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Create a bookable food & drink experience
Open your doors to visitors
The North-east is home to outstanding food tourism – from tastings and tours to hands-on experiences. And our region does this well, whether at a dedicated visitor experience or at source.
This is a great fit with visitor expectations, with tasting and experiencing local food and drink continually ranked the highest in VisitAberdeenshire’s annual consumer research when asked about favourite activities on a short break.
For many visitors, discovering and booking these experiences isn’t always straightforward, and for many producers, the approach to create a bookable experience isn’t always clear.
To strengthen the region’s visitor offer, and to support local business, VisitAberdeenshire is inviting 12 food and drink producers from across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to take part in our new programme to create bookable visitor experiences. This programme is inspired by Scotland Food & Drink’s Bookable Experiences programme and will draw from key elements of this successful initiative.
If you are looking to diversify or have thought about opening your doors up to visitors to tell your story and let them immerse themselves in the experience of bringing your product to life, but aren’t sure where to start, this programme is for you.
Equally, if you already have a food and drink experience but are looking to further develop it and/or learn how you can be bookable online and attract more visitors, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Through a series of webinars, workshops and one to one coaching, you will:
- Gain an understanding of the visitor market
- Receive support in creating or updating a business plan
- Receive support in developing or enhancing new food and drink experiences through guidance on pricing, booking systems and the importance of storytelling
- Understand the different routes to market, including marketing direct to the consumer, and working with the travel trade
- Understand the legislation and health and safety requirements when opening up to visitors
In addition to the above topics, you would also receive tools and templates to refer back to after the sessions and receive a prioritised action plan to help you bring your experience to life.
Who we are looking for:
- Either an owner or someone in a managerial position who has the authority to implement change
- Food and/or drink producers based in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire
- Producers who are ready to think about opening their premises as a visitor experience
In addition to the above, applicants must be available for the programme dates listed below, and participate in the one to one coaching sessions.
Programme dates:
- Workshop 1 (in person) - Tuesday 27 October – 10am – 3pm
- Webinar 1 (online) - Wednesday 18 November – 10am
- Webinar 2 (online) - Tuesday 1 December – 2pm
- Webinar 3 (online) - Thursday 14 January – 10am
- Webinar 4 (online) - Thursday 4 February – 2pm
- Workshop 2 (in person) - Wednesday 24 February – 10am – 3pm
- Plus 3 x one to one sessions scheduled at a convenient time for participants
The venue for the two in person workshops will be shared in due course.
Selection Process:
Following the application deadline on 25 September 2026, applications will be reviewed and 12 businesses will be selected based on their eligibility and potential impact on their businesses.
Terms and conditions:
This programme is fully funded. It requires participants’ commitment and time. Please be aware that if you withdraw from participating in the programme after accepting a place, you may be liable for costs incurred on your behalf.
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