Cultural food experience company Noshtrekker will be expanding its palates beyond its current Singapore and Australia markets, and head to Malaysia, Thailand, and New Zealand next year.
Sarah Tan, co-founder & brand director at Noshtrekker, elaborated: “In Malaysia, we are first heading to Penang, and in Thailand we are looking at Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and in New Zealand we’ll be promoting the provinces. We are also exploring places in Italy, like Genoa.”
When asked why the focus was noticeably on second-tier cities, Tan pointed out: “Second-tier cities have the advantage of being relatively accessible, and have less dense local and tourist populations. You also get greater value for money. (In terms of) luxury travel, the standards of big city luxury are still recognised in second-tier cities due to the proximity, but (in comparison) travellers are not paying as much (as first-tier cities).”
Tan further adds that promoting second-tier cities – like the Southern Highlands in New South Wales – usually requires a different strategy, as compared to selling experiences to well-known destinations. As such, the company joins forces with local businesses such as Robertson Truffles and Artemis Wines, as well as partners like Destination New South Wales and Singapore Airlines, to raise awareness of the destination.
Moreover, as Noshtrekker’s clients are mainly corporates, incentives or business event groups, time is of the essence. Their guests are generally business travellers at a senior executive level, and group sizes number from 10 to 20.
“Few people know that Southern Highlands is only 90 minutes from Sydney or Canberra. You can self-drive or even take a train from Sydney. Our marketing strategy is not just centred on itineraries, we have to market the destination,” she shared.
Itineraries that Noshtrekker offers in the Southern Highlands range from half-day experiences to 2D/3N detours. In fact, these itineraries were only created around two months ago, and DMCs purchase these for their clients.
Tan elaborated: “We are mainly a B2B business, so travel agents and DMCs buy our food and travel experience to add to their catalogue of products. Noshtrekker is not a travel agent so we do not process any travel bookings; this is all managed by the travel agent or DMC.”
