Belfast Points The Way

An award-winning scheme designed to help visitors find their way around Belfast more easily, is literally 'signposting the way' for other cities across the world to do the same.

Belfast City Council's unique visitor signage scheme, which features signposts and information boards at a wide variety of key locations around the city, is being hailed as an example of best practice.

Council officials are now being invited to advise other cities on how they can implement similar schemes, to the benefit of their own tourism industries.

"With a record number of 7.1 million people visiting Belfast in 2008, the Council has long recognised that making it easier for people to find their way around is one way of making their stay more enjoyable," explained Councillor William Humphrey, Chairman of the Development Committee.

"To this end, the council developed a Cultural Tourism Visitor Management Plan, which is designed not only to help the council and the tourism industry meet the need of visitors to the city but also to encourage them to visit other parts of Northern Ireland.

"Signage has been central to the plan, and we developed some very innovative ways of making them both more appealing and more informative for visitors." he said.

"These have included not only very distinct directional signs, but maps and three-dimensional illustrations of key buildings, to give people a greater feel for the space around them," the chairman continued.

"By helping to make the city easier to navigate and understand, we are not only improving the experience of visitors to Belfast, but also helping our own residents - often just by revealing a previously hidden architectural gem to them," said Councillor Humphrey.

The success of the signage scheme was endorsed at the recent Association of Town Centre Management Awards, when it won the 'Centre Move' category.

This international award is designed to recognise projects or schemes which have done the most to improve the ease and quality of movement into and around city centres around the world.

"The award is a worthy testament to the hard work to all involved, from Belfast City Council, Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau, Belfast City Centre Management and all our many partners in the public and private sectors, NGOs, voluntary organisations and charities in helping to make the experience of those visiting the city as enjoyable as possible," continued Councillor Humphrey.

"As a result of this award, and the subsequent hosting of the ATCM conference here in Belfast, the expertise of our officers is now being called upon by other cities, particularly elsewhere in the United Kingdom, who are looking to bring their own signage schemes up to the high standards we have set.

"We can be justifiably proud of this, and it is further evidence that Belfast is leading the field as a vibrant and growing visitor destination," he concluded.

(BMcc/JM)