‘I spend my days walking the streets I love, telling the story of the city that shaped me. What started as an idea during a run has now become my career’
Meet Corey McConkey, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who swapped a warehouse job to follow his dream: running one of Belfast’s top-rated walking tours.
Just a few months ago, Corey was working as an Amazon packer, feeling stuck and unfulfilled. Then he decided to take a leap and build something of his own.
Spotting an opportunity in the city’s growing tourism sector, Corey launched a walking tour – Belfast Dander Tours – from scratch, listing it on GetYourGuide, promoting it with QR-code flyers, and building momentum through grassroots outreach.
Today he runs one of the city’s highest rated tours and has turned his passion for local history into a profitable full-time business. And he hasn’t looked back especially since he can now earn more in a single tour than he once made in a week.
Corey credits his brother with giving him the nudge towards his career change, telling Belfast Live: “One day my brother was doing a run at City Hall. He ran past and saw a huge group of people. He got a listen in, found out it was a tour group and he came home and he said, ‘Corey, I think you’d be great at that You love history, you’re very good at communicating and also you’re a Belfast local too’ which I think adds the experience to people want to do tours with local people.
“I laughed at first and thought it sounded ridiculous but the idea stuck. I love talking, I love communicating. I got the idea to just try and do it. At the time I was working in an Amazon warehouse and feeling miserable. I’m naturally sociable – I like people, conversations and the back-and-forth. But in the warehouse, there was none of that; it was just noise, repetition and long shifts.
“I began researching walking tours in Belfast and many of them focused heavily on The Troubles. Don’t get me wrong – that history is important. It shaped this place. But it’s not the whole story.
“I’m a local man and felt I’d be able to give a good experience. So one day I just pulled the van over and texted my boss, saying this will be the last shift I ever do at Amazon.”
Corey says his tour is all about craic and culture: “We’re not just going to talk about dates, facts and figures, we’re going to walk around the city centre, you’re going to learn about the culture but also you’re going to have the craic.
“Belfast is a very young city in terms of tourism. For a long time there wouldn’t have been tourists in Belfast, the hop-on, hop-off buses would have had maybe one or two people at most. There was no such thing as a tour guide, there was no such thing as tourism.
“I’ve tried to make my tour unique in that I’ve tried to combine all of Belfast’s history in the walking tour from its industrial beginnings from the linen to shipbuilding to World War II to The Troubles.
“Instead of joining an established operator, I listed my experience directly on GetYourGuide and launched my own walking tour. I printed simple flyers with QR codes linking to my page and walked into hotels around the city, asking if they’d leave them at reception.
“I’ll never forget the first big group that I got I remember when 19 people in a French school group booked in so in just a few hours, I’d earned more than I would in a full week at Amazon. That was the moment it all felt real: this wasn’t just a side hustle – it could actually work. I initially thought it would just be a stepping stone to the next job, but then I realised, ‘Wow, people really enjoy this’.”
And Corey says he’s only just getting started: “I want to develop new themed tours, expand what I offer and build ‘Dander’ into a recognisable Belfast brand. Tourism here is still growing, and I see huge potential in that. Belfast keeps changing – and I want my business to grow alongside it.
“It’s great when you wake up and you see a load of bookings from all different people, you know it’s gonna be a good day, you have a nice walk around the city centre. I remember that saying ‘if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life’. I just thought that was a phrase and I really do feel it now to be honest – it’s awesome.
“Now, I spend my days walking the streets I love, telling the story of the city that shaped me. I turned a throwaway comment from my brother into a sustainable business. What started as an idea during a run has now become my career.”
You can find out more about Belfast Dander Tours here.
Video: Justin Kernoghan
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