gastronomic elements and characteristics of a locality. By virtue of the Special Spatial Plan for Tourism Development, gastronomy tourism has a special place within cultural tourism and includes the development of organic products, quality accreditation systems and certification of their value and uniqueness (Law no. 4447/2016). In addition to this, the Department of Quality Control and Quality Standards of the Greek Ministry of Tourism grants Quality Labels awarded to businesses which promote the Greek cuisine and agricultural products (food and beverages) which are connected to Greek gastronomy (Μυλωνόπουλος, 2021: 23 & 386). Law no. 4582/2018 regulates the institutional framework for the development of thematic forms of tourism, which include gastronomy tourism: “[…] an integral part of the cultural heritage of each place”. Gastronomy tourism is defined as “[…] the form of leisure tourism activity in which visitors-tourists plan their trips with the aim of tasting an authentic local cuisine or participating in gastronomyrelated leisure activities, while immersing themselves in the history and traditions of the destination, lifestyle, culture, local tradition and national identity of the destination. Gastronomy tourism includes activities such as studying and tasting local agricultural products and foodstuffs, learning about the local cuisine, buying agricultural products directly from the place of production, engaging in events - festivals and tasting presentations of quality foodstuffs, promoting Greek and Mediterranean cuisine and the internationalization of local agricultural products”. Tourists also have the opportunity to get to know and taste local gastronomy while they engage in other forms of Special Interest Tourism, such as fishing tourism, agrotourism, cultural tourism, city break and cruise tourism (Μυλωνόπουλος, 2021: 334). At national and regional level, gastronomy tourism is considered a supplementary tourism product to the main tourism products: sun and beach tourism, cultural tourism, religious tourism, city break and MICE tourism. To this end, 13 Destination Action Plans have been developed by the 13 administrative Regions of Greece, with emphasis on gastronomy tourism (Map. 1). These plans aim at offering integrated and high-quality food tourism experiences and fostering the gastronomic identity of each locality and improving and developing infrastructure. 496 DIMITRIOS MYLONOPOULOS | POLYXENI MOIRA
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