The development of gastronomic tourism in the Arctic was on the agenda during the Gastronomic Festival of Northern Cuisine, which took place in Moscow on December 10-11 as part of Russia's chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021-2023, the GoArctic portal reports.
For two days, the festival brought together not only the best chefs from the nine Arctic regions of Russia and the member countries of the Arctic Council, but also the heads of the Arctic regions, representatives of the Arctic Council and indigenous peoples of the Arctic, diplomatic missions, as well as heads of public organizations and popularizers of northern cuisine , restaurateurs and tour operators who discussed the development of gastro-tourism in the North.
During the business sessions, the participants of the event came to the conclusion that the growth of tourist flow to the Arctic depends on the preservation of the food traditions of local indigenous peoples and their promotion in the catering markets, thereby creating a fertile ground for business development in the region.
In all these areas, the Arctic regions need systematic support from the authorities, which will contribute to the economic development of the northern territories with great tourism potential, the portal says.
In addition, the event discussed issues of international cooperation in the framework of the session dedicated to the current project of the Arctic Council - EALLU “Indigenous youth, food culture and changes in the Arctic”. The discussion was attended by representatives of Chukotka, Canada, Alaska, Norway.
“We have to be creative, innovative, implement tools to support producers from the indigenous peoples of the North, create added value in the product chains they produce in a harsh environment.It is important to create opportunities so that local producers can cooperate with large companies and export their food products - organic, environmentally friendly, healthy, - quoted the agency as saying by Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Arctic Council Nikolai Korchunov. - In order to involve small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the production of local products in these processes, Russia has initiated the first international conference of chambers of commerce and business associations of the Arctic regions, which will take place next year. And we plan to expand our work with entrepreneurs."
Ekaterina Shapovalova, author and methodologist of the federal project "Gastronomic Map of Russia" also emphasized that the development of gastronomic tourism requires support at the state level - for chefs, regional catering establishments and producers of ingredients for HoReCa, which are mostly small enterprises.
“It is important that the regions of the Arctic zone begin to unite, conclude an agreement, agree on the creation of interregional and interdepartmental groups, which should include federal ministers of industry and trade, agriculture and the Federal Agency for Tourism,” she added.
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