The Great Game Fairs Are A Jewel in Tourism Crown.
Downpatrick businessman and champion of the countryside, Albert Titterington, Managing Director of Great Game Fair of Ireland, has been shortlisted for two major accolades within the prestigious NI Tourism Awards: NI Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year and NI Food & Drink Experience of the Year.
The Awards recognise and reward excellence, best practice and innovation in tourism, famously one of Northern Ireland’s fastest-growing business sectors and this year’s gala ceremony will crown a year in which the region celebrated attracting a record number of visitors.
It was a hugely successful year for Albert too, as he marked a glittering ruby anniversary, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of his unique Irish Game Fair concept with the hugely successful all-Ireland Game Fair & Fine Food Festival at Shanes Castle, Antrim.
Looking forward to the finals of the NI Tourism Awards, which will be held on 30th May in Armagh Palace Demesne, Albert said: “We are of course delighted to see the work of Great Game Fairs so publicly recognised, particularly within the context of the tourism economy.
“We passionately believe that Northern Ireland’s uniquely precious heritage of country sports, pursuits and past-times, and our wonderful artisan food and drink sector, should be nurtured as vital drivers of our fast-developing tourism industry and we have been proud pioneers of that ethos.
“Bringing those elements together within the Great Game Fairs family creates a vital showcase for all things rural. As attendance levels demonstrate, there is massive and widespread interest in this rich and fascinating aspect of Northern Ireland’s visitor offer and our Fairs continue to expand their reach, attracting increasing numbers of international participants, competitors, exhibitors and visitors.
“Importantly, our proactive marketing campaigns showcase this powerfully authentic ‘Unique Selling Point’ for Northern Ireland to vast audiences. The 2018 Irish Game Fair and Fine Food Festival at Shanes Castle commanded not only massive media support and attention here at home, but also captured GB coverage in the influential Daily Telegraph and in Delicious food magazine which boasts a circulation of 65,000 readers and 756,000 Facebook followers.
“Positive focus on Trip Advisor also created interest worldwide, while the Fair was screened to around 10million UK audience by two BBC Farmers Country Showdown programmes and also brought to the attention of international audiences via the Fieldsports Channel.
“By the end of 2018 the tourism industry in Northern Ireland was supporting 65,000 jobs and contributing £2.5 million per day to our local economy, making tourism a key driver of economic growth. Great Game Fairs of Ireland is proud to help our artisan food producers and the many individuals and diverse organisations behind our country sports and lifestyles to play their part in that emerging success story.”
Far from resting on its corporate laurels, Great Game Fairs will host its sixty-fifth fair, The Irish Country Lifestyle Festival at Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit, over the weekend of 15 and 16 June, while planning is already at an advanced stage for the annual Irish Game Fair and Fine Food Festival, to be held at Shanes Castle, Antrim on 29 and 30 June.
The Fair in the ROI is supported by Galway Council and in NI by TourismNI and Antrim & Newtownabbey Council.
