Irish Sea Rim Cycle Race and Connecting Places Programme

The goal of the Irish Sea Rim is to connect the region’s nations and administrations and places, catalysing growth and investment in clean, green and wellbeing-focused innovation. To realise the full potential of the Irish Sea region, place must have a central role and equal voice in supporting connected innovation, testing and driving place-specific economic, social and environmental impact and driving the animation, visibility and storytelling of this landmark initiative to integrate innovation with the people and places which define and connect the Irish Sea.

• THE IRISH SEA RIM CONNECTING PLACES PROGRAMME

The Irish Sea Rim Connecting Places Programme is centred around on three core themes:

• SPORT AND PLACE: Supporting major elite events, active lifestyle and tourism development and increased public health wellness through engagement with nature.
• COASTAL COMMUNITIES AND COASTAL HIGH STREETS: Supporting micro-cluster corridor development and place-based SMEs and focusing on coastal towns and their high streets for major sport events, cultural programming and regeneration-focused initiatives.
• REGENERATIVE TOURISM: Championing a regenerative model which moves beyond simply sustainable or 'green' tourism to leave a place – its natural spaces, economic opportunities, health outcomes and shared pride in place – better than it was found. We have had preliminary conversations with Eden Project Morecambe partners in support of this theme.

These three themes work as an integrated whole within the Connecting Places Programme, focussing on tackling the unique and deep-seated challenges facing the region’s coastal towns. These include seasonal economies, physical isolation, high deprivation, and the outward migration of young people. The Programme as a whole works on an asset-based model: recognising, celebrating, championing and catalysing the wealth of assets and innovation around the Irish Sea.

Blue-Green Regeneration is a strategic driver for the Connecting Places Programme, seeking to diversify local economies beyond a reliance on tourism by actively integrating them with the sustainable 'blue economy' (including marine renewable energy, aquaculture, marine biotechnology) and 'green economy' (for example agriculture and food production, green finance and wilder carbon market offers, ‘bike and boots’ tourism). Specific initiatives will be shaped with places, communities, and social enterprise / investment infrastructure to reimagine and revitalise coastal high streets as vibrant, year-round hubs for local enterprise, services, culture, and innovation. Initiatives will draw on activity across the quadruple helix, including:

• GOVERNMENT: Providing the strategic framework and funding through local authorities, mayoral strategic authorities and national programmes like the UK's Coastal Communities Fund or the Welsh Government's 'Blue Recovery' programme. We will seek to work with agencies like Visit Britain, Tourism NI and Fáilte Ireland, to support the network's development and promote the regenerative tourism kitemark scheme to international markets.
• INDUSTRY: Partnerships will be created between traditional high street businesses and emerging clean, blue / green and wellbeing economy enterprises, fostering innovation and creating new supply chains. Place-based SMEs in the hospitality festivals and experience economy sectors would form the core of the Irish Sea Rim Regenerative Tourism Network, sharing best practices and co-marketing their unique offerings.
• ACADEMIA: We will partner with regional universities and researchers, particularly in the natural and marine sciences, engineering, built environment, and creative industries, to support the vital research and technical support for new blue economy ventures and sustainable town centre redevelopment, as well as industry-based skills development across a wide range of sectors. Through institutions like Cork Institute of Technology’s Centre for Regenerative Tourism, collaborative research and impact programmes will provide the research, frameworks, and educational tools to underpin the network's regenerative tourism activities.
• PLACE: This will be the foundation on which the shape and impact of the sporting events, high street interventions and tourism/experience offers will be co-produced. The Irish Sea Rim will support the creation of a cross-border network of tourism businesses and communities committed to practices that actively restore ecosystems, revitalise local cultures, and build community resilience. The Regenerative Tourism network will provide training, peer-to-peer support, and a co-created kitemark certification recognised across the Irish Sea Rim as a mark of authentic, high-quality, positive-impact experiences. It would build on the work of existing best-practice examples like the Burren EcoTourism Network and community-led heritage projects.

Ultimately, the Irish Sea Rim will work across local communities, conservation groups, and cultural heritage organisations to co-design and co-produce the tourism experiences, ensuring they are authentic, protect local assets, and deliver tangible benefits back to the community. This will help to move tourism from an extractive to a regenerative and restorative sector. Major place stakeholders, including social enterprises, community land / development trusts, residents' associations, youth organisations, and local business forums will co-produce the regeneration plan for their high street, ensuring it meets genuine local needs for quality jobs, affordable housing, sustainable transport infrastructure and accessible public spaces, supporting communities to co-create and connect more resilient futures.

THE IRISH SEA RIM CYCLE RACE, PLACE & BUSINESS EXPO

As a centrepiece and landmark focus for the Irish Sea Rim Connecting Places programme, we will create and host an internationally significant elite cycle race with stages across the cities, coastal roads and high streets on each of the Irish Sea Rim countries. With elite races for male, female and para-athletes, this will be the initial focal point for the wider Irish Sea Rim initiative, campaigns, identity and impact delivery.

Linking Sport with Regenerative Tourism, Active Transport and Wellbeing, this project will be a powerful catalyst for sustainable, inclusive economic growth and regional transformation. Passing through many under-served coastal and rural communities around the Irish Sea, we will focus on cycling as a mode of transport, a competitive elite sporting event, recreation, and healthy lifestyle pastime. This collaboration between industry, business, sport, innovation, tourism, universities, government, support agencies, funding avenues, cycling teams, sponsors, and communities aims to promote the Irish Sea region, and individual communities through wellbeing and sport.

The Irish Sea Rim Cycle Race, Place & Business Expo is a pioneering, two-week international event designed to catalyse economic regeneration, wellbeing, and environmental awareness. This transformative project blends the excitement of elite sport with business innovation, creating a unique platform that functions as a cycle race, a business engagement roadshow, and a major tourist event. Creative and cultural programming across the six nations for the full two-week programme will enrich the business engagement experience, drive wider visitor numbers (and geographic spread) and activate place connections, cementing the Irish Sea Region’s place identity and values and celebrating the region’s clean, green and wellbeing richness.

Modelled on the success of events like the Union Cycliste Internationale Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, which generated over £205 million in economic activity for Scotland, this race will serve as a powerful placemaking tool, creating new business opportunities, promoting knowledge exchange, and stimulating local business growth. The event aims to catalyse regional regeneration by driving tourism, generating new skilled jobs, and opening new transnational markets and collaborations. Success will be driven by an "open innovation" approach that brings together key partners in a co-production model with four unique pillars that set it apart:

• TOURING BUSINESS EXPO: A core innovation is a touring business expo that travels with the race, programmed in advance of each route stage. This provides a dynamic platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to showcase innovations in sectors like regenerative tourism, green technology, and local food and drink, creating valuable business-to-business opportunities at each stage.
• ELITE SPORT MEETS BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: The project uniquely links the excellence of elite sport with the ambition of business leadership. It will explore how the focus and resilience learned from high-pressure situations in elite sport can be transferred to high-growth businesses and their leaders.
• INNOVATION AND SKILLS ROADSHOW: This event will parallel the Cycle Race and Business Expo, highlighting the broad range of skills and professions associated with planning and running both events, from cycling to logistics to event management. We will work with professionals, elite athletes, and place representatives to engage local people of all ages and generate new opportunities, particularly for coastal communities.
• ‘BIKE AND BOOT’ TOURISM OFFER: Programmed directly after each stage, and focussed on coastal towns and high streets, wider place activation and cultural programming will focus on nature-based activities, wellness offers, sustainability festivals and events. The aim is to spread the geography and offer for diversified business and leisure visitors while building strong regenerative tourism infrastructure, identity and offers outside the major cities across the region.
  

The combination of elite races, community sportives and touring business expo will connect local government, industry leaders, SMEs, universities, and communities in a novel way.

• GOVERNMENT: Local authorities and national tourism bodies like VisitScotland and Fáilte Ireland will collaborate on logistics, permissions, and regional promotion.
• INDUSTRY: Corporate sponsors, logistics partners such as Stena Line and Irish Ferries, and hundreds of SMEs participating in the expo will be deeply involved.
• ACADEMIA: Universities will play a key role in measuring the event's socio-economic impact and researching sustainable event management.
• COMMUNITY: The event will be co-produced with local communities, cycling clubs, and volunteer organisations, ensuring the unique character of each location is reflected in the design of race stages and cultural festivals.

Initial conversations with local government representatives and leaders in elite cycling race design and management have indicated strong support for this event.

In subsequent years, further elite sporting events will be developed with focus on sea rowing and surfing, working with British Rowing and GB Surfing to support events and their wider sustainability and wellness strategies. While each event would occur in a core three-month period (August-October annually), the aim would be to extend the peak tourist season with a true regenerative tourism offer while cementing the Irish Sea Region as a location for elite sport, business and visitor experiences.

THE IRISH SEA RIM REGENERATIVE TOURISM ROUTES

The Cycle Race, Place and Business Expo will be a focal point in the network’s annual calendar, forming the platform on which the Connecting Places Programme will build a year-round offer for regenerative tourism. This will target nature-focused, active lifestyle, and values-driven tourism offers. With direct connections to sustainable transport and wellbeing, the creation of navigable routes and a changing focus for visitors with dark skies in winter, post-holiday wellness in the new year, competitive corporate sport and corporate social responsibility events in spring. This will expand the impact, innovation and investment opportunities in the regions’ towns, rural and coastal areas. Celebrations of local culture, food and traditions will enhance these offers, working with networks like Placemaking Europe and its international partners.

Cycling can become part of corporate amateur, fundraising events, and sportive rides across the cycle stage routes and wider ‘off the beaten track’ locales. Accommodation offers around the ‘bike and boot’ model can support a wider range of visitors around this programme, diversifying the offer and price points for different clientele. Working with nature and wellbeing charities and social enterprises, the regenerative tourism routes can support visitors and local residents to enjoy more active lifestyles, positive engagement in nature, pride in place activation and societal change.

Gary Mcllroy, Tour of Ulster 2016