) the creation of good jobs in tourism and hospitality (pp.4–5, 24–25), (3) raising productivity through competitiveness, innovation and year-round activity (pp.5, 26–27), (4) embedding sustainability into the sector’s growth (pp.5, 28–29), and (5) ensuring Tourism NI itself is a capable, modern organisation (pp.5, 30–31). Overall, the Plan commits to growing demand from domestic and ROI markets (pp.11–12), lengthening visitor stays and increasing spend (p.4), spreading benefits regionally and seasonally (pp.20–21), strengthening skills and sustainability (pp.24–29), and ensuring Tourism NI is fit to lead delivery (pp.30–32).
The consultation asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the five objectives, providing reasons for any negative responses. At the end, participants could share additional views and request further discussion with staff. Four issues stood out for me:
Firstly, it seemed odd that consultees were asked to agree or disagree with objectives already locked into the overarching Tourism Vision & Action Plan. For example, Objective 4 of The Plan is ‘Sustainability’ – a ‘tourism industry that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.’ Respondents were asked whether they agreed this was a suitable outcome. Yet the 10-year plan already commits to this aim in Activities 15–17 (Tourism Vision & Action Plan, p.21), including Activity 15: ‘[b]uild the capacity of tourism businesses to take action to reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable.’ This is not up for debate. Such questions would have been appropriate when the Tourism Vision & Action Plan was itself consulted on, not now when Tourism NI is simply implementing it.
Secondly, the document is laden with quango-speak and a dense web of initiatives, organisations and strategies that are mentioned often without explanation. This makes the Plan almost impenetrable unless you are a civil servant or policy wonk. For example, seven separate policy and legislative instruments appear, including the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (The Plan, pp.5, 10), the Programme for Government 2024–2027: Our Plan – Doing What Matters Most (p.9), the DfE Sub-Regional Economic Plan (pp.9, 21), the DfE Business Plan 2024–25 (p.9), the DfE Invest NI Review (p.10), the Climate Change Act (NI) 2022 (p.28) and the EU Green Claims Directive (p.29). At least 21 other strategies or frameworks are referenced, from the Tourism Vision & Action Plan: 10-Year Plan itself (pp.3, 9–12, 19–20, 24, 29–30), to the NI Golf Tourism Strategy (p.24), and the ROI Market Recovery Taskforce Growth Strategy (2017, refreshed 2021) (p.19). Added to that there are at least five cross border initiatives and ten other major projects and programmes. Without prior knowledge, it is difficult to know what each is, what it does and how it shapes tourism. A glossary of policies and agencies would have helped.
Thirdly, the prose is filled with bureaucratic jargon that makes it heavy going. On page 21 (Destination and Product Development) we find phrases such as ‘destination-led approach,’ ‘destination stewardship plans’ and ‘not congruent with council boundaries.’ Such language is policy-heavy and opaque for anyone outside the system.
Finally, the outcomes and metrics are often woolly. For example, Objective 2 seeks to create ‘good jobs’ in tourism. Its metrics include (p.26): ‘increased positive perceptions of the tourism and hospitality sector’ and ‘growth in skill levels and capability of the workforce.’ While employment numbers (metric 4) can be counted, perceptions and skill growth are vaguer and far harder to measure meaningfully.
So, did I respond? No. The exercise felt like a box-ticking consultation, meeting formal requirements but not genuinely seeking input. My 25 years’ work experience in health and social care policy has left me sceptical of such exercises and this document reinforced that cynicism. The Plan is informative and ambitious, but the sheer volume of references to organisations and frameworks, the jargon, and the fact that consultees were asked to comment on objectives already decided, deterred me from contributing.
The consultation could have been more useful had it asked for practical ideas on how to realise the objectives, and had the Plan itself been written in clearer, plainer English. To be fair, Tourism NI is pursuing important work in promoting NI’s culture, food, landscapes and people. But the consultation gives the impression that genuine engagement was not the goal, which feels like a wasted opportunity.