Gastronomy Helps Drive Tourism to Yucatan in Mexico

History was on the table this November in the southeast of Mexico, the land of the pib, habanero chile, cochinita, papadzules, achiote, chaya and much more: Merida was the gastronomic epicenter of a fiesta in which the ingredients and traditions of the region were celebrated in the first edition of Sabores Festival Gastronomico de Yucatan.

On top of everything else, 2022 was named the Year of Yucatecan Gastronomy, as the most influential personalities in the industry were there, from cooks, cooks, chefs, critics, journalists; producers of honey, salt, craft beer, distillates and much more.

Sabores de Yucatan took place from November 11 to 13 and was a meeting where you can find tastings, samplings, conferences, and master classes with renowned Mexican chefs.

The objective was to highlight the millenary traditions in the kitchens and contemporary trends in Yucatan, a place formerly known as "the land of the pheasant and the deer".

As a vehicle of tourism development, more than 12,000 people enjoyed the first edition of Sabores de Yucatan, a gastronomic epicenter of Latin America, which confirms that it is a first-class destination for hosting major events.

The state of Yucatan has cenotes, archeology, farms, colonial cities, beaches, jungle, a living ancestral culture, infrastructure, and security. However, it is its gastronomy that offers the incredible opportunity to its promote tourism, narrating its diversity, its past, and its present.

This week, the Ministry of Tourism of the State of Yucatan (Sefotur), headed by Michelle Fridman Hirsch, Minister of Tourism of the State of Yucatan, bet directly on this idea as it hosted this year's Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants and the first edition of the Sabores de Yucatan Festival. The festival exposed Yucatecan gastronomy to more than 12,000 people, making it clear that gastronomy, in general, is an engine for tourism recovery and, specifically, that the Yucatecan culinary offer can compete with top-level culinary events.