National World champions UK hospitality

National World says the food and drink sector is a key source of content for many of the company’s 139 titles, especially those serving the biggest cities. It is an area which readers engage with, and also continues the long-standing ethos of supporting businesses in the communities the titles serve, added the publisher.

Although this content runs all-year round National World says it has made September Food and Drink Month, an initiative that has been backed by UKHospitality, the voice of the sector.

During the month National World says many of the biggest titles will be promoting the individual tastes and food heroes of their cities, engaging with readers to find out their favourite places to eat and drink, as well as looking back to some of the most popular content from this year.

Editor-in chief Mark Waldron, who has worked with editors and reporters to coordinate the month, said: “We dedicate a lot of time covering the hospitality sector - which is vital to all our communities - and have specialist food and drink champions across all our cities to keep our readers up-to-date with what is happening. We delight in telling the stories of new openings, new menus, new looks and new initiatives and talking to the local people behind these. But our coverage of closures clearly demonstrates this remains a challenging time for this sector.

“To show our support we wanted to make some extra noise in September with our specially-themed food and drink month.”

The month is part of a number of developments planned for expanding National World’s food and drink content across different platforms for the second half of the year.

The hospitality sector employs 3.5 million people across the UK - the third largest employer - and contributes £93m to the economy every year. UKHospitality provides an authoritative voice for more than 750 companies operating around 100,000 venues from coffee shops and pubs to restaurants, nightclubs, wedding venues and visitor attractions

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Hospitality is at the heart of our communities, creating places where people want to live, work and invest, and it’s fantastic to see the whole of September dedicated to food and drink.

“Whether it’s showcasing the best pubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, and more, in different towns and cities, or reporting on the economic challenges the sector is facing, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s to come throughout the month.”