Tourism Northern Ireland started an experience development programme for new visitor attractions. The attractions cover historical ties between Northern Ireland and the United States near the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

The Department for Communities USA-NI250 Scheme provides funding. The programme targets stories of Northern Ireland figures who shaped US cultural and political life then.

Experiences will occur at specific sites. They draw on Ulster-Scots, Scotch-Irish, and Irish roles in late 18th-century American history.

Tourism providers from across Northern Ireland expressed interest. Tourism NI ran the initial workshop at Clandeboye Estate.

Attendees included Paula McIntyre, chef; Liz Steele, Culture and Heritage Tourism Manager at Tourism NI; Sharon Scott, Place and Destination Marketing expert; and Colin Urwin, storyteller.

Sessions covered creating marketable branded experiences and market readiness. Participants held one-on-one meetings with facilitators.

Proposed ideas involved music, craft, industrial and farming heritage, food and drink, emigration, Declaration signatories with Ulster family links, and US presidents' ancestry.

Future activities include mentoring, site visits, and market testing. Organisers target readiness by late May.

Liz Steele said the programme lets providers draw US visitors through Northern Ireland-US stories. She added that the stories help update local attractions on cultural impacts in early US history.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the scheme shows Ulster's part in US founding. He noted the 250th anniversary boosts heritage and cultural options for local and US visitors. Lyons said it will build Northern Ireland-US relations with new experiences.