SESRIC successfully organised a training course on “Enhancing Gastronomy Tourism Promotion in Senegal: Marketing and Branding” on 8-9 July 2025, through an online video conferencing platform, as part of its project titled “Promoting Gastronomy Tourism for the Destination Senegal.”

Funded by the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) under the 12^th Call for Project Proposals of the COMCEC Project Funding, the training brought 63 participants from public and private institutions involved in the tourism sector in Senegal, especially those in charge of gastronomy tourism promotion.

The two-day training covered the following topics:

• The Role of Gastronomy in Tourism Branding.
• Trends, Sustainability, and Cultural Impact in Gastronomy Tourism.
• Quality Standards and Certification for Gastronomy Tourism.
• The Strategies for Developing Tourism Gastronomy in OIC Member Countries.
• The Future of Gastronomy Tourism and Recommendations for Africa.
• The experience-sharing sessions included valuable presentations:
  • Malaysia’s Approach to Islamic Gastronomy.
  • A Taste of Heritage: Plov and the Marketing of Uzbekistan’s Culinary Tourism.
  • Arab Federation for Tourism Experience in Promoting Gastronomy Tourism.
  • Gastronomy Tourism Promotion Efforts in Türkiye.

The Project was designed to commemorate Dakar as the OIC City of Tourism for 2025, in alignment with the relevant resolution of the 12^th Session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM), held in Khiva, Republic of Uzbekistan, from 31 May to 2 June 2024.

The project includes an online training course, and a workshop aimed at benefiting professionals and experts working in the gastronomy tourism sector in Senegal. Its goal is to help establish a strong brand identity for gastronomy tourism in Senegal by equipping stakeholders with essential marketing skills. The activities also intend to share successful experiences from other OIC countries and promote collaboration among tourism sector stakeholders to strengthen public-private partnerships (PPPs).

The COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) introduced the COMCEC Project Funding (CPF) in 2013, a financing mechanism that funds projects submitted by the OIC countries and relevant OIC Institutions. The funding is provided in the form of a grant through the Development and Investment Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, a main body in the CPF scheme.

Since the initiation of CPF, SESRIC has implemented 16 projects so far under various cooperation areas and sectoral themes determined by the CCO.

For more details about SESRIC projects funded by the COMCEC, please visit: https://www.sesric.org/tcd-activities-projects-funded.php.

The presentations of the training course are available at this link.

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