About The Conference
In collaboration with Europe Asia Global Link Exhibitions (EAGLE), DISCOVERYMICE (an Affiliate Member of UNWTO) will organise the 1st Edition of the World Food Tourism Conference (WFTC) with the theme "Charting a Roadmap for Sustainable Development of Food Tourism Destinations in Asia Pacific", from 5 to 6 September 2018.
This important Conference held for the first time in the world, will bring together world tourism leaders, high-level policy makers, specialists and experts from the public and private sectors, academicians and media representatives to network and exchange ideas and knowledge as well as share experiences of food and gastronomy tourism development.
Food Tourism is an expression of culture and tourists get to experience long preserved traditional culinary cultures brought to life through their palates. It helps to develop a culinary brand and hence define the cultural image of the people and the destination. It is an important and strategic approach in today’s competitive tourism industry; augmented by the advent of Internet and social media, digital imagery and videos to lure travellers to travel to gastronomic paradise and experience the tantalising flavours of culinary culture.
UNWTO’s Global Report on Food Tourism revealed that food tourism was becoming a fast growing segment of the tourism sector across the world. Today, across the globe, successful food tourism destinations achieved significant impacts in promoting food culture and heritage and contributing to local economies; and from urban localities to rural villages in the form of food festivals and gastronomic events. UNWTO stated in its 2015 report that food tourism contributed about USD150 billion to the global economy in 2014.
Food events generate seasonal opportunities to appreciate the natural and cultural attributes of destinations, the gastronomic diversity as well as traditional flavours reflecting the culinary cultures of the people, engagement with friendly communities, inter-cultural exchange and more importantly, the preservation and sustainability of culinary culture and traditions that are connected deeply to their origins and roots of the place and people.
Many national and provincial tourism organisations are beginning to place interest in food tourism due to its over-arching linkages with food culture, cultural heritage, rural and farming experience, nature tourism, entertainment, intrepid travel and adventure as well as recreational sports such as fishing and hunting.
The 1st World Food Tourism Conference will explore and identify the emerging niche food cultures in the next decade, the policy impacts in developing and supporting food tourism which will engage with two of the biggest industries in the world – the agriculture industry and the food and beverage industry, the importance of UNESCO Intangible World Cultural Heritage inscription for cuisines as well as the Creative Cities for Gastronomy, food related health and hygiene issues eg food streets and the innovative use of mobile applications and social media communications to promote food tourism.
The conference will seek to identify the most critical building blocks of an enabling regional ecosystem. It will outline concrete, achievable and practical initiatives and actions that public, private and international stakeholders can undertake collaboratively to put these building blocks in place, step by step, over a reasonable multi-year time frame. The roadmap that will emerge from this conference will form the basis for wider discussion across the region and presented to the regional UNWTO Affiliate Members (Asia & the Pacific) for their consideration and endorsement.
For some destinations, breaking new grounds into food tourism provides the catalyst to new markets and products but often shifts the dynamics of branding and marketing. Learn from those who have taken the leap of faith and succeeded. Is there any destination that has posed as a formidable game changer or a king maker in food tourism? And what are their success stories?
Tourism marketing and communications today has great prospects for food tourism. Learn the latest tourism marketing ideologies, innovative approaches and out-of-the-box formulae that will boost the food tourism industry to remain dynamic.
For some destinations, breaking new grounds into food tourism provides the catalyst to new markets and products but often shifts the dynamics of branding and marketing. Learn from those who have taken the leap of faith and succeeded. Is there any destination that has posed as a formidable game changer or a king maker in food tourism? And what is the success story?
One of the key challenges in developing food tourism is winning the hearts of tourists through the sensory of taste, the fresh produce and the flavours of spices and seasonings. It is all about the experience, from the palate to the presentation, from the ambience to the service and from the entertainment to the environment. Communications, engagement and familiarisation are some of the important tacticals for successful food tourism activities.
However, harnessing food tourism to achieve these goals will require significant interventions in the tourism environment. Services and facilities related to food and gastronomy needs to be underpinned at food tourism destinations and the host communities to be capacitated with culinary resources and skill sets to deliver quality and marketable socio-cultural gastronomy experiences.