Tourists working up an appetite for new foods
FOOD festivals and tours are giving Western Sydney a big taste of the tourism market. And both Bankstown Bites and Flavours of Auburn are bringing people over.
NSW
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FOOD festivals and tours are giving Western Sydney a big taste of the tourism market.
And both Bankstown Bites — which attracts more than 10,000 people each year — and Flavours of Auburn are bringing people from across Sydney back to the region on a regular basis.
Bankstown City Council is home to 850 food outlets, second only to the City of Sydney, with food and beverage sales totalling $393.3 million in 2014/15.
More than 70 per cent of Bankstown Bites attendees are from outside the local area, with most returning on a regular basis to dine or buy food, while Flavours of Auburn has become so popular it has spawned regular food tours and cooking classes run by local residents.
“On average, people spend $40 to $50 purchasing ingredients and food on the tour, and more than 50 per cent of people return to the area with family and friends,” Auburn Council spokeswoman Adama Kamara said.
After taking part in a Flavours of Auburn tour, Marika Kahle from Bankstown returns to the area regularly, especially with her children Jamila 6, and Caspian 2.
“I love travelling and meeting people so the tour catered to that without getting on a plane,” Ms Kahle said.
“I explored a few different cuisines I hadn’t had before like Afghani and Turkish. We stopped at five or six businesses, met the owners, heard their stories and tried their specialties.
“Auburn has a very different atmosphere and has different food, which is great. I come for the food and for the people — it’s like diving into a little holiday atmosphere.”
Taste Food Tours operate throughout Sydney, introducing guests to Persian and Iraqi cuisine in Fairfield, Middle Eastern and Balkan dishes in Liverpool and lots more.
Tour guide Yamane Fayed said that once people are comfortable in a new area, they tend to return.
“The businesses are so welcoming and generous, so the customers become a bit more daring and willing to explore the area,” she said.
TV foodie Maeve O’Meara’s first Gourmet Safari tour was to Punchbowl in 1998 and now she takes 80-100 people a week to parts of Sydney with which they’re not familiar.
“One in five would return to a place we take them and one in seven become a regular,” she said.
“It’s beautiful, authentic food that is good for you. People are delighted to find these small businesses and support them.”
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