Since January 2020, a multisectoral hub of Madeiran institutions has been involved in the INTERREG project SABOREA Mac. The main objective of this regional cluster is to put Madeira on the map of food destinations. The timing could not have been worse: a global disaster that severely affects the tourism industry within the framework of an ongoing pandemic, which no one anticipated. There have been no studies focused on this area of activity and on the impact caused by a health crisis of this magnitude that until recently was completely unthinkable. Learning from the past is a way to respond immediately to the urgent need to re-evaluate the original strategy of the SABOREA consortium, delineated in a totally different conjuncture. In this paper, we analyse the path adopted by the organizers of the 5th Centenary of Madeira’s discovery at the end of WW1. Facing the cumulated impact of the conflict and the Spanish flu, they successfully rebranded Madeira, a strategy that continues to shape the perception of the destination by today’s visitors. This case study serves as a starting point for considering to what extent the SABOREA project still fits into the reality of the post-pandemic era.

Abstract:The Mediterranean Diet was one of the first food-related nominations on the international cultural heritage list. By introducing the concepts of “epistemic community” and “governmentality” to analyze this heritagization process, I will evaluate the participation and consent of “the Mediterranean people” and their belief in a common identity based in a holistic conception of this food tradition—the so-called diaita. My goal is to demonstrate that the inscription’s proposal was motivated first by a long-term strategy aimed at promoting an “umbrella brand” of agro-food products extended to the whole Mediterranean space. Then, I will emphasize the attempt to design a model of property rights protection that is adequate for this food label, which was later presented within the realm of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a measure for safeguarding the diaita as an item of intangible cultural heritage. Finally, I will argue that this claim totally omits the rights of the numerous expatriates living outside this region.

Este artigo trata das estratégias de aquisições imobiliárias desenvolvidas por John Blandy, um cidadão britânico que singrou como exportador de vinho e mercador na primeira metade do século 19. A análise de diferentes tipos de fontes dos arquivos portugueses permitiu compreender como este homem de negócios aproveitou as oportunidades de compra de prédios urbanos no Funchal (ilha da Madeira) ao longo da sua vida. O seu legado foi crucial para garantir a continuidade da empresa que perpetua o seu nome até hoje e que lhe deve a sua sede histórica na Rua de São Francisco, hoje conhecida como Old Blandy’s Wine Lodge.

Tourism and Gastronomy (T&G) was published in 2002. Even today, this book is an indispensable reference for researchers from different disciplinary perspectives who study how food and beverage are linked to leisure mobility. At that time, the contributors witnessed a major shift in consumer behaviour, which would soon turn the act of eating and drinking into a first-order driver of this sector of activity. The objective of the editors was to map the evolution of this new trend and predict the future of gastronomy and culinary heritage in tourism. This paper will revisit T&G to fully understand how, in only twenty years, what was before just a ‘non-optional’ part of the package became a prosperous niche, and later a primary component of recreational travels. The ‘throw-back’ approach adopted here will enable us to reflect on how the COVID-19 crisis impacts holidaymakers’ choices, which could help in the design of more efficient recovery plans.