Engagements

The gastronomic traditions of a region greatly define its identity. Breakfast is eaten by almost all visitors in any type of accommodation and therefore presents an excellent opportunity to promote a tourist destination.

Even though regional specialties are becoming more and more common on the menu, many lodging establishments have not yet found the courage to do without the interchangeable and arbitrary breakfast products offered by the industry worldwide.Aware of this problem, various actors have joined forces to develop a regional breakfast concept with Slow Food:

Region Dents du Midi

Thanks to its rich pastoral activity and unique gastronomic heritage, Region Dents du Midi has built part of its identity around local products. As a Slow Food Travel destination, it is only natural that the region should be involved in the Slow Food initiative in close collaboration with its main accommodation providers. Its regional specialties are highlighted, in particular the Salée du Val d'Illiez, an ancestral sweet leavened cake, listed in the Slow Food Ark of Taste .

HotellerieSuisse

HotellerieSuisse is also working on a project to position Swiss hotels as regional and innovative breakfast destinations. The industry's umbrella association is committed to stimulating cooperation between accommodation providers, agriculture and processing in all regions of our country. It will also provide hoteliers, trainees and students in the industry with information that will encourage them to get involved, such as recipe suggestions, a list of suppliers and possible models for cooperation with local producers.

By buying locally, you avoid long transports and support the economic fabric of your region. In addition, by promoting organic products, the project responds to a logic of sustainable management from start to end.

The regional breakfast allows accommodation providers to differentiate their offer by promoting their region. It is also in line with Switzerland Tourism's new " Swisstainable " sustainability strategy, to which Slow Food Travel has already subscribed.

Ideally, each tourist destination should eventually define a breakfast specific to its region, including a list of characteristic foods and their suppliers. This meal, which should be emblematic, would become a key element of the offer of the accommodation involved. It would be promoted by all partners. The name and history of each producer would be promoted together, in order to create a synergistic communication.

A network of chefs committed to defending local production and food biodiversity, the Cooks’ Alliance puts products from the Ark of Taste on the menu, in particular Presidia , but also the fruit of the work of local farmers, in particular Slow Wine growers.

In 2018, as part of BioVino, a group of Swiss winemakers committed to biodiversity, authenticity, and tradition laid the groundwork for the Slow Wine movement in our country.

Slow Wine is now a network of producers of artisanal wines with the Bio Suisse and/or Demeter label or in conversion to organic, all of whom have signed a charter drawn up by its initiators.

Slow Food Travel was awarded the "Best of Wine Tourism" 2021, the Swiss wine tourism prize, in the environment and development category.

The Slow Food Travel project is designed in accordance with the following principles:

1. Offering the opportunity to discover a territory through its gastronomic, agri-food and cultural biodiversity in accordance with the Slow Food philosophy; to raise awareness and educate travelers about the conservation of biodiversity and local cultural, identity and gastronomic heritage by proposing a sustainable tourism project ;

2. Involving the Slow Food network (Conviviums, Communities, Presidia and Slow Food projects) in the destinations, from conception to realization, in coordination with Slow Food International;

3. Informing travelers about the main Slow Food projects in the regions visited through the experiences proposed by the communities, Presidia and Slow Food projects;

4. Discussing the values of Slow Food in relation to the movement's actions and achievements in the areas visited;

5. Focusing on the discovery of "traditional", "typical" and "artisanal" products and producers according to the criteria defined for the selection of exhibitors at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto;

6. Accommodating participants in reasonably sized lodgings that are harmoniously integrated into the environment and that are attentive to the quality of their hospitality, respecting local identity, culture and biodiversity and aiming for a minimal ecological impact;

7. Involving restaurateurs who value local biodiversity, seasonality and sustainability (waste management, water management, etc.), sourcing from short circuits, in particular members of the Alliance of Chefs promoted by Slow Food;

8. Planning itineraries according to the guiding principles of responsible and sustainable tourism, i.e., contributing to the respect and preservation of natural, cultural and social resources in the long term, promoting positive interaction between local communities and travelers;

9. Avoiding food chains that do not respect Slow Food principles, i.e. favoring local ingredients as an alternative to industrial products whenever possible;

10. Working with receptive partners with proven experience and credibility in the field of responsible and sustainable tourism or organizations that operate according to the following criteria

    • Equity and respect for human rights;

    • Environmental, economic and social sustainability;

    • Transparency in the constitutive, financial and operational organization;

    • Promotion of the principles of responsible tourism;

    • or, when law and capacity allow, with the Slow Food associations of the regions concerned.

11. Collaborating with the providers involved as transparently as possible, especially in the financial area;

12. Including a limited number of participants (less than 20 per trip, ideally between 10 and 15), in order to ensure the quality of exchanges, especially between hosts and travelers;

13. Suporting projects in the destinations visited through Slow Food International, where appropriate;

14. Participating in the development of Slow Food Travel internationally.