Earlier this summer it was announced by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Tourism Australia that Melbourne, Australia will be the host destination for the prestigious awards in 2017.
As an avid fan of Master Chef Australia (by far the best of the global franchise) it is no surprise that Australia is set to host such a renowned event in the culinary calendar.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is a celebration of global gastronomy bringing together a unique community of visionaries across the culinary landscape. The annual awards are based on the votes of The Diners Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of almost 1,000 international leaders in the restaurant community. Recent years have seen Australia strongly represented on the list with restaurants Attica, Quay, Sepia and Brae receiving recognition in 2015.
Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O’Sullivan said the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards and event program provided a natural extension to its Restaurant Australia campaign, which would be amplified through a comprehensive schedule of food and wine-themed events and activities designed to add value to Australia’s hosting of the Melbourne event.
“The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list provides an annual barometer to the greatest food, wine and restaurant experiences from all around the world.
“The awards align closely with Tourism Australia’s global campaign focus on food and wine and provide another compelling chapter in our ongoing Restaurant Australia story which we continue to share with the world.
“Hosting such a prestigious event as this provides us with another excellent opportunity to bring the world’s most influential food and wine people to Australia to inspire, inform and advocate our country’s world class food and wine scene,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
Tourism Australia will be working with Visit Victoria and Wine Australia to help host the awards in Australia.
For the 2017 event program, Tourism Australia will work with William Reed Media, the organizer of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants to create spectacular events that showcase Australia’s food and wine offering in stunning locations. The program will also be underpinned by a hosted media and influencer educational program which will extend the impact of the awards.
Tourism Australia will also partner with Australia’s other State and Territory Tourism Organisations and the broader tourism industry to offer the visiting chefs, influencers and media an opportunity to participate in unique food and wine experiences across the country.
The earlier two phases of Restaurant Australia – Invite the World to Dinner and Noma Australia – have led to improvements in international perceptions of Australia as a food and wine destination and increased expenditure on food and wine experiences.
Since the start of the Restaurant Australia focus back in December 2013, food and wine spending by international visitors has increased by more than $1 billion (or 25%), double the original two-year spending $500m target originally set when the campaign was launched.
Contacts
For further information contact:
Tourism Australia (Sydney)
Kim Moore, +61 419 978 561
kmoore@tourism.australia.com
Tourism Australia (US)
Julie Earle-Levine, +917 673 3095
jearlelevine@tourism.australia.com
or
For information on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants contact:
Speed Communications
Jo Pockett/Lauren Gray, +44 (0) 207 842 3227
50Best@speedcomms.com
