Objectives

Realising the increasing importance that food plays in people’s decisions over where to travel we started to approach Tourism Boards in 2017 to suggest creative ways to engage UK audiences, through dining, to inspire travel to their country. This is becoming a key goal of many Tourism Boards and Airlines.

Client: Tourism Authority of Thailand (Amazing Thailand)

First appointed by us in 2017 and, after a successful initial programme, growing our relationship into 2018, we have created a raft of experiences and associated promotions that help establish Thailand as a key destination for Gastro-Tourism. We created a Thai Gourmet Odyssey during London Restaurant Festival 2017 where 150 consumers and press enjoyed a three-course lunch held in three different leading Thai restaurants in London. This achieved press coverage and a film was also produced. We also incorporated Amazing Thailand into other areas of the festival including serving Thai canapés at our awards and the Thai Governor of Tourism presenting an award. In 2018 the partnership has grown to include all of the above in addition to flying over Michelin-starred chefs from Bangkok to do collaboration with London’s leading Thai chef. We also created and marketed a competition to win a six-day culinary holiday to Thailand that achieved 25,000 entrants who have agreed to be contacted by Amazing Thailand. In 2019 we will be looking to expand the Gastro-Tourism project creating itineraries involving Thailand for the likes of American Express card members and others. The strategy has always been to creatively use food, and dining, as the catalyst, and inspiration, to drive people to travel to Thailand and this will remain at the heart of this work.

We created an exclusive event at the top of the Gherkin, High Flyers, with award winning som saa and Michelin-starred Chef Prin from Bangkok. Now travel is coming back, many more opportunities are on the horizon.

Client: Thai Airways

After a successful series of activations for the Tourism Authority of Thailand in 2018 we were introduced the Thai Airways which seemed like a natural development. Thai Airways wanted to support our work with Thailand – by supplying flights for the high-profile Bangkok chefs and also for the competition – but also explore with us how they could highlight the fact that Thai Airways offers several key routes other than Thailand. The creative solution we suggested was an event called ‘Flights of Fancy’. This invoices 150 people having a three-course lunch across three restaurants with a course in each. One is Japanese, one Laotian and one Australian – all Thai Airways destination. Guests will also have an opportunity to win a holiday for two in each destination. Thai Airways took a large number of the spaces to invites tour operators, press and also VIPs such as the ambassadors of each country. We offered the remaining spaces to Amex card members – a valuable audience for Thai Airways. Thai Airways cabin crew will welcome the guests on board the Thai Airways branded Routemaster that transports the guests between the restaurants. We will film the event for Thai Airways to use across their comms. This event is core to our agency’s philosophy of using creative culinary solutions.

Client: Peru Tourism

We have taken on Peru Tourism as our second Tourism Board client. In 2018 we will be flying over one of Peru’s leading chefs to collaborate with Martin Morales London’s most celebrated Peruvian chefs. We made the event part of our schedule for London Restaurant Festival 2018 during October that not only ensured it would sell out but also gave Peru Tourism all the benefits of the rights of association with London’s leading restaurant event.

Client: I Travel Jerusalem

We partnered with Jerusalem OpenRestaurants™ as a sister festival in 2019. To celebrate Jerusalem’s dynamic and pioneering food movement, the city’s restaurants opened their doors and welcomed food lovers and visitors to come to explore their restaurants in November 2019 in the Jerusalem OpenRestaurants™. The festival offered a huge variety of gastronomic experiences, from the markets to the most elegant of restaurants, as well as special workshops, events and talks.

See website here.

Client: British Airways

For British Airways we created two key series ‘A Flavour of My City’ and ‘A Flavour of My Country’ exclusively for BA Premium Plus Cardmembers. These events were exclusive gastronomic experiences, with exclusive ‘insider tips’, taking place ‘at-home’ during and continuing post lockdown, to entertain and inspire travel for the future. ‘A Flavour of my Country’ consisted of chefs creating a four-course dining experience, inspired by the country of their heritage, with each dish evoking a different region: four dishes, four regions with long-haul and short-haul BA destinations featured. Each box came with a bespoke ‘Gastronomic Guide’ to the cities/regions that inspired the chef for Cardmembers to use when travel resumes. Also featuring a live Interview and Q&A with the chef on the night of the event. ‘A Flavour of my City’ created an immersive foodie experience: a specially-curated ‘hamper’ containing gastronomic delicacies from each city (markets, delis, boroughs) and an exclusive map/City Guide identifying four key food destinations. A livestream Q&A with the chef gives attendees a virtual tour through four areas or cultural attractions, beloved by the chef in their home city.

The series continues as a means of inspiring travel to new cities and destinations around the globe. A digital platform is to be launched this December for BA Prem Plus cardmembers to access gastronomic guides, films and content, with ‘insider tips’ from renowned chefs. Inspiring them to travel to new cities with BA, using their Avios and Companion vouchers.

Other clients