INFORMATION FOR FOOD AND DRINK BUSINESSES

Apply for membership

The Gourmet Coast Trail (GCT) Inc is a member-based community association of food and drink-related businesses founded with the objective of building year-round food tourism on the far south coast of NSW.

To this end, the Association has established a website and program of collective marketing campaigns to promote a food trail covering the geographic coastal area bordered by Batemans Bay to Eden.

Visitors to the Gourmet Coast are seeking a memorable stay.  They are discerning visitors who value quality food and drink experiences that are characteristic of our region. If you offer this to your customers, we’ll make great partners in promoting our beautiful stretch of coast as a unique gourmet destination.

woman smiling while holding two cuisine
Il Passaggio, Bermagui

Benefits of joining the Gourmet Coast Trail

  • We connect and promote culinary delights and accommodations across council boundaries to build a critical mass that attracts tourists and encourages them to explore the region.
  • We reach and attract adventurous, food-loving tourists from Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne by championing the finest gastronomic produce, products and experiences the Far South Coast has to offer.
  • We maximise your online exposure through both geographic and thematic itineraries and map-based listings with links to your website.
  • We extend your social media reach through our network of followers and members, partnerships with marketing agencies and paid advertising (In 2022-23 we will spend over $50,000 on SEO and paid digital placement for the Gourmet Coast Trail).

What you receive

  • An individual profile page on the Gourmet Coast Trail website with hyperlinks to your own website and social media
  • Inclusion on the Gourmet Coast Trail interactive map
  • Rotating listings on the profile pages of nearby accommodation, food businesses and our home page.
  • Inclusion in social media campaigns to our followers and via our media partners
  • Use of visual assets that we create for collective marketing
  • Voting rights for the association (one vote per membership)

Who can be a member?

To be eligible to be a member of the Gourmet Coast Trail Association, your business must:

  • Be food or drink-focussed
  • Provide a culinary product or experience with consistency and exceptional quality
  • Be located within the geographic area of Batemans Bay – Eden – Nimmitabel
  • Create a taste of the region by featuring key local ingredients or having characteristics distinctive of the region
  • Provide a product that supports the Gourmet Coast Trail brand values:
    • People: Welcoming, knowledgeable, intriguing
    • Place: Beautiful, unique, relaxed, uncrowded, open
    • Produce: Distinctive, fresh, local, delicious, abundant

Before your products or experiences are listed on the website, you will need to: 

  • Hold public liability insurances
  • Have Council approval for all your business activities marketed through the Gourmet Coast Trail
  • Accept all legal responsibility and responsibility for relationship management with customers of your products and experiential package/s
  • Provide the required information and quality photos for the Gourmet Coast trail website
  • Pay the membership fee
  • Agree to our terms and conditions

Cost and period of membership and changes

Period of membership:
  • Financial year (1 July – 30 June)
  • No pro rata
New member:
  • One-off registration $50 + Annual fee $200 = $250 inc GST
Renewing member:
  • Annual fee $200 inc GST
Food Markets:
  • Free in 2023-24
Pro-rata:
  • No pro rata fee is offered
Renewals:
  • We will send you a renewal notice each April
Updates:
  • We welcome new photos each year. We will upload these for free once annually.
  • We make one round of changes to your profile content each year for free.
  • Additional content changes cost $88 per round of editing.

How to apply

Step 1: Type your details into the form below and attach up to four quality photos.

If you prefer, you can download the form, complete it and email it to us at eat@gourmetcoasttrail.com.au.

Step 2: Upon approval, we will email a tax invoice to you. 

Step 3: Upon payment, the Gourmet Coast Trail will edit and upload your profile to the website within four weeks (It’s usually much faster than that).

Photo tips

We love:

  • Clear, high-resolution images
  • Close ups of styled food taken under even light
  • Smiling people looking at each other or the camera (not down at their plates)
  • Photos that show your special view or location

We prefer not to use:

  • Photos with uneven light eg. Shadows, direct sunlight
  • Images featuring ‘cheap’ or ‘throwaway’ items such as salt sachets, sauce containers, plastic items or takeaway cups
  • Photos that feature food prices
  • Photos that feature branded products or clothing
  • Images that feature people who have not given their permission to be photographed

Queries

Email us at eat@gourmetcoasttrail.com.au or call Karen 0411 816 875

Membership Form

Membership Application - Food and drink businesses only

Please complete this form, attach your photos and press ‘Submit’.  You will receive a success message.  We will contact you within one week.

By submitting this form, I accept the following terms and conditions:
1. I am an authorised representative of the business named on this form
2. The named business will uphold the brand values and collegial spirit of the collective marketing philosophy of the Gourmet Coast Trail Association Inc
3. This application is for the accommodation element of the named business at one location only (the application does not cover multiple properties or locations or any food businesses owned by or associated with the named business, including in-house meal options)
4. The Gourmet Coast Trail Association Inc is permitted to change or edit the supplied content at its discretion
5. The named business will maintain its owned online presence (website and social media)
6. The named business will notify the Gourmet Coast Trail Association Inc of any changes to its details
7. The named business owns the copyright or unrestricted licence of any images and content it supplies, and grants to the Gourmet Coast Trail an unlimited, unrestricted and royalty-free licence to use the images and content in perpetuity
8. The Gourmet Coast Trail Association Inc may promote the named business in any of its marketing activities, including with third parties
9. The period of advertising ends on 30 June of each year
10. Advertising fees are non-refundable
11. The named business will maintain appropriate insurances, approvals and certification to operate
12. The named business indemnifies the Gourmet Coast Trail Association Inc against any claim made in relation to the information, products and services provided by the named business
13. The named business accepts all responsibility for relationship management with its customers in regard to the advertised information, products and services
14. The Gourmet Coast Trail Association Inc may suspend the named business’ advertising on the Gourmet Coast Trail website without compensation if these conditions are breached, membership lapses, the business ceases to operate, or the named business does not uphold acceptable standards of service, hygiene or facilities.
15. As a member of the Gourmet Coast Trail, I understand the focus is on collaborative and collective marketing. To help grow food tourism and the gourmet brand of our region, I agree to:
• Place a link to the Gourmet Coast Trail website in a prominent position on our business website
• “Like” the Gourmet Coast Trail social media pages
• Share selected Gourmet Coast Trail social media posts and pages with our own customer base
• Include the specified Gourmet Coast Trail tags in our social posts
• Display the Gourmet Coast Trail’s branded collateral at our business and logo on our website
• Participate in free collective marketing initiatives of the GCT
• Advocate for the Gourmet Coast Trail at community, business and industry events

Download Membership Form (Word Document)

Click here
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