The official website of Visit Ards and North Down

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General Training, Skills and Business Support

Ards and North Down Borough Council Supporting Businesses to Grow

We’re here to help you strengthen your unique tourism offer:

Skills and training to support business development
Tourism clusters, networking and familiarisation trips to build connections and shared experiences
Visitor Servicing team promoting your products and encouraging visitors to stay longer
Promotional opportunities across our campaigns and channels. Find out more about how we support local businesses here. Visit Ards and North Down: Supporting Businesses. Inspiring Visitors. - Ards & North Down

Visitor Information Centres (VIC's)

VICs are often the first point of contact for visitors wishing to explore what a region has to offer and can be in person, over the phone or via email. There are two permanent Centres in Ards and Bangor with a trained team of Visitor Advisors. While the staff know the area well and regularly research for new providers and events, it is great to have direct engagement with you, the trade, to get regular updates.

This is what our Visitor Services section can do to help support your business:

Free listing in the Ards and North Down Visitor Guide and Visitor Map (subject to criteria)
Within the office, racking is available to display your information – leaflets, posters.
The team deliver outreach, taking information on the region to large scale events both locally, e.g. Mount Stewart, Garden Show Ireland, etc.
The team will also ensure your information is shared with relevant tourism colleagues in the Tourism Development Team and also Tourism NI and Visit Belfast.

Contact details

Ards VIC - 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AD | +44 (0)28 9182 6846 | ardsvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk
Bangor VIC - Tower House, 34 Quay Street, Bangor, BT20 5ED | +44 (0)28 9127 0069 | bangorvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Destination Marketing

Regular and Relevant Ezines

If you are not already signed up, you can keep up to date with regular trade and consumer news. Our trade e-zine will provide tourism insights, upcoming training opportunities and business news and via our consumer e-zine we share short breaks ideas, unique experiences, events and seasonal special offers.

Trade ezine sign up Consumer ezine sign up

Promotion

Promotional channels include many free opportunities, such as listings on visitardsandnorthdown.com including things to do and news sections, regular ezines and tourism dedicated social media channels.

Visit Ards and North Down Website

• Activities and Events – we will list activities and events that meet the criteria for appearing on the Visit website (see the criteria below).
• Engaging content – we are always looking for new and inspiring content we can share on our channels, maybe a video, story or photographs of the area
• News - we are always interested to hear and share your significant good news stories which are of interest to the tourism audience e.g. award wins, refurbishment, new or enhanced product offerings you would like to let us know about.

You can share this content with us via our Share your story form or provide details of an event via our Submit an event form.

*Note – when submitting content you must read our Contributor Agreement, UK GDPR legislation and Ards and North Down content criteria both apply.

Website event criteria

Events that meet the following criteria will be eligible to feature on the visitardsandnorthdown.com website:

Events which have visitor appeal to those beyond the borough of Ards and North Down
Events that are held in main tourism attractions, or that encompass a town/village in the Ards and North Down borough as the main venue
Events that are grant aided by Ards and North Down Borough Council’s Tourism Department

We cannot guarantee inclusion of all events/activities submitted – criteria must be met.

Visit Ards and North Down Social

Visit Ards and North Down Facebook and Instagram social pages with dedicated tourism focussed content. It would be great if you could give us a like and follow to keep up to date with what is happening in the region. We are keen to actively grow our following, so please help us spread the word about this great place. Tag us in your activities @visitardsandnorthdown giving us the opportunity to share as appropriate.

The main hashtags we will be using are #VisitAND, #ANDwelcome #LoveAND #TasteANDenjoy #ExperienceAND

Like and Follow us – Facebook | Instagram

Get Involved: List Your Business

Boost visibility by listing for free on discovernorthernireland.com — your content automatically feeds into visitardsandnorthdown.com.

Already listed? Keep it fresh with new events and updates.
Need help? Email marketing@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Taste AND - Food and Drink Network 2025 Membership

The Taste AND Food and Drink Network brings together an innovative group of local businesses including producers, restaurants and eateries and industry stakeholders.

This network encourages collaboration of local makers and providers food and drink in Ards and North Down. Together, these members showcase the abundance of quality local food and drink, artisan produce and excellent hospitality available in Ards and North Down and brought to you with passion and care.

Many members are multi-award winners of prestigious food and drink accolades. These thriving businesses reflect the high-quality innovative artisan food and drink, dining experiences, and fresh and sustainable produce based on authenticity and tradition the region is known for.

Food and Drink Network Meeting Minutes from 2025 are available for download from Ards and North Down Borough Council website.

To find out more email tourismdevelopment@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Tourism Northern Ireland Business Support

Check out Tourism NI’s NI Business Events & Webinars | Tourism NI - upcoming events and training sessions offered.

Make sure you are onboarded to tourismni.com and signed up to their mailing list to be the first to hear about upcoming events.

'MyTourismNI' e-learning platform

Crafted in direct response to industry feedback, the MyTourismNI platform offers tailored learning experiences to elevate expertise, competence, and confidence within the tourism and hospitality sector. With its user-friendly interface and always-on accessibility, it's never been easier to invest in personal or staff development. Best of all, it's completely free! Dive into modules covering vital topics like Sales, Marketing, Digital Sustainability, and Operational Effectiveness today.

Sign up for MyTourismNI by visiting MyTourismNI and completing the registration process. Once approved, access this E-Learning platform via the website's drop-down menu to start exploring tailored learning modules to suit your business.

Ards and North Down Borough Council Business Support

Helping You Start, Grow and Succeed

Get the right guidance at every stage of your business journey. From research and mentoring to funding, training, and expert advice, we offer tailored support to help local entrepreneurs develop, expand, and thrive. Whether you’re starting out, scaling up, or seeking new opportunities, our team and partner programmes are here to help you take the next step.

Business Research and advice - Business Research | AND Business

Go Succeed - Go Succeed | AND Business

Business Support Programmes Programmes | AND Business

Set up your business - Set up your business | AND Business

Finance your business - Finance your business | AND Business

Location - Location | AND Business

Improve your workplace - Improve your workplace | AND Business

Business Opportunities Business opportunities | AND Business

Rural Development Rural Development | AND Business

Planning Planning | AND Business

Expand and Export Expand and export | AND Business

Environmental Health Environmental Health | AND Business