RIKON has gained a national and international reputation for its activities in tourism research and practice and can offer a unique combination of tourism destination expertise and business development know-how to deliver a strategic tourism framework that direct efforts towards real solutions that have had a tangible positive impact on the performance of destinations and the businesses within it. In addition, RIKON has significant experience working with firms of all sizes and from numerous industry sectors including Retail, IT, Financial, Food and Beverage, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Service Providers and many more, and so we understand how spin-off related benefits of tourism can be communicated in a meaningful manner that will encourage greater engagement from the trade. Over the years, RIKON has developed significant experience working with tourism destinations, firms and managing tourism networks. Samples of our past and current projects include:
- RIKON is currently employed by numerous tourism providers both nationally and internationally. Our innovative methodologies are rooted in extensive field research, partnerships and collaborations with our international network of service innovation centres and tourism innovation research professionals. Our service innovation consultants work collaboratively with client executives to design, define and implement innovative strategies and processes that will allow their organisation to differentiate its service offerings and increase its performance, as demonstrated through our extensive customer case studies. Projects include
- develop and implement a tourism strategy and action plan to target the Cruise Line Industry
- identifying international destinations of best practice to facilitate the development of a strategy for targeting senior tourists
- developing destinations of service excellence.
- Tourism destination audits
- Creating enterprise networks within destinations
- Designing Family Friendly and Outdoor Adventure destinations
- Creating trails
- Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Ireland-Wales Programme (INTERREG 4A) and in collaboration with Researchers from the Department of Chemical and Life Sciences at Waterford Institute of Technology together with the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin, and the Schools of Business and Environmental Sciences and Geography at Bangor University, Wales, the RIKON team delivered business led collaborative projects on green tourism to over 120 tourism businesses in the South East.
- RIKON was employed by Fáilte Ireland as the South East Regional Facilitators for the Gathering 2013. This project involved scheduling and facilitating community meetings in all five counties. Generating, collating and disseminating ideas and information to stakeholders after each community meeting and assisting the Gathering co-ordinator to develop an action plan for each county and a strategic plan for the South East.
- RIKON managed and coordinated the Fáilte Ireland Tourism Learning Network initiative from 2006-2011 in the South-West and South-East (Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary). The programme was 12 months in duration and in that period over 440 tourism operators participated. The programme involved small tourism firms taking part in a dynamic learning process involving an on-line learning community, residential training events, themed seminars, and local network meetings. The on-going personal development of the tourism providers was also addressed as participants were eligible to receive a Certificate in Tourism Business Practice, which was awarded by WIT. RIKON’s delivery team made major contribution to the success of Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism Learning Networks in the south and south-east regions under their management, the TLN programme achieved three major national awards in 2008: the Taoiseach’s Public Service Excellence Award and the Irish Institute of Training and Development (IITD) Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Vodafone Innovation in Government Merit Award.
- A successful programme led by RIKON team members in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and LEADER groups (and Planed in Wales) was the TWIGS (Tourism Wales Ireland Green & Sustainable) project which was a joint Wales / Ireland initiative funded by the ERDF under the Interreg IIIA Community Initiative Programme 2000-2006. The main objective of the TWIGS project was to enhance the development and marketing of rural tourism products in the relevant destinations resulting in the generation of higher spend on distinctive, authentic destination experiences, and the even distribution of increased visits throughout the destinations in the and calendar year.