Cooperation for Renewal of Local Cultural Heritage in Rural Communities: Case Study of the Night of Legends in Latvia

The aim of the paper is to describe the phenomenon of the Night of Legends in Latvia particularly focusing on the case of manors in Jelgava county. This event aims to preserve and promote local cultural heritage by active involvement of local community members and visitors (individuals, amateur groups, local businesses, schools, etc.). Thematic activities in manors and palaces are targeted to raise interest and cooperation, what in turn extends the tourist season. The event is organized by the Latvian Association of Castles, Palaces and Manors. The paper includes an analysis of the event’s offer in the context of preservation of cultural heritage as well as interviews with tourism specialists from Jelgava county, particularly involved in organizing the Night of Legends

POPULARISATION OF GASTRONOMIC TOURISM IN LATVIA

Population travel habits are important for the tourism industry. The supply of tourism services is oriented towards the various interests of tourists and a broad target audience. Enjoying food in the country’s municipalities is considered an essential component of authenticity of that setting, as it provides different experiences and an opportunity to develop gastronomic tourism and creates new, innovative tourism products and routes, the development and popularisation of which requires cooperation between private and public sector organisations. The research aim is to examine the popularisation of gastronomic tourism in Latvia

Proceedings: 3rd International Conference on Food and Agricultural Economics: RISK MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN RURAL TOURISM IN LATVIA

As project management practiceexpandedin national and nongovernmental organizations in Latvia, the role of various project-related activities increased. Latvia is a Member State of the EU that obtains EU funding and implements a lot of EU co-funded projects in various industries of the national economy, including rural tourism. In Latvia, rural tourism is defined as a kind of tourism aimed at offering tourists opportunities to rest or use tourist accommodation facilities in countryside based on local social, cultural and natural resources. Implementing a project involves potential problems or risks that can affect the pace of the project implementation. Rural tourism projects are exposed to both industry-specific risks and classical financial, technological, administrative, human resource, fraud and legal risks. National institutions, associations and countless private entrepreneurs that have received EU funding for their project proposals under support programsdeal with project implementation. The association PierigasPartneriba, the administrations of Kurzeme planning region and Vidzemeplanning region, the association Rural Traveler etc. could be referred to as one of the largest project implementers in terms of amount of funding involved. Risk management is a component of project management that deals with a successful and effective project implementation pace; therefore, it is important to identify how to minimize every potential risk. The aim of the paper is to identify risk management problems and solutions in rural tourism in Latvia based onananalysis of relevant research investigations. A content analysis revealed main risk management problems and solutions to the problems. A solution could be found to most of the problems with rural tourism projects even if a risk occurs unexpectedly, and a solution is easier to find to a timely identified risk, as well as more time is available for finding the solution

Proceedings: 3rd International Conference on Food and Agricultural Economics: BREAD-BAKING TRADITIONS INCORPORATED IN A RURAL TOURISM PRODUCT IN LATVIA

Nowadays, enjoying national dishes is considered an essential component of any kind of tourism, as it gives experiences specific to the nation. In tourism, dishes are important to any target audience. There are many nationalities in the world, and they differ from one another in their specific culture and national cuisine. Since ancient times, rye bread has been the main food for Latvians. Today too, rye bread is one of the symbols of Latvian identity and a treat for everyone wishing to get introduced to Latvian culture. Cultural heritage and cultural values are, to some extent, stagnant if not revived and cultivated. Cultural and historical heritage could be learnt through upbringing and education as well as its incorporation in a tourism product. Rye bread, the traditions of baking it, organic and natural foods and the setting – a rural farmstead, a festivity and a bakery where to taste the foods and participate in preparing the foods – could be referred to as the most significant resources with potential for development. Gastronomic tourism is promoted in rural areas, and small enterprises and local governments, considering the economic development of their administrative territories, are particularly interested in the growth of it. The research employed content analysis to analyse the incorporation of bread-baking traditions in rural tourism products in Latvia. An analysis of information available on the websites of municipalities and tourism associations give insight into the awareness and the ways of popularisation of gastronomic tourism. The research aim is to examine the ways how bread-baking traditions are incorporated in rural tourism products in Latvia. Bread baking traditions-related tourism services are created by entrepreneurs, while local governments and the national government and the non-governmental sector are involved in popularising the offers in the Internet environment. Activities of the private and public sectors aimed at popularising gastronomic tourism involve cooperation, as many websites are interlinked

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND USE OF RESOURCES VERSUS FOOD WASTING

According to information provided by the FAO, all around the world about one-third (approximately 1.3 G tons per year) of food that was meant to be consumed by humans gets lost or wasted. At the same time 925 M people are starving every day. Mankind is searching for the opportunity to feed itself, that\u27s why the food wasting prevention question becomes more and more topical, because it becomes obvious to the wider audience, that food wasting prevention and sustainable use of the resources would help to feed those, that already suffer from hunger

Local Food Development Perspectives in Latvia: A Value-Oriented View

The role of local food products in the food system of West European countries tends to increase. Currently, the economic aspects of food in most of the western world are no longer dominant in decision-making, and consumers are willing to pay more for prosocial food. The present research examines support for prosocial food among consumers in Latvia. A consumer survey conducted in Latvia (n = 1000) revealed attitudes and behavior in relation to: (a) food and shopping convenience values; (b) economic values; (c) prosocial values of food consumption (local and environmental friendly food). The purpose of the survey was to make quantitative measurements that reveal the main trends in the society of Latvia and what values are important for consumers, depending on their family status, level of education, place of residence and income level. The scientific discourse reveals that more support for prosocial food is observed among higher-income households living in a city which have children and higher education. Surprisingly, the research results did not confirm this. Although the support of this consumer segment for such food is relatively high, it is lower than that of other consumers. Perhaps the explanation should be sought in the broader context of life values, e.g., sentimental feelings caused by travel rather than belongingness to a particular place; or, it is possible that hedonism prevails in the awareness of social and ecological reality and each person’s responsibility for it, which could be further research problems