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THE SWEETEST SOUVENIR
FROM SLOVENIA TO NEW ZEALAND, HONEY IS CREATING A BUZZ WORLDWIDE AS APITOURISM SOARS By Waheeda Harris
Prized for centuries as a natural sweetener, honey is not only one of the world’s oldest sweet treats, but has also been part of the natural medicine cabinet used by healers to treat cuts, burns, coughs, colds and indigestion. Today, honey, created by bees using local floral nectars, makes for the sweetest of souvenirs, giving a whole new meaning to the expression “a taste of place.” Encouraging honey devotees to explore destinations in pursuit of the natural elixir, apitourism is flourishing in Italy, Greece and Canada, welcoming tourists to tastings on farm tours and the fine art of beekeeping. With a lengthy history of beekeeping, Slovenia has been a strong proponent of apitourism and boasts the highest percentage of beekeepers per capita in the European Union. As the first country to proclaim May 20 as World Bee Day, it was honouring one of its own on his birthdate — Anton Janša, a noted 18th-century bee expert and beekeeping teacher for Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. Beyond Slovenia, many countries around the planet produce various types of honey, from kitchen staples to the rarest of elixirs.
A WIDE WORLD OF HONEY Alfalfa, clover and wildflower are some of the commonly seen types of honey on grocery shelves or at farm stands. Rare varieties include Tualang honey, produced by a giant honey bee using jungle flower nectar in the Malaysian rainforest; sidr honey, sourced from the sidr trees in the forests of eastern Yemen; and honey from Pitcairn Island, a tiny pollution-free South Pacific island with a population of 48. Turkish Peri Bali, often called elvish or fairy honey, is considered the world’s most expensive honey, recently priced at 5,000 euros per kilogram. Sourced from caves in the northeastern region of Turkey, the scant supply has made this specific honey a rare commodity. Turkey is the world’s second-largest producer of honey, while China takes the top spot with almost 500,000 metric tons per year. © CIRIL JAZBEC
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BEEKEEPING IS AN ART IN SLOVENIA
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A tasty way to experience the flowers of a destination’s landscape, honey makes for a great souvenir to take home or gift. And properly sealed and stored, it can last for several
