WHEN World Travel & Tourism Council global summit delegates visited the Swan Valley this week quality Western Australian produce was on display.

The delegates dined at Sandalford winery on Tuesday and everything from vine ripened tomatoes, tiger prawns and lamb was on the menu.

Sandalford chief executive officer Grant Brinklow said while the Swan Valley was the original food bowl of Perth the reality was there was no meat or seafood – the things people want to try so what they showcased was WA produce.

“Where we can showcase Swan Valley we do but the bottom line is there is a very limited commercial supply of Swan Valley produce,’’ he said.

Mr Brinklow said a lot of the staff who served the guests were Swan Valley residents as many of their team had grown up and lived in the region and so for them it was an extraordinary opportunity to showcase their skills to an international audience.

“The theme is guided by Tourism Western Australia so they are giving it a distinctly Western Australian feel but they want the visitors to I guess have the only event outside the CBD –  the Swan Valley.

“They are going to King’s Park, they’re doing a thing on the pitch at Optus Stadium, they’re obviously spending a lot of time at Crown but I guess one of the things they wanted to showcase is a point of difference (which is) the Swan Valley.

“There are only two capital cities in the world that have a historic and premium wine producing region inside their metropolitan area.

“You have Vienna in Austria and then you’ve got Perth with the Swan Valley.

“For people coming from all over Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and North America it’ll be quite extraordinary for them to be 25 minutes drive from the CBD and here they are in one of Australia’s oldest wine producing regions that is arguably one of the leading wine tourism estates in Australia.’’

Treasurer, Tourism Minister and West Swan MLA Rita Saffioti said the global summit would help showcase WA as a must-visit tourism destination, with attendees set to experience some of the state’s tourism attractions and experiences firsthand, including wine and food experiences in the Swan Valley, day trips to Rottnest Island, afternoon cruises on the Swan River, plus visits to Esperance, Broome, Ningaloo and Margaret River.

This is the first time the WTTC global summit has been held in Australia with the conference expected to drive investment and development in tourism accommodation, attractions and inbound aviation routes.