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EATING AT LEBANESE GUESTHOUSES: Food Heritage Promotion & Tourism in Rural Lebanon

ZEINAB JEAMBEYMSC. Human Nutrition & Dietetics, Mcgill University

Master Oficial in Food Heritage and Tourism, University of Barcelona

PROGRAMME MANAGER

LEBANON MOUNTAIN TRAIL ASSOCIATION

HIGHLITHS

• FOOD: FROM HERITAGE TO EXPERIENCE THROUGH TOURISM– FOOD HERITAGE

– FOOD TOURISM

– FOOD & ADVENTURE TOURISM

– EATING WITH THE LOCALS

• LEBANON

• LEBANESE CUISINE

• FOOD HERITAGE PROMOTION IN LEBANON

• “DARB EL KARAM” – FOOD HERITAGE TRAIL

• THE LEBANON MOUNTAIN TRAIL : PROMOTION OF FOOD HERITAGE

• WHAT NEXT FOR FOOD SERVICE CONSULTANTS

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FOOD: FROM HERITAGE TO EXPERIENCE THROUGH TOURSIM

Food Heritage

• Inmaterial cultural heritage

• Includes traditions or living

expressions inherited from our

ancestors and passed on to our

descendants

• an important factor in maintaining 

cultural diversity

• Characterized as:

• Traditional, contemporary and

living at the same time

• Inclusive, representative and

community-based

UNESCO, 2003

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“(…) an experiential trip to a

gastronomic region (…) which

includes visits to (…) producers of

food, gastronomic festivals, (…)

farmers’ markets, cooking shows

and demonstrations, (…) includes

experimentation, learning from

different cultures, the acquisition

of knowledge and understanding

of the qualities or attributes related

to tourism products, as well as

culinary specialties produced in

that region through its

consumption. ”

Food Tourism

Hall and Sharples, 2003

“Tourists are attracted to local produce (…). With food so deeply connected to its origin, it allows destinations to market themselves as truly unique. (…) This is especially important for rural communities (…) who often enjoy a comparative advantage when it comes to serving up traditional fare. Food tourism, allows these communities to generate income and employment opportunities locally, providing jobs for vineyard tour guides or local chefs, while fueling other sectors of the local economy such as agriculture.”

Food Tourism

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, 2012

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Food Tourism

• Yearly trips to Europe

600,000 – gastronomy = Mainattraction

20M – gastronomy = Secondaryattraction

• 1/3 of Tourist Budget spent onfood

Food &Adventure Tourism

• Survey on “Food Experiences and Adventure Travel,” targeted 281 tour operators, activity providers, and travel agents in 54 countries in July 2015.

• Focus group comprised of nine food tourism pioneers held via a teleconference

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Food &Adventure Tourism

• 71% of adventure trips includeculinary experiences (moderate to high focus on food)

• 1 in 4 adventure itineraries centered around food as a lens for better understanding the destination and connecting with the people, landscape, and culture.

• A food tourist’s average daily expenditure = $472

• 31% of tourists ask for and 25% of tour ops develop culinary experiences

• Home based dining and cooking vs Restaurant based culinary experiences

Eat with the Locals• withlocals.com – “Connecting

travelers with locals through food and experience

• vizeat.com – “Get off the beaten path, and taste the city with locals”

• eataway.com – “A worldwide community of local cooks offering great home-cooked meals. Pull up a chair and join us!

• bonappetour.com – “Our mission is to make home-dining an integral ingredient of every remarkable travel experience”

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LEBANON

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10452 Km2

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Lebanon and Tourism

• < 1975: 20% GDP

• Classical tourism: sun and sea

• Skiing

• 1975 – 1990: Civil war

• 1996 : Beginning Nature Tourism

• 2002 – 2005: Nature Tourism as growing sector in local tourism

• 2005 - 2006: Another war

• 2008 – 2010: Political stability

• 2011-2012: War in Syria

• 2015: 22% GDP

DIYAFA Program

• Implemented in 2006 by ANERA

• Invitation to experience the authentic

oriental hospitality in lebanese homes

• Capacity building on business dvp &

management for owners of ~ 34

accommodations outisde the capital

• Online network to market & promote

guesthouses in Lebanon

• Cooperation with Ministry of

Tourism for legislation and

classification

http://diyafa.org/

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2015 – Launching of Rural TourismStrategy

Vision:

Rural areas are sustainable and succesfulltouristic destinations

Aim:

Thematic promotion of rural destinationsbased on their cultural, religious, natural and gastronomic heritage

Rural Tourism Strategy

2016#1 Food Destination

Beirut named

#1 Food Destination

http://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/worlds-best-cities-for-food

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LEBANESE CUISINE

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FOOD HERITAGE PROMOTION IN LEBANON

Following the Civil War :

International funds caused a boom in establishment of agri-food coops

1990sBoom of AgriFoodCoops

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2001The Healthy Basket

“To improve Lebanese farmers’ livelihood in rural areas, preserving the environment and protectinghuman health by adopting organic agriculture as a key strategy”

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Role of Wild Edible Plants in FoodSecurity and Food diversity in rural communities

2004 Study on wild edible plants

2004Souk el Tayeb: First Farmers’ market

Establishment of the first farmers’ market in Down Town Beirut.

Promotes direct link between farmers/ food producers and consumers

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Women from rural areascooking regional dishes to beiruties

Later …“Tawlet”Souk El Tayeb

Community based central kitchen, operated by rural women and rural copos to promote local traditionalcuisines based on the consumptionof locally grown products and wild edible plants

2006The Healthy Kitchens

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2007 Publications

2009 Publications

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2011 Publications

2013 Food Heritage Foundation

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2013 Farmers’ Market

2014 Community Kitchens

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2014 – 2015 Food Tourism

“DARB EL KARAM”A food Heritage Trail

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A Food ToursimNetwork

• To create a touristic destinationfocused on gastronomy

• To diversify the economic benefitof small producers, farmers, local guides and B&B through thematictourism

• To raise awareness among tourists and hosts alike about the seasonality and locality of foods and crops as well as the wealth and diversity of the Lebanese cuisine in rural areas

• Located in the Shouf Cedar Biosphere Reserve

• Connects 8 villages

• Falls in Mountain and Valley

• Christian and Druzecommunities

• Abundance of agriculturalareas

Peculiarities

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• Table d'Hôte

• Highlight: figs and olives harvest & Figmolasses

Elissar Temrez –Shouf Mountains

• Table d'Hôte

• Highlight: Saj bread and Manakish making

May Kanaan –Shouf Mountains

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• B&B

• Table d'Hôte

• Highlight: Potato Kebbe

Noha Abi Rashed -Bekaa Valley

Lina Haddad –Bekaa Valley

• Table d'Hôte

• Highlight: Tomato paste making and pumpkin Jammaking

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Taste the Star Products!

A star product is raw orprocessed ingredient ortraditional dish charactiristicof the area and/ or has limited or decreasingproduction

Pic: Sirdele cheese

Dried figs on SpanishBroom

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Mulberries

Local CulinarySpecialties

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Arabic Icecreamfrom Fresh Goat Milk

Roll up your sleeves!

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• Intro to food tourism

• Food hygiene

• Intro to tourism and hospitalitymanagement

• Test trips & feedback

• & more training … Chamber of Commerce/ Diyafa

Training of Hosts

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THE LEBANON MOUNTAIN TRAIL

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• Long distance hiking trail

• North to South of Mount Lebanon

• 470 km

• 570 – 2011 m ASL

• 75 villages

• 27 sections

THE LMT

• Blazed

• 1 world heritage site

• 2 Nature reserves

• 1 Biosphere Reserve

• Several natural sites protected areas

• Side Trails

• Accommodations

• Local guides

The LMT

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• Lebanon Mountain Trail Association

• Established in 2007

• To maintain, protection & promotion the LMT as a unique tourism destination

• To contribute to economic development in rural areas through tourism on the trail

• To raising awareness about trail and mountain’s natural and cultural heritage through education program for youth

THE LMTA

• Improvement of hospitality standards on the trail: Guesthouse Renovation

Coaching sessions on Hospitality

Seasonal Menu Development

• Capacity building in guiding and group management Local Guides Training

• Side trail development

• Promotion of LMT as national touristic destination and heritage on the LMT Partnership with tour operators

Networking with local municipalities, Ministries of Tourism, Culture, Environment and Agriculture

ThruWalk and Fall Trek

LMTA Activities

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• 2012 – Water Conservation

• 2013 - For Birds

• 2014 - Trail Protection

• 2015 - Cultural and Archaeological Heritage

LMTA Annual Thematic Hikes

• 2016 – Food Heritage Promotion

LMTA Annual Thematic Hikes

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LMTA 2016 FUNDRAISING DINNER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3jHpR4yV74

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3jHpR4yV74

EXPERIENCING FOOD & HOSPITALITY IN LMT GUESTHOUSES

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WHAT NEXT FOR FOOD SERVICE CONSULTANTS

• Tailored Training & Coaching:

• Menu Development

• Food Quantities

• Costing & Pricing

• Package Development

• Table Setting

Food Service consultantsto the villages!

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Training Respecting Local Practices

• Food hygiene

• Food production

Food Service consultantsto the villages!

Thank You

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• UNESCO (2012). From: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=es&pg=00022

• UNWTO. (2012). Global Report on Food Tourism- AM Resports: Volume 4. Madrid: UNWTO

• Hall, M. C., & Sharples, L. (2003). The consumption of experiences or the experienceof consumption? An introduction to the tourim of taste. In M. C. Hall, L. Sharples, R. Mitchell, N. Macionis, & B. Cambourne, Food Tourism Around the World. Elsevier.

• ATTA (2015). Taste the adventure: exploring the intersections btween foodexperiences and adventure travel

• Food Heritage Foundation : http://food-heritage.org/

• Lebanon Mountain Trail: http://www.lebanontrail.org/

References

Brochure

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Brochure

• Resident of village

• Cook traditionalcuisine

• Cultivate locally/ local variety

• Have a star product

• Produce followingtraditional methods

Meet The Hosts!