A regional publisher is pledging to make “extra noise” on behalf of the hospitality industry with a special food and drink month.

During September, some of National World’s biggest titles will be promoting their cities’ food heroes as well as engaging with readers to  find out their favourite places to eat and drink.

The initiative, back by UKHospitality, is part of a series of developments planned for expanding the publisher’s food and drink content across different platforms for the second half of the year.

The hospitality industry is a key source of content for many of the company’s 139 titles, especially those serving the biggest cities, although it remains a challenging time for the sector.

Editor-in chief Mark Waldron has worked with individual title editors and reporters to coordinate the month.

He 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.”

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.”