By Daniela Custodio

The World Food Travel Association is pleased to announce the launch of our Culinary Attaché network. 

That's right! And we are looking for individuals who are passionate about the world of food tourism (a.k.a. culinary tourism and gastronomy tourism) and who are also interested in representing your local area and its culinary culture.

The Culinary Attaché network was created to help passionate individuals to leverage their local culinary culture and make a positive impact on their local economy and community by:

• Helping to create a stronger sense of place, thereby boosting visitor arrivals
• Increasing a destination's brand equity
• Generating export demand for an area's food and beverage products
• Creating new jobs in tourism and hospitality businesses

Becoming an attaché comes with some great perks. While representing our Association in your area you will be able to:

• Use your Culinary Attaché title for the duration of your term (and in your LinkedIn profile!)
• You'll also get a cool Attaché logo that you can use to promote yourself
• The program gives you visibility both locally and in our global network, being able to network with other attachés and ambassadors of our Association
• Your name, location and link to your LinkedIn profile on our WFTA website
• Feature a story about you in our monthly Bite newsletter. Terms and conditions apply
• Chance to become a WFTA ambassador after one year of attaché service

The Culinary Attaché network complements the WFTA’s existing Ambassador program, which is comprised of official representatives of the Association in different countries around the world. Attachés are informal supporters with minimal requirements and commitment.

The Culinary Attaché network was loosely inspired by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which sought to spread awareness about healthy eating to communities all around the world. Similarly, the WFTA seeks to spread awareness about the importance of preserving and promoting local culinary cultures to communities all around the world.

Being an Attaché is a commitment, but it is not a lot of work. And unlike our Ambassador program,  attachés are not required to complete any training or to be certified by WFTA. All you need to do is simply fill out an application to make sure we're a good fit for each other.  If you think you got what it takes to be an attaché, don't hesitate and apply today!  Find out more and apply here.