The Basque Culinary Center and the World Tourism Organization present The III World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism. The Forum is scheduled to take place on the 8th and 9th May at the Basque Culinary Center, with the collaboration of the Basque Government, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council and the San Sebastian Town Hall.

The forum, which celebrated its first edition in San Sebastian in 2015, pulls together internationally renowned experts in gastronomy tourism to debate about the current situation of the sector and the challenges it faces. This year, the main focus of the event will be the relationship between gastronomy tourism and sustainability, subject framed in the 2017, International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development.

This is the second year that San Sebastian hosts the forum, after the city was chosen to host the first edition; making this a biannual date in the city’s calendar and making San Sebastian the focal point of this growing sector.

Today, lead by the Tourism World Organization and the Basque Culinary Center, an affiliate member, the presentation of the third edition of the event has taken place, with the presence of the Basque Government, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council and the San Sebastian Town Hall.

Yolanda Perdomo, Director of Affiliate Members of the WTO, explained: “The international year of Sustainable Tourism for Development is a unique opportunity, not only to go towards a more sustainable practise in this sector, but to emphasise the contribution that its diverse components – gastronomy, culture, business, rural and sports tourism, amongst others, can bring to the development of a more responsible tourism”

Gastronomy and tourism are natural allies that reinforce each other. For the Basque Country, Gipuzkoa and San Sebastian, gastronomy tourism is key. Joxe Mari Aizega, General Director of the Basque Culinary Center explains: “Gastronomy Tourism is a growing phenomenon and our objective is to create a space to share, think, analyze and work to improve tourism in the area of gastronomy”.

In fact, a tourist arriving to the Basque Country wanting to enjoy the local gastronomy spends an average of 102,5 per day and gastronomy has become the first experience that tourists highlight after visiting the Basque Country and the second reason why visitors choose the Basque Country as a destination.