Turnover for Chester Food and Drink Fest tops £1 million
Chester Food and Drink Festival, now in its seventh year, brings in more than £1 million of business to the city. Combined with the Nantwich and Tatton shows the county revenue is in excess of £3million.
A Knowat survey of hundreds of visitors to the Nantwich and Chester Food and Drink Festivals reveals a massive 72 per cent of visitors spend more than £10 per head with stallholders at the Chester Festival. Furthermore, a stunning 52 per cent of business is repeat custom, with more than 90 per cent pledging to return in 2008 to both events.
Chester Food and Drink Festival will take place from March 22nd to 24th 2008, Easter Saturday to Easter Monday. The Festival is moving to Chester Racecourse to accommodate the rising numbers of stallholders and visitors. The Racecourse will host villages for locally sourced produce from Cheshire and North Wales, together with national and international produce, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of Cheshire. The Festival has almost 100 confirmed exhibitors and counting, already up 25 per cent on those who attended the 2007 Festival.
To bring the tastes and smells of the Festival to the city centre, A Food and Drink Fringe Festival will also take place around Chester throughout March 2008. A series of theme nights, special family offers and accommodation promotions in city centre restaurants and hotels will all help to make Chester the focus of food and drink within the UK.
Stephen Wundke, chairman of the Chester Food and Drink Festival, said:
“The Chester Food and Drink Festival brings in a significant amount of revenue to the City, with its partner events in Nantwich and Tatton significantly boosting the county coffers, the financial benefits are felt right across Cheshire. The repeat custom figures at the Chester Festival are phenomenal, showing that visitors know the event is a highlight of the spring calendar. Chester is proving a “must see’ destination for food and drink within the UK and with the variety of entertainment on offer it really does make sense to visit this established Festival over the Easter weekend. This 7th year will boast more celebrity chefs and cookery demonstrations than ever before. There really will be something for everyone.”
For more information about other events happening over the Chester Food & Drink Festival please visit www.chesterfoodanddrink.com.
Chester’s Food and Drink Festival is organised on behalf of Chester City Council with support from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Visit Chester & Cheshire; the tourism board for Cheshire and Warrington, Cheshire County Council, Made in Cheshire and North West Fine Foods.
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2007 Chester Knowat Visitor Survey
90% of visitors found the Festival met or exceeded expectations.
90% of visitors found the Festival presented average or higher value for money.
72% of visitors spent over £10, 26% over £20.
36% travelled over 25 miles to go to the Festival.
10% stayed in the City at a hotel. 90% will return next year.
2007 Nantwich Knowat Visitor Survey
92% of visitors found the Festival met or exceeded expectations.
60% of visitors found the Festival presented average or higher value for money.
62% of visitors spent over £10, 16% over £20.
51% travelled over 15 miles to go to the Festival.
12% stayed in a nearby hotel.
90% will return next year.
The Nantwich Food and Drink Festival ran from September 28 to 30, 2007.
Both events attracted in excess of 20,000 people.
For more information on Knowat visit: www.knowat.com
Background
February will see the start of the Festival celebrations with preliminary judging to find the four finalists for the Young Chef of the Year “cook off’ that will take place during the Festival. Also, there will be the announcement of the schools competition for Cheshire Junior Chef of the Year.
February will also see the staging of the annual Cheese Rolling competition on February 26th with increased teams, street stalls and live music, leading up to March when the Festival begins.
The Gala Dinner and awards ceremony will ensure more than 400 people sample a gourmet menu sourced from leading producers in the North West. This is likely to be held on Tuesday March 25th 2008.
Festival brochures will be available across the City from February. Phone 01244 351609 for more details. For further information on the region go to www.visitchester.com. More general information at www.chesterfoodanddrink.com
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