Collaboration

On March 15th, DTU and the Danang Department of Tourism held an International Food Tourism forum.   Present were Mr. Keerthi Hapugasdeniya, the president of the organizing committee of the Hoi An International Food Festival; Deputy Director of the Danang Department of Tourism, Ms. Truong Thi Hong Hanh; DTU Vice-Provost Le Nguyen Bao; representatives of the World Association of Chefs’ Societies; and lecturers and students from the DTU Faculty of Hospitality, the International School and the Faculty of Foreign Languages.

Food is a simple and attractive way of promoting a city or a country. Recently, gastronomy tours have been becoming more and more popular in Vietnam, particularly in places such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue. Meanwhile, Danang is also planning to promote its unique local cuisine to tourists.

  

“Cuisine is considered to be an important element of the tourism business,” said the Deputy Director of the Danang Department of Tourism, Ms. Truong Thi Hong Hanh. “Culinary activities in a travel itinerary satisfy the tourists’ hunger and create jobs and income for the locals. Other popular types of tourism include ecotourism, spiritual and medical tourism. However, culinary tourism is becoming more and more prevalent and is now vital in the development of both local and national business. I hope that the opinions and advice of the hospitality experts at the 2018 International Food Tourism Forum will allow DTU lecturers and students to learn more and create new ideas in their teaching.”

Presentations by culinary experts from around the world were well received by the audience, including Gastrodiplomacy in Tourism; Food, Health & Medicine; Food Tourism in Singapore and Vietnam Food Tourism. The experts stressed that that the culinary culture of the various regions demonstrate the habits, tastes, customs and tradition of those places, making food-tasting the most interesting way for visitors to learn about a country, its people, and their culture.

  

Presenters demonstrated how to prepare and present food, how to compose documentation and promotional materials to revive popular traditional dishes and how to manage food quality, hygiene, and safety.

The 2018 International Food Tourism Forum at DTU enabled local and international hospitality experts, and tourism companies to meet, exchange experiences and to contribute ideas to promote tourism development in Danang.