Bosses said that as a result of the boom, the food and drink sector was now sustaining in excess of 1,000 full-time jobs in the national park.
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During 2015’s Year of Food & Drink, the park authority worked with tourism businesses and producers to showcase the area’s range of local produce, from artisan breads and dairy to craft beers and gins to locally reared and butchered meats.
Since then, continued focus and promotion has encouraged more visitors to seek out “authentic local eating experiences” with exploring the area’s food and drink offering now ranking in the top three planned activities.
Gordon Watson, the national park’s chief executive, said: “It’s great to see this drawing in more visitors and creating such significant growth in the visitor economy as well as creating jobs.”