The UN WTO Silk Road Programme is organising a conference about Food, Culture and Tourism in Baku,Azerbaijan.
H.E. Mr.Abulfaz Garaev ( Minister for Culture and Tourism, Republic of Azerbaijan) and Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General UNWTO,World Tourism Organization said: ” We are pleased to invite you to attend the Flavours of the Silk Road: International Conference on Food, Culture and Tourism, organized jointly by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Tourism Association. The conference will take place in the Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel, Baku’s new icon of gracious hospitality, on 6-7 September 2012.
As a recent distinctive trend in tourism, culinary or food tourism has the potential to significantly contribute to the development of sustainable tourism products. Without requiring major investments food tourism can effectively promote the cultural and culinary heritage of a destination and this way boost tourism developments. This conference will be dedicated to highlighting the huge potential of the Silk Road region for food and intangible culture tourism. The conference will bring together representatives from tourism ministries, national tourism offices, tourism officials, experts and grass roots practitioners from across the Silk Road countries to share best practices and discuss how the Silk Road destinations can enhance their competitiveness through food tourism. The underlying purpose of this conference is to promote collaborative initiatives and partnership building. Therefore this conference will be a unique opportunity for you to meet key stakeholders in the fields of food, culture and tourism.
Conference highlights include:
- What consumers are hungry for and what leading hotels, restaurants and airlines are serving up
- The significant export potential of food, agriculture, viniculture along the Silk Road, with a particular focus on small medium enterprises
- How food tourism can stimulate investment, infrastructure development and trans boundary cooperation
- The case for CSR: how businesses can contribute to positive causes while improving the bottom line
- Inspiring examples from major brands and local businesses contributing to local development
- How the new media and social networks can help the development of sustainable tourism along the Silk Road.”
You can find the provisional programme and the General Information Note with information on accommodation, transportation, visas and other logistical questions. Registrations for this event can be made online (http://silkroad.unwto.org/en/webform/flavours-silk-road-registration) or sending a mail to silkroad@unwto.org by Wednesday 15 August 2012.
