The Moffat Centre has worked in partnership with the Thor Heyerdahl Institute and local councils in Norway to undertake major destination development within the regions of Buskerud, Telemark and Vestfold. The emphasis here has been on developing cultural and industrial heritage.

The project aimed to bring together and engage as a network, private, public and voluntary sector partners involved in the development of a range of cultural heritage projects underway across the region.

The Moffat Centre worked with over 30 tourism businesses ranging from accommodation to visitor attractions and activities. We worked on quality service, interpretation and orientation, product upgrade and destination marketing.

Initially, an analysis and audit of the heritage products and services was carried out, including a review of existing visitor information. A supporting benchmarking and best practice exercise was also carried out to identify strengths and opportunities for the regions. Findings were developed and consolidated during a workshop with local stakeholders to stimulate debate.

Detailed heritage development plans embracing all findings were developed for each region.

In December 2008 The Moffat Centre hosted a learning journey taking in some of the UK’s leading cultural facilities. This innovative learning programme saw a group of Norwegian delegates travel to the UK to learn from best practice and apply some of the knowledge gained along the way to the business model of a cultural attraction named Hammerdalen in Larvik, Norway.

The attractions on the itinerary included:

• The Arches, Glasgow
• Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts
• The MacRobert, Stirling University
• Stirling Management Centre
• New Lanark World Heritage
• The Sage, Newcastle upon Tyne
• The Baltic, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Hull Truck Theatre
• Salt’s Mill (near Bradford)
• The Tate, Liverpool