UNESCO declared Lucknow as the ‘Creative city of gastronomy’ during its 43rd session. The conference was organized in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Lucknow is only the second Indian city to win the tag, and among the 70 cities in the world who are currently recognized.
The honour is a cherry on the cake, as Lucknow is also celebrating its 250 years of being the capital of the Awadh region. UNESCO stated that to celebrate the World Cities Day 2025 it is including 58 cities to the list of creative cities Network. The total number of cities now account to 408 belonging to 100 different countries.
In the “city of gastronomy” category the cities included this year are Lucknow from India, Songkhla from Thailand, Zaragoza from Spain, San Javier de Loncomilla from Chile, Matosinhos, Portugal, Quanzhou from China, Kelowna from Canada, Cuenca from Ecuador, and Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah from Saudi Arabia.
The recognition was praised by the Tourism and culture minister Jaiveer Singh, who stated that the inclusion shows the growth of tourism and efforts of the Uttar Pradesh government. On his social media handle, he posted about the growth of Lucknow and UP as a source of pride for the nation. He also emphasized that cultural tourism has attracted visitors to the state and the tag will further help in boosting tourism in UP.
Amrit Abhijat, the principal secretary of Tourism stated that the title would further enhance Lucknow’s global appeal. He also highlighted that in 2024, 8.274 million tourists visited Lucknow, and in the first six months of 2025, this number was 7.02 million showing its increasing appeal among global communities.
Lucknow is known for its spicy biryanis, aromatic gravies, and galouti kebabs, tokri chaat, and poori-kachoris. It also has a unique place with desserts like Makhan Malai and Malai Gilori. The nomination process for the city was started by the Directorate of Tourism under former principal secretary of tourism Mukesh Meshram. It also involved submitting a dossier to the Central cultural ministry.
