Combining culinary with culture, guests can now dive into Wales and Cumbria, which have been added to the multiyear Local Flavors in Great Britain campaign. VisitBritain and Avanti Destinations have launched five new customizable food and drink-themed itineraries.
Wales and Cumbria have been added as new gastronomic destinations featuring itineraries such as: Sips & Samples of Wales, Bites of Wales, Taste of Welsh Classics, Culinary Cumbira in a Nutshell, and Lake District Getaway.
“We have been rapidly expanding the diversity of authentic food- and drink-focused experiences that travel agents can offer to their independent travel clients because they are extremely popular,” says Paul Barry, Avanti’s executive chairman in press materials. “Nothing else conveys a sense of a place like a destination’s food and drink. This ongoing partnership with VisitBritain is a great fit for our expertise in food-focused travel and our ability to create seamless multi-destination independent vacations that enhance the unique character of our destinations.”
Each of the new itineraries range from three to eight days, and can be combined with a stay in London, or a different British culinary destination. Each vacation experience can be tailored to the specific interests of your clients depending on their length of stay, type of accommodations, added destinations, and experiences. In addition, each of the five new itineraries all include the use of a rental car.
For example, on the 8-day Sips & Samples Wales itinerary, highlights include a guided lunch and landmarks tour in Cardiff featuring signature Welsh dishes; a tour of the family-run Blaenavon Cheddar company with a tasting; a Welsh banquet with entertainment at medieval Cardiff Castle; a guided foraging and food tour to find seaweed, edible plants, and mushrooms that will then be prepared for a multi-course dinner; a guided food tour and tasting in Tenby; a visit and tasting at Cwm Deri Vineyard, a boat trip to view wildlife on Cardigan Island; and a tour and sampling of ales at the family-run Bluestone Brewing Company.
On the 5-day Culinary Cumbria in a Nutshell journey, visitors will get an exclusive tour of Beatrix Potter’s home—a 17th century farmhouse that inspired many of her stories; plus get to ride the narrow-gauge Ravenglass & Eskale Railway, one of England’s oldest; enjoy an afternoon tea at Muncaster Castle; have a tasting at the Gingerbread Shop where Grasser Gingerbread was invented in 1854; visit Rydal Mount, the family home of poet William Wordsworth; and go on a tour and tasting at the Lakes Distillery, which produces whisky, gin, and vodka; plus go on a private walk or swim with alpacas at the Lingholm Estate.
The campaign, which first launched in February 2018 with five itineraries and four stays in British culinary hubs, also introduced new educational tools for travel agents, including an interactive microsite. Agents can also access new educational materials on the six featured regions through the Local Flavors in Great Britain on the microsite, and access e-brochures, and print flyers to learn about the food and drink experiences available across England, Scotland and Wales.
For more information, visit avantidestinations.com.
