UNWTO Affiliate Members Global Report on Gastronomy Tourism

Gastronomy, the essence of culture and a major element of intangible heritage, is a growing motivation for tourists that often remain untapped by destinations. The link between gastronomy and tourism provides a vehicle for the transmission of culture which, if properly managed, enhances local economic development, sustainable practices and food experiences. Hence, gastronomy tourism contributes to promoting and branding destinations, maintaining and preserving local traditions and diversities, and harnessing and rewarding authenticities. This Report will also highlight Wine Tourism as a major element of Gastronomy Tourism.

In 2012, UNWTO Affiliate Members Programme launched the Global Report on Food Tourism outlining the state of gastronomy tourism. The report presented various examples of tourism and gastronomy professionals with extensive experience in international organizations, destination management, in both tourism enterprises and training schools.

Subsequent to this, we are pleased to inform you that the Affiliate Members Programme is currently preparing another edition of Global Report on Gastronomy Tourism. The report will discuss recent trends in gastronomy tourism, in addition to experts’ analyses and case studies suggesting best practices.

The report will be structured around the following 5 chapters:

Chapter 1 - Challenges of gastronomy tourism

This chapter will review the major challenges for Gastronomy Tourism. The challenges will be outlined and presented with relevant information supplied by tourism experts. In addition, this chapter will bring together the results and professional analysis relevant to designated destinations with Gastronomy tourism-related activities.

Chapter 2 – Product development and experiences in gastronomy tourism

This chapter will discuss the topic of product development in Gastronomy Tourism, not only limited to food. The related people, programs, and packages are also essential - not to mention the environmental and sociocultural aspects. Hence, this chapter will discuss the concept of the tourism product and the tourism experience and will analyze the essential elements for the conceptualization, development, promotion, communication and selection of sales channels.

Chapter 3 – Communication and branding

The aim of this chapter is to bridge theory and practice in the topic of destination communication and branding. It will do this by following real life examples from different cases, revealing Gastronomy Tourism as an emerging trend. Furthermore, internal branding will be explored as being equally important as external branding, and the success stories for creating a gastronomy tourism brand will be demonstrated from a collective effort. A single, coherent message developed by all parties involved and those associated with the destinations’ brand is a challenge that cannot be addressed without qualified professionals. This chapter will explore different management models of destination branding presented by various experts in the field of Gastronomy Tourism.

Chapter 4 – Good practices in gastronomy tourism worldwide

This chapter will outline guidance for good practices and will explain various corresponding approaches relevant to gastronomy tourism. Its objectives are to support DMOs with gastro-potential destinations to better plan and fit for current and potential gastronomy trends and their challenges. In this regard, various aspects can be explored - namely strategy, knowledge, cultural heritage, governance models and the implications of gastronomy tourism development for tourism policy, etc.

Chapter 5 – Training and skills in gastronomy tourism.

The art of storytelling, the building of food narratives, the search for new and innovative angles to highlight the uniqueness of a destination have all emerged as important contributors to the success of the gastro destination. Demand for additional skills and the continuous improvement of current skills should always be considered by the key players of tourism industry overall, particularly in emerging tourism trends such as gastronomy tourism. This chapter will explore the value chain of gastronomy tourism in order to better analyze the professional profiles and required skills for the development of this sector. In this regard, the training needs to target people from different sectors, namely the hospitality, travel (tour operators, travel agencies, tour guides) and public sectors, academic institutions (training in the field of cultural programmes with a special focus on gastronomy) and others.
To this end, the Affiliate Members Programme would like to invite your organization to contribute a case study highlighting the latest development in Gastronomy Tourism, according to the aforementioned themes. Kindly select one chapter/theme that best suits your case and submit an article to unwtoam@unwto.org, no longer than 800 words, in Microsoft Word format, no later than 15 July 2016. This publication will be distributed worldwide and thus gain high visibility, and will present up-to-date information on Gastronomy Tourism in all its potential.

We would also ask that you provide any topically appropriate images (photos, graphs, charts, etc.) as well as your entity´s logo, all in high definition.

Please note that all content and resources will be fully attributed according to your requests.