Project facts

Duration: 2015-04-15 - 2017-10-15
Project coordinator: Gothenburg Research Institute, University of Gothenburg
Project consortium: Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria (Italy); University of the Highlands and Islands (UK); University of Girona (Spain); University of Mid Sweden (Sweden)
Funding bodies: JPI CH; European Commission
Subject areas: Conservation, Cultural Landscapes, Entrepreneurship, Gastronomy, Heritage Management, Heritage values - Identity, History, Intangible Heritage, Rural Heritage, Sustainability, Tangible Heritage, Tourism
Budget: 634.078,77€

Presentation

This project had two aims:  to explore how the development of local gastronomy could help to protect rural heritage values, and how entrepreneurial culture could enhance locally produced food as a value-added touristic experience.

The objectives included the understanding of the important role that food plays in cultural identities and the promotion of local and regional traditions.

The project has also emphasized the significance of local knowledge, skills and practices regarding heritage assets and how experimental journeys through cultural landscapes promote gastronomic tourism.

The high-quality, interdisciplinary and collaborative research have enhanced our understanding of the vitally important role that food plays in cultural identities and the appreciation and promotion of local and regional traditions.

Impacts & Results

The project has produced the following outcomes :

  • Reports on how local markets could be used to preserve and sustain local producers while maintaining local identity.
  • A blueprint for the development of regional gastronomic initiatives that involved SMEs, public bodies and destination marketing organizations.
  • A toolkit on how SMEs could communicate the importance of landscapes and traditions through ‘narratives’.
  • The results were synthesized into appropriate documentation and presented to policymakers to develop a better understanding of how gastro-tourism could contribute to economic development and increase the understanding and the preservation of gastronomic cultural heritage.

 

Banner: Gastronomy at the Naschmarkt by a7m2 is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.