The World Tourism Organization Headquarters in Madrid, Spain, hosted today the presentation of the 3rdUNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism. The event will be held in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, on 8-9 May 2017.

The Forum is organized by UNWTO in collaboration with UNWTO Affiliate Member, the Basque Culinary Center, as part of the activities of the UNWTO Gastronomy Network. The third edition will be dedicated to the links between gastronomy tourism and sustainability in the framework of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

The first edition of the Forum took place in Donostia–San Sebastian, the second edition in 2016 in Lima, Peru, and in 2017 the Forum will return to Donostia–San Sebastian, where it is to be held every two years.

The presentation was attended by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, the State Secretary of Tourism of Spain, Matilde Pastora Asian González; the Vice Councilor of Commerce and Tourism of the Basque Government, Isabel Muela; the Director of Tourism of the County Council of Gipuzcoa, Maite Cruzado and the Councillor of Donostia-San Sebastián, Ernesto Gasco and the Director General of the Basque Culinary Center, Joxe Mari Aizega.

"The relation between food and culture has become a major motivation for travelers, but also a great catalyst of sustainable tourism as gastronomy tourism brings out the most authentic features of each destination" said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai at the presentation of the Forum.

"Gastronomy tourism has an immense potential and is a priority for Spain's tourism promotional strategy due to its increasing relevance, particularly in rural destinations. In 2015, 8.4 million international tourists, representing 12.3% of the total, engaged in some activity related to gastronomy" said Matilde Pastora Asian González, Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain.

The event will bring together leading experts in gastronomy tourism to discuss latest trends and to share case studies and innovative products. Topics will include the so-called 'farm to table' processes, sustainable product development, successful public policies and the benefits of gastronomy tourism.

"Gastronomy tourism is a flourishing phenomenon and our objective is to create a space to share, to reflect, to analyze and to work to improve tourism in this area" said Joxe Mari Aizega, Director General of the Basque Culinary Center.

The panel presentations will be complemented by working sessions giving all participants the opportunity to interact and share ideas. Parallel to the official programme of the Forum, a wide range of events will be conducted at a number of gastronomic hubs showcasing the rich variety of products offered.

On the occasion of the Forum, UNWTO will release the second volume of the Global Report on Gastronomy Tourism. The publication analyses current trends in gastronomy tourism and the methodologies involved in product development.

About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

Rut Gómez Sobrino
Principal Media Officer
(+34) 91 567 81 60
UN Tourism

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