As the global tourism discourse continues to evolve, Africa’s gastronomic voice is steadily rising and with deliberate strategy. From April 23 to 25, 2025, Arusha, Tanzania will serve as the epicenter for the 2nd UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa, a carefully curated platform bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and culinary innovators. Convened by UN Tourism in collaboration with the Basque Culinary Center and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the forum will deepen the conversation around gastronomy as a transformative tool for sustainable development.
In a conversation with Sandra Carvão, Director of Market Intelligence and Competitiveness at UN Tourism, she reflects on the success of the inaugural event and offers insight into what lies ahead. “The first step was to raise awareness of the need to embed gastronomy into the tourism agenda in Africa. This has been achieved—and now we move to integration.”
This second edition follows the landmark inaugural forum in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where Her Excellency the First Lady of Zimbabwe and the Government committed to harnessing gastronomy as a national agenda. The outcomes of that gathering have since rippled through policy circles and tourism strategies across the continent. Zimbabwe’s efforts to integrate small-scale producers, restaurateurs, chefs, and agriculture stakeholders into a cohesive value chain stands as a reference point.
The Arusha forum, however, is not merely a continuation—it is a deepening. Its programmatic focus is distinctly layered, addressing three strategic areas of policy intervention: regulation, communication, and capacity development. Sandra Carvão frames the challenge succinctly:
“There is a need to look beyond the plate. Food is not just sustenance—it is tradition, identity, and an economic opportunity. The question is: how do we embed this understanding into tourism policy?”
The 2025 agenda is built around this critical question. Participants will explore how regulatory frameworks can better enable farm-to-table experiences, how national branding strategies can reflect culinary heritage, and how vocational training can elevate new generations of African chefs—especially women.
Indeed, the gender dynamic remains a central concern. With tourism globally employing more than 50% women, and gastronomy even more so, the forum will explore how leadership roles within culinary tourism can become more inclusive and equitable.
From a market competitiveness standpoint, gastronomy tourism is emerging as a gateway to broader destination appeal. Sessions on integrating food into national marketing efforts, supporting rural entrepreneurship, and enhancing cross-sector collaboration underscore the forum’s ambition to shape gastronomy as both a cultural expression and a business model.
Notably, the platform is designed with intentionality. Every participant—whether chef, policymaker, producer, or entrepreneur—has been carefully selected to ensure the event is a fertile ground for partnerships and project incubation. Carvão explains:
“We’re very careful with curation. This is a space where people bring not only ideas but value. It is from these interactions that legacies are built.”
The legacy of this forum is not merely in declarations but in action. In Zimbabwe, gastronomy has already been mainstreamed into tourism policy. In Tanzania, the forum will shine a light on local culinary traditions through live demonstrations and storytelling, reinforcing the country’s culinary profile.
