Project:	A review of food and drink trails
Community group:	Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative (AITC)
Location:	Across Argyll and the Isles
Region:	All regions

Project summary

ACT Hubs worked with AITC to research food trails in Scotland, particularly how they are managed and sustained, to provide recommendations for AITC members who are interested in establishing trails in Argyll and the Isles.

Project details

Food for thought

The promise of wonderful experiences through food and drink can entice visitors to a destination as much as the landscape of a place. Food and drink trails are a great way to showcase local produce and encourage spend in local businesses. Collaboration between the food and drink and tourism sectors in this way can promote local history, heritage and culture by providing memorable and engaging experiences. 

Food and drink was recognised by several regions in Argyll and the Isles as a key priority for destination marketing. The creation of food and drink trails was proposed by several AITC members. AITC approached ACT Hubs to support the initial stages of the project by providing background research on initiating and sustaining food trails. 

Support from ACT Hubs

We researched the concept of food trails and reviewed four case studies of food and drink trails in Scotland. The case studies provided information such as how the trails started, start up costs and funding, ongoing administration and funding, membership criteria and fees, use of promotional materials, sustainability, and management. Each food trail is slightly different in the way it is run, sustained and managed but the trails had several features in common. These points were presented as part of an evaluation. 

More information

The review has been shared with AITC and should help to guide member's who want to develop plans for a food and drink trail(s). If you are interested in finding out more about the review please contact us: [email protected]