The “Culinary Tourism Sub‑Strategy” was developed at the request of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Among the experts invited to contribute to its preparation was Dr Andrzej Stasiak from the Institute of Urban Geography, Tourism Studies and Geoinformation of the Faculty of Geographical Sciences at the University of Lodz.
The document was produced as a result of intensive work involving numerous working meetings, workshops and conferences, attended by nearly 200 representatives of academic and professional communities from across Poland. The project was coordinated by Hubert Gonera (Landbrand) and dr hab. Karolina Buczkowska‑Gołąbek (Polish Culinary Tourism Association).
Initially, Dr Andrzej Stasiak led the working group on culinary tourism routes, and subsequently authored a chapter entitled “Główne szlaki turystyki kulinarnej i działania sieciujące współpracę” [Main Culinary Tourism Routes and Networking Activities Supporting Cooperation]. He also served as a consultant for the programme section of the document.
The prepared sub‑strategy constitutes the first initiative in history focused on creating a sectoral development plan for culinary tourism in Poland. The analytical section includes an assessment of the current situation of the tourism and gastronomy sectors, covering, among other aspects, culinary heritage, traditional products, certification systems, culinary routes and events, culinary souvenirs, the development of wine tourism and the current culinary tourism offer.
The programme section presents proposed actions to be implemented by 2030 (with a perspective extending to 2035), including the vision, mission, as well as strategic and operational objectives.
The development of a strategic document at the national level represents an important step towards the systematic development of culinary tourism in Poland. The participation of an expert from the University of Lodz highlights the significant contribution of the Łódź school of tourism geography to shaping the country’s tourism sector, particularly in the areas of culinary tourism and wine tourism.
The full documentation of the work on the sub‑strategy, along with both of its sections, is available on the website of the Polish Culinary Tourism Association (PSTK):
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https://pstk.pl/podstrategia/#czesc-i-analityczna-podstrategii-turystyki-kulinarnej
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https://pstk.pl/podstrategia/#czesc-ii-programowa-podstrategii-turystyki-kulinarnej
The public task entitled “CULINARY TOURISM SUB‑STRATEGY. An activity aimed at the creation of a sectoral development document for culinary tourism in Poland for the coming years, developed with the purpose of analysing the current situation and creating proposals for a vision and directional assumptions” was co‑financed from the funds of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism in accordance with Agreement No. 2025/0013/4916/UDOT/DT/BP/IS of 5 June 2025.
