Flanders welcomes the 6th edition of the prestigious UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in 2020. This was announced on 31 May by Minister Ben Weyts from Bangkok.
The UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism is organized alternately in San Sebastian, Basque Country and a host country. In 2016 the World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism was held in Peru, now in 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2020 Flanders will host the UN summit on Gastronomy and Tourism. "For a year now, I’ve been working to get this prestigious UN summit to Flanders", said Minister Weyts, "Although Flanders is not a member of the UN, we play a prominent role within UNWTO."
Visit Flanders will organise the event. Minister Weyts: "Flemish craftsmanship in the kitchen is unmatched. Nowhere else in the world do you find so many Michelin stars on such a limited area and nowhere in the world is the difference between the haute cuisine and the 'ordinary' gastronomy so negligible. We need to be more aware of that and we have to make sure that the whole world knows it too."
Minister Weyts attended the World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in Bangkok from 30 May to 2 June. He took with him five young chefs to promote the Flemish gastronomic craftsmanship.