WA is bringing in new sea food & wine to attract tourists

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Plans to utilize seafood of Western Australia to push tourism have moved a step closer to reality, with the WA Fishing Industry Council is all set to develop its seafood and wine trail concept sooner or later.

 
The plan centres on endorsing the seafood of WA, wine and venues by working with other industry bodies, tourism organizations and commercial fishers, supporting small businesses in the process.

 
John Harrison, WAFIC chief executive stated that there had been positive feedback in talks with several possible partners and stakeholders related to the idea of a WA seafood trail.

 
He explained the possible industry partners could include Wines of WA, Australian Hotels Association WA, Tourism WA, regional development commissions and the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association.

 
The trail would have a platform to support hospitality businesses to provide country of origin labelling on their menus, assisting consumers in making informed choices that aided the seafood industry of WA. The next phase of the project is to start a scoping paper, which would feature the logistics to get the trail up and running.

 
A steering committee could be set up to take the proposal ahead.

 
Mr Harrison stated that the idea would be tested in a trial of the trail — probably to include the area from Mandurah to Albany.

 
“There are examples of good seafood trails across the world from Nova Scotia in Canada, Scotland, and even close to home in South Australia,” he said.

 
“For us now, it will be the process of understanding what will work bet for this State, not only for our local industry — but also for seafood lovers.”

 
As per Tourism Australia, food and wine now costs one in five dollars international tourists spend in Australia. In the meantime, Taste 2020, a Tourism WA research paper, discovered four out of five visitors to WA said they were keen on culinary tourism experiences beyond the necessities of eating and drinking.

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