Regional Pacific Workshop Strengthens Link Between Agriculture and Tourism

Held from 30 June to 2 July, the workshop welcomed participants from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Palau. The event was a key milestone in the broader initiative led by UN Tourism and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat-Development of Sustainable Gastronomy Tourism Itineraries and Value Chains in the Pacific SIDS-which aims to integrate small-scale producers into tourism value chains.

Gastronomy tourism holds significant potential to foster community resilience by generating additional income streams, preserving and valuing traditional ecological knowledge, and celebrating cultural heritage.

Throughout the workshop, over 70 producers, tourism operators, national tourism authorities, and international partners worked together to shape a shared regional vision connecting agriculture and tourism. The vision seeks to catalyze public-private partnerships that support sustainable development across the Pacific SIDS.

Taking a participatory approach, the workshop focused on building gastronomy tourism ecosystems by co-creating experiences and itineraries grounded in national contexts in line with UN Tourism ongoing work on gastronomy tourism as well as agritourism.

As highlighted by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, sustainable agrifood systems and responsibly managed tourism are deeply interconnected. The workshop contributed to forging this synergy, crucial in the fragile mountain and island ecosystems of the Pacific.

UN Tourism led targeted sessions offering technical, and outreach support to producers, equipping them with practical tools to build or expand market access, create sustainable business offers and cultivate meaningful visitor connections. These efforts recognized producers not only as economic actors but also as guardians of biodiversity and bearers of ancestral knowledge.

Collaborative sessions with tourism operators and national tourism authorities promoted cross-sector dialogue to strengthen local livelihoods through sustainable tourism and enhance national gastronomy tourism ecosystems. The workshop also marked a key opportunity to advance the implementation of the Guidelines for the Development of Gastronomy Tourism by UN Tourism and the Basque Culinary Center (BCC).

The workshop provided a valuable platform for interinstitutional dialogue and regional cooperation, further embedding gastronomy tourism into national development agendas. UN Tourism, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, and SPTO showcased a coordinated effort to promote sustainable tourism as a community-driven pillar of Pacific tourism, while broadening international recognition of the region's rich culinary heritage.

This initiative was made possible through the support of the Italian Development Cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), via the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, exemplifying how global partnerships can advance sustainable development and resilience.

The Workshop planted the first seed for a broader vision to diversify tourism while protecting the region's fragile ecosystems. By fostering a collaborative community, this initiative sparks conversations and connections that help mobilize support and resources for producers and communities, encourage stronger public-private partnerships, and highlight the need for national and regional strategies to guide the development of gastronomy tourism.

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