Sustainable Food

Tourism service providers can contribute to a sustainable food offering

Culinary offerings in hotels, restaurants and on excursions are an important part of the vacation experience for travellers, and getting to know typical food and drink fulfils the desire for an authentic vacation experience.

At the same time, food production, processing and disposal are linked to a variety of sustainability challenges worldwide. For example, emissions are caused by production in heated greenhouses or long transportation routes, while the artificial irrigation of agricultural land contributes to the majority of global water consumption. Other aspects include the negative environmental impact of conventional production and animal welfare in the context of meat production. The socio-economic dimension is also affected, as income opportunities for small farmers can be created by promoting local supply chains.

Providers of tourism services in vacation destinations have great potential to strengthen local farmers and food producers as part of a more sustainable purchasing policy and, as important buyers, to initiate conversion processes, e.g. to the production of organic products. They can also contribute to a sustainable food offering through their own processing and presentation of food. Futouris members want to make food and drink offerings more sustainable To date, there is still very little information about the importance of sustainable food and a sustainable gastronomic offering for holidaymakers. There is also a lack of knowledge about the opportunities for tourism providers to offer customers a more sustainable culinary experience.

This is where the Futouris members' joint project comes in. As part of a demand and supply analysis, various areas of gastronomy will first be examined and scrutinized. A guideline is intended to support tourism providers in the development, implementation and marketing of sustainable food offers. At the same time, vacation guests are given the opportunity to experience the quality and special features of typical, locally and sustainably produced food on vacation and gain inspiration for more sustainable nutrition in everyday life.

Project activities

• Analysis of demand and supply in various areas of the catering industry

• Development of a practical guide on sustainable nutrition while on holiday

Implementation, testing and further development of the recommendations for action developed in two model projects Partner companies of Futouris members

Model project 1: Communicating a sustainable food and beverage offering to guests

• Development of four to five communication tools

• Testing the developed communication tools in practice

• Development of a practical guide for the successful application of these tools

Model project 2: Prevention of food waste

• Measurement and evaluation of the amount of waste generated in partner companies using a waste analysis tool

• Derivation of concrete recommendations for action to reduce waste

• Training of relevant employees