Gastronomy tourism is estimated at some $1 trillion globally, according to the founder of the World Food Travel Association, Erik Wolf, while the association’s ambassador in Greece, Maria Athanasopoulou, says that “our country has got what it takes to be the world’s number 1 food tourism destination in the next decade, provided we step up to conquer that and work all together as one.”

They both spoke on the sidelines of the FoodTreX International Food Travel Summit in Thessaloniki on Monday, with Wolf presenting data that showed 93 percent of global travelers seek gastronomic experiences during their travels while 25 percent of tourists “spend considerable sums” on food and drink in the countries they visit.

In Greece, “total revenues from tourism amount to 16 billion euros, and 4 billion of that concerns the gastronomy sector – i.e. 25 percent of takings,” he added.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.