Tourists get a true taste of Turkey, and farmers a fairer living
Five year Taste of Fethiye project yields its first local food harvest
A five-year project to create links between tourist hotels and local farmers has yielded its first harvest, giving holidaymakers a chance to try a true taste of Turkey.
Producers from around the Fethiye region have been provided with education, training and agricultural advice in a unique programme, funded by the Travel Foundation and supported by UK tour operators Thomas Cook and TUI, and travel agent The Cooperative Travel.
In addition to direct support, the ‘Taste of Fethiye’ project has sought to develop links between the farmers and the hotels’ existing supply chains, and has created a brand identity for all fruits and vegetables within the scheme to be easily identified as locally-produced and grown to highly-monitored standards.
Some 25 local produce events are planned in Fethiye hotels throughout the 2012 holiday season, giving holidaymakers a chance to sample produce for themselves.
During 2012, the Taste of Fethiye project aims to supply 150 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables to five hotels, with a view towards diversifying produce and increasing the number of hotels supplied in the future. A wide range of produce will be available under the Taste of Fethiye brand, including Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, aubergines, peppers, potatoes, watermelon and melon from first harvest. Apples will be later.
One of the project’s producers, Durali, says: "My family was struggling to make a living from our small area of land and, when a disease hit our tomato crop earlier this year, we were very worried.
Taste of Fethiye’s Agricultural Advisor, Himmet, helped us to resolve our problem, and our crop is recovering well."
The Taste of Fethiye project has brought together a wide range of local stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Chambers of Commerce and Agriculture, Society for the Promotion of Fethiye, the Fethiye Tourist Board, and local and national hoteliers’ associations. More groups are expressing their interest in being involved on a regular basis.
Sue Hurdle, chief executive of the Travel Foundation, said: "Projects like Taste of Fethiye help the hotel trade to recognise the advantages of local sourcing, and allow local producers to benefit from tourism. The lessons learned from this initiative will be shared across the globe to help inform and inspire similar projects worldwide."
To find out more about Taste of Fethiye and the Travel Foundation’s projects in Turkey and other destinations popular with UK holidaymakers, visit: http://www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk
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THIS YEAR’S SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MASTERCLASS FOCUSES ON FOOD
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