EUREGA

Gastronomy, local and regional food heritage is a common European cultural heritage, and as such also a major economic asset. Regional agro-food value chains can have a serious positive impact on local development. They also generate cooperation between between various sectors including agriculture, tourism, hospitality, education etc. One way of materializing such cooperation is the growing trend of food related tourism. Uniqueness versus standardization Nowadays almost half of travellers wish to have culinary experiences during their travels. Yet European regions of gastronomy are facing serious difficulties like losing their gastronomic uniqueness due to globalization threatening with standardized, mass produced food or underestimation of gastronomy as cultural heritage that needs to be protected. Main objective Eurega EUREGA’s main objective is to have food, food habits and gastronomy included and recognised in EU, regional and national strategies and policies. These should be seen both as a cultural asset and strong element in regional cultural identity and as a necessary tool to boost sustainable products and services.