The Ministry of Economy and Innovation is initiating the development of a national gastronomic tourism strategy for the first time. It is planned to finalise the strategy by the end of this year in collaboration with the gastronomy community, the tourism sector and other partners. The aim of the strategy is to make gastronomy one of the most important high value-added sectors of Lithuanian tourism, to strengthen the country’s competitiveness and to increase its international visibility.
Edvinas Grikšas, Minister for the Economy and Innovation, announced this initiative during a press breakfast in Vilnius, where he met with representatives of the gastronomy community, ‘Bocuse d’Or Lietuva’, ‘Keliauk Lietuvoje’ and the media.
“Today, travellers are not just choosing a country – they are choosing experiences. Gastronomy is becoming one of the most important reasons for visiting, getting to know a place and staying there for longer. That is why, for the first time in Lithuania’s history, we are drawing up a national gastronomic tourism strategy. Our aim is for Lithuania to become one of the region’s leading gastronomic destinations, with tourism generating ever-greater added value for the country’s economy,” says Edvinas Grikšas, Minister for the Economy and Innovation.
According to the minister, gastronomic tourism is, for the first time, becoming a priority not only for tourism but also for economic policy. The strategy will set out measures to strengthen the international profile of Lithuanian gastronomy, promote the development of regional gastronomic routes, increase the visibility of high-quality restaurants and local produce, and establish a long-term partnership between the state and the gastronomic community.
“At Bocus d’Or, we are taking the lead to ensure that the ecosystem is actively involved in shaping the strategy. Our aim is for the most important and largest global events to take place in Lithuania, as the entire ecosystem follows in their wake. We envisage that the strategy will be developed for a decade, with a special focus on the Baltic Gastronomy Innovation Centre, where members of the ecosystem will contribute not only to the region’s development but also to the creation of new products. “Generally speaking, we all have very high ambitions – Lithuania must become a gastronomic mecca,” says Darius Katinas, President of “Bocuse d’Or Lithuania”.
In recent years, Lithuanian gastronomy has been rapidly strengthening its position on the international stage. Just a few years ago, Lithuania was rarely mentioned in the context of global gastronomy, but today the country is recognised by the world’s leading gastronomic guides – the MICHELIN Guide, Falstaff, Gault&Millau and Bocuse d’Or.
Lithuania has been taking part in the MICHELIN Guide selection process for the third year running. Whilst 34 restaurants were featured in the 2024 guide and 37 in 2025, this year there are already 44. Over the past two years, the number of restaurants included in the prestigious guide has risen by almost 30 per cent, and Lithuania now has five restaurants awarded MICHELIN stars.
From this year onwards, Lithuanian restaurants, cafés, street food outlets, hotels and other gastronomic establishments are being reviewed by Falstaff, one of Europe’s most influential gastronomy and travel publications, whilst the Gault&Millau guide is also set to launch in the Baltic states shortly, with its regional office based in Vilnius.
According to the minister, it is not only international assessments that are important, but also the fact that they should become part of a long-term system.
“International recognition is not a one-off project. We aim to create a system that would increase the global visibility of Lithuanian gastronomy year on year. The more internationally recognised gastronomic destinations we have, the more tourists will visit, the longer they will stay, the more they will spend in the regions, and the greater the economic benefit for the whole of Lithuania,” emphasises E. Grikšas.
The national tourism promotion agency ‘Keliauk Lietuvoje’ is also actively involved in this process. Working in collaboration with tourist information centres across Lithuania, it identifies the most promising restaurants and gastronomic venues and presents them to experts from international guidebooks. This enables not only the capital’s but also regional gastronomic venues to gain international recognition.
Today, restaurants that have gained international recognition can be found not only in Vilnius, but also in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Birštonas, Palanga and Radiškis in the Ukmergė district. According to the minister, this shows that gastronomy is becoming a major reason to travel throughout Lithuania and is boosting the regional economy.
The potential of gastronomic tourism is also confirmed by the latest research. A survey of foreign tourists conducted by ‘Keliauk Lietuvoje’ showed that 78 per cent of visitors cited the desire to sample Lithuanian dishes and drinks as one of their main reasons for choosing Lithuania. This is more than the desire to explore nature (74 per cent) or culture (72 per cent). Furthermore, 95 per cent of tourists rated their experience of traditional Lithuanian cuisine as good or very good, whilst 91 per cent gave a positive assessment of restaurants and cafés.
Overall tourism figures are also on the rise. In 2025, the number of foreign tourists in Lithuania increased by 11.8 per cent, whilst in the first quarter of 2026, Lithuanian accommodation establishments welcomed 935,000 guests – 19 per cent more than in the same period last year. The number of foreign tourists grew even more rapidly – by 23 per cent – reaching 258,000.
According to the minister, the most important objective today is not just to attract more tourists.
“We want people to spend more time in Lithuania, discover more of our regions and invest more in the local economy. Gastronomy can become one of the most powerful tools for achieving this goal. That is why we will be developing a national gastronomic tourism strategy in collaboration with the entire ecosystem – chefs, the restaurant community, local authorities, tourism organisations and the business sector. This will be a joint project between the state and the sector, helping Lithuania to establish itself on the global gastronomic map,” says E. Grikšas.
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