After its pilot development in 2024, the Gastrotourism Experience Label Greek.food.tour for tourism businesses and destinations, developed within the framework of the “LOCAL & BRAND” project with the participation of leading tourism and gastronomy bodies, is now fully implemented.
The Experience Label Greek.food.tour standardizes and certifies for the first time (intangible) food experiences in tourism, highlights Authenticity, and strengthens Sustainability, providing new opportunities for effective tourism marketing based on Gastronomy. Specifically:
highlights the origin of selected products in hotels and restaurants, while standardizing and certifying tourist experiences based on Greek food and local producers, with actions inside and outside hotels
promotes Greek hotels & destinations in selected cities abroad, with the collaboration of a network of Greek restaurants in the diaspora, which constitute the “antennae” of tourist gastronomic experiences in Greek places.
At a time when tourism is in great need of Authenticity, Sustainability, and Added Value activities, and with Food now playing a leading role in choosing holidays, the aim of the Greek.food.tour Label is for visitors to Greek hotels and destinations to have a complete experience, tasting products with a designation of origin, but also participating in organized gastro tourism activities.
Furthermore, the Greek.food.tour Brand is a platform for promoting its Members to wider audiences abroad (B2C communication) interested in Greek food, through an extensive Communication program in selected cities, with stories of its Members based on the identity of the Destinations and the local gastronomic tradition. For this purpose, with the support of the participating Organizations, the Culinary Heritage Interpretation Center (CHIC) has been established, with the participation of renowned people in the culinary arts.
As emphasized by Mr. George Pelekanakis, President of PODIX (Panhellenic Federation of Hotel Managers), which participates in the program, “Hotel executives become agents of synergies and innovative tools, which enhance the profile of our country, constantly enriching our tourism product and strengthening Greece on the competitive global map of Destinations, with the weapons of agri-food production, Greek nutrition, and high-level experiential experiences”.
The Greek.food.tour Brand was developed on a pilot basis within the framework of the “LOCAL & BRAND” project, for the joint promotion of products, businesses, and Destinations
with large-scale public outreach. The implementation and management of the Label has now been undertaken by the specialized Non-Profit Organization AuthenTour, with PODIX as an official partner, while it is supported by organizations such as Authentic Greece, Swiss Alpine Center, PSDIX, Hoteliers’ Associations, Chefs’ Clubs and others.
The Greek.food.tour Label is a subscription service aimed at hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, Destinations (Municipalities or Regional Units), and Hospitality professionals. It should be noted that any interested Business that is a member of an Organization that supports the Greek.food.tour Label is entitled to a significant discount on its Annual Subscription, while there are additional discounts if the Business belongs to a Municipality or Region that is certified as a Gastrotourism Destination.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
