DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made it clear to the world that the Philippines is serious in being a tourism powerhouse by hosting the first ever United Nations Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in Asia and the Pacific at Shangri-La Mactan, Cebu.
UN Tourism organized the event alongside the 36th UN Tourism Joint Commission Meeting for East Asia and the Pacific and Commission Meeting for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia at Sheraton Mactan.
The event is expected to gather some 300 attendees including ministers from UN member-states, affiliate members, and tourism stakeholders from international organizations to exchange knowledge and best tourism practices in the Pacific, East, and South Asia regions.
Future Market Insights valued the Philippine gastronomy tourism market at USD5.4billion in 2022 and it has been projected a compounded growth annually at 14.7% over the next decade.
While Filipino food like our braised pork and chicken dish, “adobo”, and open fire-roasted whole pig, “lechon”, have earned praises from the late chef Anthony Bourdain and food critic Andrew Zimmern,the country’s Iloilo city was awarded a UNESCO Creative city for Gastronomy recently.
“As we intensify our diversification of the country’s tourism portfolio through multidimensional tourism,we strongly see food as a crucial element t in enhancing the Philippine cultural experience. In addition to integrating food in festivals, arts and crafts, traditions and practices, we are actively working towards supporting the development of Halal/Muslim-friendly tourism, heritage villages for cultural communities and the preservation of farms and heritage sites,”DOT SecretaryChristina Garcia-Frasco stated.
Aside from the day-long forum on 26 June,2024 which brings together tourism and gastronomy powerhouses to tackle policy framework for the development and promotion of gastronomy tourism, cost-effective and environmentally responsible strategies for reducing food waste and promoting local sourcing, successful best practices in tourism, value of land and products in the sustainable development for this type in the Asia-Pacific region, among others, the delegates will be able to sample the best of Philippine flavors through a showcase by top Filipino chefs, and get a glimpse of Cebu’s allure as a top tourist destination through technical tours in Camotes Island, Argao and Dalaguete, and Bojo, Aloquinsan on the 27th of June.
“The Philippines has a myriad of experiences in store for our delegates to offer tourists coming from around the world.Experiencing our food is on top of tat list as it is rooted in our history and tradition, Just as the Philippines is a blend of various cultures, Filipino food mixes and melds different influences to come up with something for everyone,” Frasco concluded.