New campaign invites visitors to taste their way around Northland

A new marketing campaign by Northland Inc entices visitors to experience the bold flavours and warm hospitality on offer across the region’s food and beverage scene.

“Long Lunching, Northland Style” launched in core domestic visitor markets this month, taking a fresh approach to destination marketing for the region through showcasing Taitokerau Northland’s award-winning growers, producers and burgeoning food and beverage landscape.

Underpinning the campaign, a dedicated food and beverage content hub has been developed within the brand-new Northland NZ website. The hub includes a range of content to entice visitor’s tastebuds, including comprehensive itineraries spanning the region, to Northland food and beverage experiences, operator listings and ‘meet-the-maker' stories.

The launch of the campaign, and particularly four new Food & Beverage Itineraries, are important drivers to encourage visitors to Taitokerau Northland, says GM of Destination Tania Burt. 

Maha Restaurant

“The Taitokerau food and beverage scene has been growing in quality and depth for some time and is an important drawcard for visitors to the region. The development of the “Long Lunching, Northland Style” campaign and new food itineraries provides yet another reason for visitors to head North, and we’re excited to share with them the range of wonderful food and beverage experiences the region has to offer.”

“In addition to some of Taitokerau’s more recognisable dining locations, we’ve been able to uncover and showcase experiences which aren’t as well-known, encouraging visitors to stay longer and experience more of what Northland has to offer. There really is something for everyone when it comes to food and beverage in the North” she says.

The itineraries have been designed to sit alongside the Northland Journeys and follow the long-established Twin Coast Discovery Highway regional touring route.

The itineraries and operator listings provide important awareness for the regions’ operators, says Māha Restaurant owner operator, Diane Langman.

“It’s a great opportunity for operators in Northland to be featured in a ‘one stop shop’ like the new Food and Beverage section. Travellers to our region can quickly get a feel for where our business is in the region, in this case Kerikeri, and what food and beverage pathways they can follow”, says Langman.

The development of the “Long Lunching, Northland Style” campaign and supporting content are actions within the Taitokerau Northland Food and Beverage Action Plan, commissioned by Northland Inc in 2021 to identify opportunities to elevate Taitokerau Northland's position in the Food and Beverage tourism space.

“Our regional visitor spend sits just over $1 billion per annum, making the visitor industry a significant contributor to Northland’s economy. The potential of the ‘food tourism’ market is largely untapped for us, so continuing to evolve our visitor offering remains a core focus of the Regional Tourism Organisation. And the development of the Taitokerau Northland food and beverage story provides us with another drawcard for local, domestic and international visitors”, says Burt. 

The “Long Lunching, Northland Style” campaign runs in the lead up to the summer visitation period, and will include content creators Chasing a Plate travelling the region, capturing the best of their food and beverage experiences in the North. Further detail on the campaign can be found at: Go Long Lunching (northlandnz.com)

Food and beverage businesses interested in raising their profile and enhancing the regional offering by listing their business on the Northland Inc website free of charge, please contact tourism@northlandnz.com