Northern Irish food and drink in year-long showcase
Northern Ireland's ?5 billion food and drink industry will be
celebrated in a year-long programme of activities during 2016.
The industry will be positioned at the forefront of the region's
tourism strategy and will also see substantial investment to boost
exports.
Plans for the Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016 are well underway and details of what visitors and residents can expect were recently unveiled. The aim is to increase export sales to &pouind30
million, lead to a five per cent increase in visitor satisfaction
and gain £10 million in positive PR.
Tourism NI, which is leading the campaign, launched the initiative, hopes it will help to enhance the experience and quality of NorthernIreland's food offering; celebrate and enhance the food experience at events; tell the country's food and drink stories; provide new
opportunities for food linked experiences; and develop a brand
platform.
Each month is set to have its own theme from January to December
celebrating Northern Irish food and drink.
January: Breakfast Month
February: Love Local
March: Heritage & Traditions
April: Brewing & Distilling
May: Landscape & Places
June: Love Dairy
July: Seas, Rivers & Loughs
August: Love NI Meat
September: Bread & Baking
October: Harvest
November: Legacy & Learn to
December: Christmas & Premium Foods
Terence Brannigan, Tourism NI chairman, said the initiative was a
"golden opportunity" to build on Northern Ireland's sterling
reputation for food and drink.
"In the past few years Northern Ireland has experienced positive
increases in tourism and has made significant progress in building
a reputation for excellence in food production and hospitality," he said.
"This initiative is a major opportunity to tie all of these success together under the one banner for a year-long celebration of all
that is good about our food and drink."
Tourism NI believes a year of focusing on the industry will inspire trade, growth and visitor spend as well as boosting Northern
Ireland's destination reputation by putting food and drink at the
heart of the tourism experience.
Part of the vision for the year is to celebration the quality,
innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in the industry.
Businesses and residents are being encouraged to get involved in theinitiative by showcasing the logo, throwing their own event and
championing others.
Tourism NI is also supporting the initiative with the development ofmasterclasses and mentoring programmes and a series of events and
advisory roadshows.
In addition, its Tourism Event Funding Programme 2016/17 will incorporate the Year of Food and Drink scheme. A total of ?300,000 of funding has been designated within this scheme specifically for food anddrink experiences at events.