Gastronomy & Culinary Tourism

Nearly 20 percent of tourists of a destination fall into the “gastronomy tourism” category, while the number of tourists that choose a destination based on its culinary traditions is growing more and more, tourism and food service professionals were informed recently at the Messinia gastronomy seminar held at Costa Navarino.

European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki recently proposed the establishment of an annual or biennial gastronomy competition between cities and regions of the EU. The participating countries would compete for the title “European Culinary Excellence.”

Visitors to the Greek stand in ITB Berlin have the opportunity to sample various Greek products at the stand of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food that is participating in a tourism exhibition for the first time to showcase the quality of Greek agricultural products to international markets.

Greece’s cuisine and local products will be promoted once again to European countries through the Sympossio Greek Gourmet Touring event organized by Aldemar Hotels.

“The chamber’s vision is for ‘Greek Breakfast’ to become the connection between tourism and local produce so the whole of society can enjoy the benefits of tourism in our country,” the president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Yiorgos Tsakiris, said following the success of the chamber’s “Greek Breakfast” program at the recent HO.RE.CA. Expo ( 8-11 February).

Greek tourism professionals, entrepreneurs and professional culinary schools are invited to form partnerships and actively participate in promoting Greek gastronomy through the 37th World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) Congress that will take place in Athens in 2016.

If Greek tourism professionals, restaurant owners and local producers developed synergies and worked together, Greece’s gastronomy could contribute an additional 500,000 arrivals to Greece, one billion euros to the country’s GDP and 50,000 new jobs.

At the 8th HORECA Expo, the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels had a special space reserved for eight regions whose hotels serve the most important meal of the day through recipes based exclusively on Greek products. In other words, they serve “Greek Breakfast!”

“HO.RE.CA. has become an important trade event for our country that offers opportunities to tourism professionals to stand up to the difficult economic times the country is going through,” Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said on Friday, 8 February, during the opening ceremony of the 8th International Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe Show HO.RE.CA. at the Athens Metropolitan Expo.

Greece’s most popular and acclaimed wine event “Dionysia” will open its doors for the seventh time in Athens, 8-10 February 2013, at the Zappeion Megaron.