Since its inception in 2010 the Flavours of Campbelltown Food Trail has gone from strength to strength.
Along the way it has picked up a number of tourism and economic development awards, notably a Gold in the 2013 South Australian Tourism Awards and more recently a finalist in the “2019 Best Grey Nomad Awards – Attraction or Tour”.
The Food Trail is built on the unique and authentic food manufacturing heritage of Campbelltown, South Australia, with its waves of migration leading to a large number of manufacturers of pasta, biscuits, gelato, coffee roasters, bakers, small goods, butchers, cheese and more!
Campbelltown City Council supports the businesses with marketing and promotion via print and digital channels, for example a booklet published annually and distributed across various tourism channels. A copy of the booklet can be found at foodtrail.net.
Regular tours are conducted to allow people to experience the workings of local businesses, their production and to share unique stories of business owners, whilst giving people an opportunity to sample their wares.
The Food Trail has the support of local celebrity Michael Keelan as the Food Trail Ambassador, whose love of food and wine helps to promote local businesses.
With over 25 businesses involved, there is always something new and this has led to the development of other experiences like the
Campbelltown Moonlight Markets and Pizza Festival.
In the Grey Nomad Awards the organisers and judges highlighted the following:
“The tour includes educational talks in bread baking, gelato and pasta making, as well as occasional cooking classes or demonstrations, always followed by a relaxing lunch with a glass of local wine”.
A self-drive map in the Food Trail booklet entices visitors to explore businesses not included on a specific tour, and the success of the tours has led to the development of additional self-guided specialist trails.
The judges congratulated Council on continuing to identify and introduce new experiences for grey nomad travellers, saying, “The food tour is really well suited to this market, providing behind-the-scenes insights that visitors rarely get to experience on their own.
“Experiences like Flavours of Campbelltown encourage people over 55 to see, learn about and enjoy Australia’s diversity, and therefore make a valuable tourism contribution well beyond what is
initially recognised”.
