Food tourism opportunities

Tourists want to immerse themselves in local culture through authentic food experiences. Food, hospitality and tourism businesses can provide food-based experiences to visitors, such as:

• guided food tours
• food trails
• festivals, markets and fairs
• tastings
• farm, factory or brewery tours
• food themed events

Tourism NI provides a practical toolkit for delivering food and drink experiences.

Groups of businesses can work together to offer packages, eg a farm tour, cookery class, tasting menu and accommodation. 

Events

There are plenty of opportunities for businesses to get involved in many of Northern Ireland's annual food festivals and events. This could involve selling your produce at a market stall. Accommodation and tourism experience business can offer special packages based around existing events.

Download Tourism NI's practical toolkit for the delivery of food and drink experiences (PDF, 7.5MB). 

Any event can include a food element. If you run a festival or event, consider creating a food village to showcase local food businesses or showcase products with a cookery demonstration.