The Shankill
Tourism Action Plan
placescape was commissioned by the Greater Shankill Tourism Collective to work with local communities and place-focused organisations to develop a tailored Neighbourhood Tourism Action Plan for Greater Shankill.
The project explored how the area could build on its distinctive history, culture, creativity and community assets to challenge perceptions, enhance the visitor experience and position Greater Shankill more confidently within Belfast’s evolving tourism story.
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Greater Shankill Tourism Collective
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October 2025 - April 2026
Greater Shankill has a rich and complex story, a strong community identity and a growing collection of cultural, heritage and visitor assets. Our work brought together local knowledge with destination assessment, tourism trends, benchmarking and stakeholder engagement to identify how these strengths could be better connected, developed and promoted in the future.
Working closely with local partners, we developed a shared ambition for neighbourhood tourism alongside a practical action plan retaining local ownership while supporting greater collaboration between organisations and businesses, strengthening connections with the wider Belfast visitor experience and creating more opportunities for local benefit.
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Destination assessment, tourism trends analysis & benchmarking
Stakeholder and community engagement
Findings summary & collaborative development workshop
Development of a shared neighbourhood tourism vision
Development of a three-year Tourism Action Plan
Governance & delivery recommendations
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A clear shared direction for neighbourhood tourism across Greater Shankill
Stronger positioning of the Shankill within Belfast’s wider tourism story
A practical pipeline of short and medium-term tourism development actions
Greater coordination between local tourism, culture, heritage and community partners
A stronger focus on creating distinctive, authentic visitor experiences
A community-led structure to help coordinate and drive future delivery
Images courtesy of Greater Shankill Partnership