Taste 2020, a Tourism WA research paper, found that 4 out of 5 tourists to WA said they were interested in culinary tourism experiences beyond the necessities of eating and drinking. This research provides the bases for a tourism venture needed by our state – an opportunity that our seafood industry can provide. And you can picture it now – a dedicated seafood and wine trail nestled amongst some of Western Australia’s best scenery. The trail will allow you to meet the producer, enjoy tastings from some of our finest wines and will guarantee access to fresh, local seafood. Affordable, enjoyable – this would be a tourism venture that would highlight our seafood industry.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WAFIC, John Harrison, said that discussions had commenced with numerous potential partners about the idea of a seafood trail in WA.
“There has been a lot of interest generated in the concept. So, the idea will be tested in a trial of the trail – likely to encompass the area from Mandurah to Albany including some aquaculture ventures in the South West of the state.”
“We have had positive feedback from many organisations across WA – including government, councils, not-for-profits and Development Commissions who want to be involved in the project. At this stage, possible partners may include; Wines of Western Australia (WoWA); Australian Hotels Association (WA); Tourism WA; DPIRD – Regional Development Commissions; and Restaurant and Catering Industry Association (RCIA).”
An objective of the trail is to support our Western Australian fishers by providing a platform to encourage hospitality businesses to provide country-of-origin labelling on their menus. The provision of origin labelling would benefit the consumer to make informed choices that support the Western Australia Seafood Industry.
Mr Harrison said that the next phase in the development of the project – is a scoping paper to consider the following points:
- Establish logistics to get the trail up and running;
- Investigate the likelihood of provenance labelling of seafood on menus;
- Identify restaurants, hotels, takeaways food outlets and others to register to be considered as part of the trail;
- Ascertain the requirements to revise WAFIC website (or create another) and to establish links to partner sites;
- Establish the appropriate criteria for restaurants, hotels, takeaways, etc., to become a participant in the trail;
- Investigate the potential for an ‘app’ to launch as the trail guide for seafood and wine lovers;
- Identify seafood suppliers willing to commit to the trail and provide quality WA seafood;
- Establish a steering committee to oversee the trial;
- Identify funding sources and other resources to support the short and long-term aspirations; and
- Devise a process to decide which wines are best with which seafood.
“There are examples of good seafood trails across the world from Nova Scotia in Canada, to Scotland and even close to home in South-Australia. For us now – it will be the process of understanding what will work best for this state, not only for our local industry – but seafood lovers.”
“Talking to staff and stakeholders, we conceive the trail to be a culinary adventure that is stemmed from a desire to promote and save our local industry and its cultural significance to the state.”
Concluding, Mr Harrison said that WAFIC has been astounded by the significant amount of interest from a range of stakeholders throughout Western Australia.
“It has been great to see the reaction by businesses and the community alike who want to assist us put some of the best seafood in the world on show. As we are now planning for the concept stage – all I can say is – watch this space as this local seafood, culinary adventure transforms!”
