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Bristol has been named among one of the best destinations in the world for food.

The city is the only UK location shortlisted for the World Food Travel Association's Food Trekking Awards 2019 and is one of 29 global semi-finalists.

Destination Bristol - the city's tourism body - was named in the Best Food or Beverage Destination of the Year category in recognition of its work promoting the city as a foodie destination.

Over the last two years, Destination Bristol has been developing programmes around food and drink tourism after receiving funding from the Government’s £40million Discover England fund.

Kathryn Davis, head of tourism at Destination Bristol, said: "We are thrilled that Bristol has made the shortlist for this prestigious international award.

(Image: Bristol Post)

"It has been an incredible two years of developing a food tourism strategy and working with businesses to support their development in enabling them to reach the vast B2B travel trade market.

"This covers producers, restaurants, cafes, breweries, tours and experiences and the sense of collaboration that exists."

'Vegan capital of the world'

The news comes after a ground-breaking year in the food and drink sector for the city.

In January, Bristol was dubbed the 'Vegan Capital of the World' by foodie website Chef’s Pencil, which analysed Google search data to compile a list of locations interested in veganism.

The Good Food Guide's most recent edition also named two Bristol Michelin-star restaurants - Casamia and Wilks - in the Top 50 in the UK.

The city now has five Michelin-star eateries in total - the most of any UK city outside of London.

(Image: Bristol Post)

Bristol has also hosted a number of food and drink festivals this year, including British Dal Festival; Foodies Festival; Bristol Food Connections; the year-round Love Food Festival; and The Coffee House Project which took place this month.

Erik Wolf, executive director of the World Food Travel Association added: "The judges for the World Food Travel Association's 2019 Food Trekking Awards were impressed by Bristol's application for the Best Culinary Destination category.

"Bristol is an oasis of culinary excellence in South West England. We wish the area best of luck in the judges' final reviews in the coming weeks."

The full list of 29 semi-finalists were chosen across six award categories: Best Food or Beverage Destination; Best Food or Beverage Lodging Experience; Best Food or Beverage Tour Experience; Best Creative Use of Space for a Food Lover Attraction; Most Innovative Use of Local Ingredients in a Foodservice Menu and Best Local Storytelling in a Food or Beverage Experience.

The winners will be announced on November 3 in London at the FoodTreX London Food Travel Innovation Summit.