Lopinot Pastelle Goes Global

Lopinot pastelle goes global after Tourism Trinidad Limited and the global tourism family launch campaign.

At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has hit the global tourism sector, Tourism Trinidad Limited (TTL) and United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) launched a campaign on Friday June 23, 2020. The UNWTO #TravelTomorrow campaign aims to show how culinary heritage gives people a strong sense of belonging and brings a touch of local flavours to their homes to keep the dream of future travel alive. With the lifting of many COVID-19 restrictions across several countries in the world, people are now finally able to share a meal with friends and family, indulging in one of life’s most pleasurable activities – that of eating food.

The campaign promotes gastronomy as an essential component of tourism and the overall tourist product offer. This gastronomic project is part of the #TravelTomorrow campaign that seeks to highlight the fundamental and enduring value of tourism, including the culinary heritage of UNWTO member countries.

During the height of lockdowns, with some of our favourite restaurants and food services unavailable, many of us turned to social media to learn how to make our favourite dishes from home. In support of the UNWTO’s #TravelTomorrow campaign, chefs from around the world, shared their local recipes, giving us a taste of what to expect when we travel again, and highlighting the unique potential of gastronomy tourism.

Lopinot Pastelle Goes Global Via Video

As part of the project, each member country highlighted its most famous national dish, which is being promoted through UNWTO’s official website through video material, photos, and original recipes.

Tourism Trinidad selected the unique signature Christmas dish of pastelles which resonates with our indigenous and Spanish heritage and was in sync with the stated UNWTO premise that the signature dish must reflect the culture, heritage, traditions and sense of belonging of a community. Pastelles and parang have a way of bringing people, traditions, and communities closer together.

The Chief Executive Officer (Ag.) of Tourism Trinidad, Mrs. Heidi Alert, explained that “gastronomy tourism has the strong potential to economically empower the most vulnerable groups, such as women, youth, and indigenous and rural communities”.

Ms. Alert went on to add, “Lopinot was such a natural choice for this project as the community possesses such picturesque beauty, a wealth of history and a rich authentic cultural heritage that are reflective of the heart of tourism.”

“The video of Lopinot pastelle preparation epitomises the indigenous ingredients that are part and parcel of Trini pastelles, preservation of culinary traditions and parang music that is synonymous with the community.”

UNWTO released member countries’ gastronomic videos on Friday June 18 in commemoration of Sustainable Gastronomic Day. Several destinations worldwide are now getting ready to restart tourism, by leveraging the gastronomic sector. As governments seek to revitalise their hard-hit tourism industry, gastronomy will have a key role to play enriching the tourism offer and stimulating economic development in destinations all around the world.

The Lopinot three-minute pastelles video for the UNWTO #TravelTomorrow campaign can be accessed on the UNWTO landing site at https://www.unwto.org/american-cuisine as well as the corporate Facebook page of Tourism Trinidad (@StayTnT).

Established in June 2017 and a state enterprise under the Ministry of Tourism, the mandate of Tourism Trinidad Limited is as follows:

1) Development and marketing of Trinidad’s tourism offerings and the promotion of Destination Trinidad

2) Attracting tourism investment into Trinidad

3) Promoting education, awareness, and co-operation in advancing expansion through tourism