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Local Breakfast - Mic dejun sibian
Published on 27 May 2020
Romania
Centru
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
Inspired by the first Slow Food Travel program in Carinthia launched in 2016, the Local Breakfast program is designed to promote the region’s local culture and artisanship, by offering local seasonal fresh products, prepared in a traditional way.
This promotion happens through several accommodation providers (hotels, guesthouses or smaller types of accommodations) both in the urban and rural areas of the region, providing breakfasts based on a quality chart prepared by the Sibiu County Tourism Association. The chart informs on the structure of a local breakfast, and based on a questionnaire on the existing breakfast offer, defining the difference between local and regional and the requirement for justifying the local origin of breakfast ingredients, tries to multiply the local ingredients within local breakfast offers.
Participating accommodation providers, who had previously adapted their breakfast menus to the criteria set by the Tourism Association, are featured on the Tourism Association’s web page and social media channels with illustrations of their events and offers and with stories behind their offers.
This practice, besides gaining visibility for the region, helps local food producers through a new sales channel by providing the local ingredients for the accommodation providers all over the region. Therefore, the local breakfast contributes to the establishment of short supply chains and the support of local producers and SMEs.
This promotion happens through several accommodation providers (hotels, guesthouses or smaller types of accommodations) both in the urban and rural areas of the region, providing breakfasts based on a quality chart prepared by the Sibiu County Tourism Association. The chart informs on the structure of a local breakfast, and based on a questionnaire on the existing breakfast offer, defining the difference between local and regional and the requirement for justifying the local origin of breakfast ingredients, tries to multiply the local ingredients within local breakfast offers.
Participating accommodation providers, who had previously adapted their breakfast menus to the criteria set by the Tourism Association, are featured on the Tourism Association’s web page and social media channels with illustrations of their events and offers and with stories behind their offers.
This practice, besides gaining visibility for the region, helps local food producers through a new sales channel by providing the local ingredients for the accommodation providers all over the region. Therefore, the local breakfast contributes to the establishment of short supply chains and the support of local producers and SMEs.
Expert opinion
This is an excellent example of how the public sector, through its tourism organization, is able to generate positive avenues of cooperation between local companies – namely the accommodation providers and the local producers. The practice benefits all parties involved:
Local producers – they win from getting more local costumers and the establishment of short supply chains. While it can be difficult to achieve, a practice such as this has also the potential to get local providers to cooperate with large international chain hotels. Something that might be hard to achieve without a programme such as this mediated by the public sector.
Accommodation providers – they get extra promotion through the tourism organizations campaigns related to the programme. This way the accommodations are able to attract customers who are more conscious of locally produced food.
Region - This practice also belongs to the wider corpus of good practices on regional branding which help to “sell” the regions as a whole. But in this case, the tourist need not necessarily seek out the branding information in advance but will learn about it during their breakfast.
Other policy makers should be interested in this good practice as it has already proven to be transferrable to other countries as the origins of this Romanian practice are in an earlier project in Austria.
Local producers – they win from getting more local costumers and the establishment of short supply chains. While it can be difficult to achieve, a practice such as this has also the potential to get local providers to cooperate with large international chain hotels. Something that might be hard to achieve without a programme such as this mediated by the public sector.
Accommodation providers – they get extra promotion through the tourism organizations campaigns related to the programme. This way the accommodations are able to attract customers who are more conscious of locally produced food.
Region - This practice also belongs to the wider corpus of good practices on regional branding which help to “sell” the regions as a whole. But in this case, the tourist need not necessarily seek out the branding information in advance but will learn about it during their breakfast.
Other policy makers should be interested in this good practice as it has already proven to be transferrable to other countries as the origins of this Romanian practice are in an earlier project in Austria.
Works at
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform
Resources needed
The program can be implemented with the following resources:
- human: an employee which dedicates his/her time for visits and advising the accommodation sites, documenting, and promoting the breakfast service
- logistics: transportation to the various locations in the county
- human: an employee which dedicates his/her time for visits and advising the accommodation sites, documenting, and promoting the breakfast service
- logistics: transportation to the various locations in the county
Evidence of success
Number of guesthouses or boutique hotels in the program: 23
Number of large hotels in the program: 4
Reach of the program, number of municipalities: 12
Number of media appearances in the local or national media: 5 articles
Partners attracted in the project: 2 Asociatia My Transylvania, Slow Food Sibiu
Number of large hotels in the program: 4
Reach of the program, number of municipalities: 12
Number of media appearances in the local or national media: 5 articles
Partners attracted in the project: 2 Asociatia My Transylvania, Slow Food Sibiu
Potential for learning or transfer
Partner regions with a similarly high rate of visitors booking also breakfast along the overnight should consider this practice. Firstly, because it ensures the largest possible contact of the tourists with the local food in the existing hotels and guesthouses. Secondly, because it creates economic connections between the accommodation providers and the local producers. Not at last, because tasting the products of a region is the best way to recommend a visit to a specific territory and its small producers.
The existing project is a replica of the original idea implemented by Slow Food International in Carinthia, Austria in 2016. Hence, it is very easily transferable and very generous and adaptive.
The existing project is a replica of the original idea implemented by Slow Food International in Carinthia, Austria in 2016. Hence, it is very easily transferable and very generous and adaptive.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Sibiu County Tourism Organization
Romania
Centru
Contact
Executive Director