9.15am to 10.00am

Badge collection and networking welcome reception

10.00am

Catherine Flanagan, CEO AVEA Beyond the Visit: Storytelling for Success in Visitor Attractions and Kim Smit, Director of Collections and Research, National Gallery of Ireland Welcome to the National Gallery of Ireland

10.15am

Stephen O’Leary, Founder/MD, Olytico Social Listening, Storytelling and Thoughtful Moments of Surprise

10.50am

Orla O’Keeffe, Head of Digital, AI and Conversion, Fáilte Ireland Beyond the Search Box: Preparing Irish Visitor Attractions for the AI Era. Orla will be introduced by Fáílte Ireland CEO Caroline Bocquel

11.30am

Six Stories of Success #1: Bitesize case studies from AVEA members

• Aillwee Burren Experience – Nuala Mulqueeney, Managing Director Fifty Years of Fáilte
• Experience Glasnevin – Ultan Moran, Digital Marketing & Heritage Officer Bringing a Cemetery’s Stories to Life through Social Media: How Glasnevin Cemetery reached millions through engaging and accessible social content.
• W5 – Victoria Denoon, CEO Here Be Dragons: What Happens When a Science Centre Takes a Risk. Innovation, New Product Development, Marketing, Data & Decision-Making, Visitor Experience, Strategic Leadership

11.50am

Sinéad Rice, Head of Education and Public Programming, National Gallery of Ireland (awaiting description of content)

12.15pm

Anne O’Donoghue, Chair, and Biddy Hughes, Vice Chair AVEA Strategy Briefing: 2027-2031

LUNCH

2.00pm

Rory Griffin, Senior Manager, Google – Travel UKI Beyond the Click: Winning the “Super-Empowered Traveller” in the AI Era. How Ireland’s Visitor Attractions Can Harness Generative Discovery, Visual Search, and Unified Storytelling

2.35pm

Aidan Power, Director of Marketing, Tourism Ireland Latest Research on Key Markets: How do our Overseas Visitors Like to Spend their Time Here? Implications for Visitor Attractions

3.00pm

Paul Griffiths, CEO, Association of Cultural Enterprises Mission Meets Margin: Building Resilient Cultural and Visitor Attractions

COFFEE BREAK

3.45pm

Catherine Keegan, Head of Innovation & Learning, Diageo Irish Brand Homes and Tommy Hannan, Manager – Dublin, Fáilte Ireland A preview of our evening at the Guinness Storehouse

3.55pm

Six Stories of Success #2: Bitesize case studies from AVEA members

• Armagh Observatory and Planetarium – Kelly McGloin, Volunteer Coordinator ‘From Volunteers to Ambassadors: Building a Volunteer Programme that Strengthens Visitor Experience’
• St Canice’s Cathedral & Round Tower – Anne Marie Hallinan, Manager Six after 6: How Collaboration Transformed Kilkenny’s Night-Time Cultural Offering
• EPIC Ireland’s Emigration Museum – Holly McGlynn, Head of Communications You Gotta Roll With It: Using Agility To Turn Cultural Moments into PR Opportunities

4.15pm

Michael Golding, CEO Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions Five trends from Scottish Attractions to Inspire Better Experiences

4.30pm

Margaret Edwards, Museum Director, DNA Derry Telling Legend-Derry Stories at the new DNA Museum. Margaret will be introduced by Tourism Ireland CEO Laura McCorry and Karen Henderson, Manager of Visit Derry

4.50pm

Wrap-up and conference close

5.15pm

Delegates are invited to board the Do Dublin and Vintage Tea Trips buses, for complimentary transfers to the Guinness Storehouse for a gala immersive evening