This highest-level forum, co-organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Basque Culinary Center from October 5 to 7 in San Sebastian (Spain), brought together more than 500 participants from all over the world, including institutional representatives, tourism professionals as well as media specialized in gastronomic tourism.
This was a unique opportunity to present creative tourism as a sustainable tourism model, enabling value chains to be created around gastronomic tourism in destinations of all types, with a focus on “getting back to basics”, the theme chosen for this 8th edition.
Many of the Creative Tourism Network® CreativeFriendly destinations around the world have made gastronomy the spearhead of their tourism development, aiming to (re)create local ecosystems, stimulated by new travelers’ demand for more virtuous tourism.
With this in mind, the Creative Tourism Network® supports them in converting their natural, cultural and human riches into authentic tourism experiences, enabling them to boost their economies while consolidating their cultural DNA.
The Tunisian Culinary Route is one of these, and the project was inaugurated on World Tourism Day, September 27.
The Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, underlined UNWTO’s interest in developing more intense collaboration in this field.
These statements, combined with the sector’s enthusiastic reception and networking, augur well for the use of creative tourism as a lever for the sustainable development of gastronomic tourism.
