WA blazing a culinary trail with new tourist trails

WA is set to ride a new food and wine tourism boom, with 14 dedicated culinary tourist trails across Perth and the region helping to cement the State as a gourmet gastronomic destination.

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia will today unveil the new trails, which he says will give domestic and international visitors a new reason to travel to WA, explore further, spend more and stay longer.

Among the culinary tourist routes is the Swan Valley Sweet Temptations Trail, which takes in tasty stops including the House of Honey, Mondo Nougat, Morish Nuts, Olive Farm Wines and Maison Saint-Honore, which specialises in French macarons.

There is also the Fremantle Gusto Italiano Trail, Blackwood Valley Farm Trail and Margaret River Food and Beverage Cycle Trail.

The list goes on with food and wine trails in Denmark and Mount Barker, a picnic provisions trail in Albany, a southern forests wine trail, a craft beer and wine trail in the Peel region, a Chittering “farm flavour” trail and a second Margaret River trail honing in on small, family wineries.

Each will be promoted by its regional and local tourism authority and feature in brochures that include deals, maps, accommodation options and tour information. They will also be listed on the Trails WA website and smartphone app.

“The food and wine trails initiative taps into this lucrative market, promoting our State’s fresh, safe, high-quality produce, which can be experienced in some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world,” Mr Papalia said.

It comes as Tourism WA develops a “food and beverage action plan”, which Mr Papalia said would build on recent changes in the hospitality landscape, including streamlined liquor licensing reform and the expansion of the WA Gourmet Escape in 2019, which will be held across the Swan Valley, Perth and Margaret River.

As well as the new trails being developed by the WA Government and Tourism WA, the WA Fishing Industry Council is also working on a dedicated seafood tourist trail with highlights such as Geraldton crayfish, Fremantle octopus, Rottnest scallops, Augusta abalone and Albany oysters, as well as information connecting foodies to the fishermen who catch the produce, the markets and stores that stock it, the restaurants that serve it and the best recipes to cook it.

    Source: Perth Now