two conditions must be met: 1) broad engagement of local actors and stakeholders; and 2) responsible commitment. Stakeholders and their networks are crucial in organizing and maintaining a culinary experience. In the framework of MEDFEST, the Cretan local players that diversify the culinary tourism product were identified and assessed in order to enhance the potential for tourism products using networking initiatives. That was followed by an assembly in which MEDFEST’s aims were presented and thoroughly explained. The touch point event for gathering the main stakeholders was the Pan Cretan Forum, an institution formed by the Heraklion chamber. One of the main issues that the stakeholders face is that the products are being promoted by unskilled staff. Another serious issue is the large difference in prices as the culinary experiences are not comparable. After the implementation of B2B meetings, the TIHC MEDFEST team and Tourism Stakeholders met in order to implement the “Common Local Cretan Culinary Services and Experiences Guide” in order to eliminate the aforementioned issues. o The first objective was to ask the stakeholders to identify the contents of the services they are offering. o The second objective was to create a common culinary experience description table. Based on that, the TIHC MEDFEST team and the stakeholders created a gastronomy tour in the mainland of Heraklion in order to test and improve the “Common Local Cretan Culinary Services and Experiences Guide”.
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