The new grant, which has been set up by Defra’s Great British Food Unit, will allow local partnerships – which could include community groups, trade bodies and National Parks – to group together and bid for up to £25,000 each. The money will then be used to champion regional food and drink, growing local businesses and potentially creating more jobs.
Dersingham and Hunstanton are already tourist destinations in West Norfolk, where there is the potential to develop the local food and drink offer and its contribution to tourism.
According to Visit Britain, food is a major factor in deciding where to visit for a third of all visitors. New research published today also shows the importance of food and drink in attracting tourists to rural areas with £5.7 billion spent by visitors to rural areas in 2013.
The new fund will help communities strengthen their food and drink identity and significantly boost tourism. The ‘Rural Tourism and Local Food and Drink’ report also reveals how an attractive food and drink offer can extend the tourist season, further boosting local economies and embedding food at the heart of the British tourism experience.
Speaking at the Great Yorkshire Show, Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: “Food is at the heart of our culture and we want it to be at the heart of our tourism trade too. Across the nation we have seen how great food can transform a region – imagine Cornwall without the celebrated pasty, or Whitby without its iconic fish and chips. It creates wealth, jobs and opportunity for countless rural areas.
“Our Great British Food campaign is all about championing British produce, at home and abroad, and this new funding means an extra boost for exciting and diverse regional cuisine all around the country.
“From sausages to celery, East England is home to some of our finest food and drink. I want to see local partnerships take advantage of this new grant to take the region’s status as a dining destination to the next level.”
Defra’s new fund is part of the wider Great British Food Campaign, which was launched by Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss at the beginning of the year to celebrate our world-class food industry and culture, drive growth and jobs in the sector and establish Britain’s reputation as a great food nation.
The scheme is only open to organisations acting as a group; organisations acting on their own are not able to apply for the scheme.
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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
For more information please call Defra press office on 0208 225 7626 or out of hours on 0345 051 8486.
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East of England to bid for £150K food and tourism boost
13 July 2016
A network of new foodie tourist trails celebrating culinary triumphs, from celery to sausages, could soon be up and running across the East of England as Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss today calls on the region’s world leading food community to apply for their share of a dedicated £150,000 fund.