The first online food and drink directory for the Highlands hopes to help the hospitality sector’s bounce back from the pandemic.
The region is now seeing the return of international visitors as well as domestic tourists.
To help them plan their trip, the Highland Food and Drink showcase website provides a one-stop-shop of more than 250 outlets.
The site offers information on a range of eating places, from beach cafes to Michelin-star dining, as well as distilleries and producer tours.
Directory is a valuable resource year-round
The site has been created by Highland Tourism CIC with funding support from Scotland Food & Drink.
It is part of the development of Escape to the Highlands, a new region-wide website which also provides information on accommodation, events and places to visit.
Highland Tourism CIC promotes sustainable tourism and conscious travel in the area.
Samantha Faircliff, managing director at Cairngorm Brewery and Highland food tourism ambassador for Scotland Food & Drink, said: “Our new website is the first online food and drink directory to ever be created for the Highlands.
“It will make it easy for visitors to explore the wonderful range of food experiences we have to showcase across the region.
“And they will be able to make conscious decisions about where they travel to, how they might do that and whether food and drink outlets meet with their own values.
Some of the outlets featured in the online directory“The website will be a valuable resource all year round but will be available to use at a useful time with the official summer season starting in a month.
”The Highlands was recently listed in the nature category of National Geographic’s ‘Best of the World’ destinations for 2023 and is expecting millions of visitors this year.
Samantha added: “We are excited about our vibrant tourism sector which continues its bounce back from the pandemic and in particular our network of world class food and drink experiences.
“Challenges remain, but there are many grounds for positivity.”
Yvonne Crook, chair of Highland Tourism CIC, said the website will make it easier for visitors to experience the area’s produce.
“Our food and drink offering in the Highlands is legendary.
Much more than just whisky
“So much more than the amazing array of whiskies being produced, our larder is rich with phenomenal produce and our food and drink community boasts spectacular experiences created by some of the most passionate and skilled people in the industry.”
Stephen Bremner, managing director of Tomatin Distillery, a founding sponsor of Highland Tourism CIC, said the directory is community-driven and in keeping with Tomatin’s goals and values for sustainability and the environment.
“We look forward to seeing the success of this new website and how our support will help to bring other projects to fruition.”
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