IT was Bolton's first Food and Drink Festival and judging by its success it certainly will not be the last.

In fact, Bolton Council has agreed to stage a festival this year and hopes to improve on the 2006 event.

The local authority's tourism department is developing a policy designed to increase the number of visitors to the area and aims to establish a significant annual event in the town's calendar on the back of the Manchester Food and Drink Festival.

All participating venues have indicated they want to be involved in 2007 and discussions with the MFDF are under way.

Figures show that around 17 per cent of visitors to the festival were from outside the town and many had heard about the event through the media, including reading stories in The Bolton News. One of the major aims was to raise pride and awareness in the quality and breadth of the food and drink available in Bolton. The festival included a Food For Thought event at Mere Hall with a seven-course menu and wine-tasting, and 19 restaurants offered special festival food and drinks to tempt the palates of visitors to the town.

Food included a mixture of cuisines - Caribbean, English, Indian, Italian and Spanish.

Local Q Guild butcher Fraser's of Rishton Lane, Great Lever, produced a pork and champagne sausage while a Festival Beer, Trotters Tipple, was brewed by Bank Top Brewery.

Around 2,500 entries were received for the Favourite Festival Restaurant competition, which was won by The Royal Balti House in Farnworth and Bolton's Olympus Fish and Chips Restaurant.

Restaurants reported up to 300 additional diners as a result of the festival and tours of Warburtons bakery and the Man and Scythe pub were almost fully booked.

The council also produced 5,000 leaflets, distributed through information venues, leisure centres, hotels, restaurants, the Bolton Life database and Greater Manchester Tourist Information Centres.

Barbara Howorth, Bolton's tourism officer, said: "We firmly believe that such a quality event stands a real chance of winning one of these prestigious tourism awards.

"We consider the winning ingredients to be the variety of the events over the 11-day festival, the involvement of more than 35 businesses, ranging from restaurants, pubs, a butcher, bakers and beermakers, and the increase in trade."

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, executive member for development, said: "The Manchester Tourism Awards are an important event. The nominations can only serve to enhance the town's reputation and build on the latest round of impressive tourism figures."

l Find all the stories on the awards at www.thebolton news.co.uk/leisure/ tourismawards/