FOOD and wine industries in the Wannon electorate have a great opportunity to benefit from the new Tourism Australia campaign Restaurant Australia, federal member for Wannon Dan Tehan says.
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Mr Tehan said the Restaurant Australia initiative was an extension of Tourism Australia’s globally recognised There’s nothing like Australia flagship campaign and would capitalise on Australia’s growing international reputation as a food and wine tourism destination.
“Here in Wannon we have a significant food and wine industry, as well as very beautiful natural landscapes which are major tourism drawcards, so this campaign is a real opportunity for our local businesses to showcase our region to the world,” he said.
“Research conducted by Tourism Australia in 2013 of 15 key tourism markets in Australia identified food and wine as an important factor in holiday decision-making, along with a destination’s natural beauty,” Mr Tehan said.
“Interestingly, Tourism Australia’s research also identified a significant gap in the perceptions of Australia’s food and wine offering — with people who have visited Australia rating it highly compared to those who have not.
“For people who have never visited Australia, only 26 per cent associate Australia with good quality food and wine,” Mr Tehan said.
“However for those who have visited, Australia ranked second in the world for its food and wine experiences after France and ahead of Italy,” he said.
“I encourage our wonderful local food and wine industry, through cellar doors, restaurants and local experience and destination tourism operators, to contribute to the Restaurant Australia campaign and submit content to www.australia.com/restaurantaustralia
“Local businesses can also use the #restaurantaustralia as part of their social media strategy.
“Both of these will give western Victorian tourism businesses a world platform through the Tourism Australia website hub and link them to the Restaurant Australia twitter handle,” Mr Tehan said.
“Tourism is one of our nation’s key economic strengths and vitally important for Wannon.
“The jobs of more than 929,000 Australians are linked to tourism and for every dollar that is spent on tourism, an additional 90 cents is generated in other parts of the Australian economy,” Mr Tehan said.
ehimmelreich@fairfaxmedia.com.au
