culinary capitals

An innovative destination certification and development program for underrated and lesser-known culinary destinations.

APPLY NOW FOR YOUR DESTINATION

IMPARTIAL THIRD PARTY EXPERT VALIDATION

As the world's leading authority on food and beverage tourism, we are uniquely qualified to assess and certify your destination as a Culinary Capital. Certification cannot be bought; it must be earned.

IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR TOURISM REGENERATION

All visitors to a destination eat and drink. And as the world recovers from the pandemic, every destination will be your competition. How can you best compete? With your culinary culture, of course!

YEAR-LONG STRATEGY & MARKETING SUPPORT

Certification is not just the designation and logo. If certified, your destination can benefit from full-year comprehensive marketing and monthly strategy calls!

Does your destination have a noteworthy culinary culture and heritage? Do few people know about the great gastronomy your area has? Culinary Capitals can help you to develop your area's culinary resources and positioning, and increase your arrivals from international visitors.



THEN BEGIN THE PROCESS TO BECOME CERTIFIED

AS OUR NEXT CULINARY CAPITAL

  • Step 1 - Prepare Your Application [2-3 Hours]

    The application focuses entirely on your culinary culture and heritage. Based on these factors that you already have, we assess how prepared your area is to succeed as a culinary destination. The application is a detailed template that we walk you through to make sure that you are on the right path. An application can be completed in as few as 2-3 hours. Then, we need just 2 or so days to review and score it. 

  • Step 2 - Review Your Score [1 Day]

    Destinations that score 70% or higher are ranked and included on our Culinary Capitals website, which serves as a landing page that refers people to your own website. Destinations are ranked in order of their total score (which is not made public). For destinations that do not score at least 70%, we will provide you feedback on what you need to do to get to 70% or higher. Likewise, even if your destination scores at least 70%, you can still meet with us to discuss ways to increase your score (and your rank, too). This is also useful if you need to show an ROI to your stakeholders. You can prove to them that your investment in the program is worthwhile each year.

  • Step 3 - Enjoy Ongoing Marketing [12 Months]

    We promote your destination and other Culinary Capitals year-long in all our regular promotions to consumers and media professionals. Send us your announcements and news throughout the year and we will help get the word out.

  • Step 4 - Update Your Application [Yearly]

    Renew your license by updating your original application with new information based on your activities over the past year. We will advise you of any change in your score, which will be reflected in your public ranking on the Culinary Capitals website.


WHY JOIN CULINARY CAPITALS?


Culinary Capitals focuses 100% on gastronomy, culinary culture and culinary heritage.


It's an international standard that is recognized and respected around the world, not a marketing gimmick promoted by a single country that can confuse and frustrate travelers.


You'll get a Quantifiable score that can be tracked to show progress over time, not to mention your custom logo, and marketing and strategy support throughout the year.


Many marketing benefits that include listing on our Culinary Capitals website, a customized logo with your destination name, an official press release, regular social media posts, etc.


Improved awareness of your destination’s culinary culture, including traditional recipes, ingredients, and not-to-miss experiences


Cross-sector collaboration with local stakeholders, including entrepreneur support, job creation and increased local pride


Our organization offers impartial third-party expert analysis with high integrity. It's not a pay-to-play.


Year-long support. It's not a set and forget kind of certification. We work with you over the 12 months of your certification to help you achieve even greater success.


REQUEST MORE INFORMATION
OR APPLY NOW

Send us a message and tell us a little about your destination.
Include your contact information and we'll get in touch with you to arrange an appointment to discuss.

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