Wine tourism, the state of play
[vc_row full_screen_section_height=”no”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Wine tourism, a central resource for the Italian economy, which generates a turnover of 2,5 billion euros every year and involves 13 million tourists, according to data from the XII Report on Wine Tourism in Italy prepared by Città del Vino and the University of Salerno.
The senator also underlines the importance of the phenomenon Dario of Stefano which last May 29th presented the legislative reform on the matter.
Pietrasanta: Wine tourism grows but remains alone.
A long-awaited law, after the many declarations made during Expo 2015 which, however, have led to very little to date, as also underlined Charles John Pietrasanta, president of the Wine Tourism Movement which brings together 900 wineries throughout the country.
Pietrasanta reiterates the solitude of the movement, the need for a single text and real interest on the part of the institutions. "For develop the potential of our territories – declares Pietrasanta – now it is more urgent than ever to work on a 'Consolidated Text of Wine Tourism' and on the training of companies in hospitality".
The Puglia case.
Always the senator of Stefano insisted on the importance of this phenomenon during the meeting at Vinibus Terrae in Brindisi on June 3, where Puglia and hospitality were discussed, that is, the tourist relaunch of areas usually excluded from the major tourist flows, thanks to the strong food and wine attraction.
Puglia is no coincidence, as in 2013 it was included among the Top 10 wine destinations Wine Enthusiast and in 2016 it was decreed by National Geographic the most beautiful region in the world.
The region was also among those that recorded the greatest influx during the latest edition of Cantine Aperte, held on 27 and 28 May, which witnessed the arrival in the cellars of approximately 1,1 million wine tourists across the country – 10% more than in 2016.
The boom was also recorded in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Lombardy.
Open Cellars.
“Cantine Aperte plays a fundamental role for me” explains Luke Faithful,
winemaker in Friuli, in Corno di Rosazzo (UD).
“In 3 years I have been able to see how, especially for small producers with a significant rate of sales to private individuals, wine tourism allows for the establishment of a relationship with the consumer that then consolidates over time. We receive 5 thousand visitors to the winery every year – explains Serena Corso of the Bortolomiol Company in Valdobbiadene (TV) – Of these, 300 visited us on the occasion of Cantine Aperte.
And if during the event the average number of bottles sold is limited to 1-2 per person, for logistical reasons – the car is parked far away or perhaps tourists include the visit to the cellar during a walk – we have found that those same people then come back to pick up the product”.
The Bordeaux case.
To understand the potential value of wine tourism, you only need to look beyond the Alps where our French cousins launched the French wine tourism portal in February 2016 – attended by the French Foreign Minister. Laurent Fabius, the stakes are so high.
In the Bordeaux region, just to mention the French wine emblem, in fact, 4 billion in turnover comes from tourism every year.
Today, attendance is close to 6 million – increased with the opening of the Cité du Vin and with a growth rate that has tripled in the last 15 years, probably also in the wake of the region's recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 – and here our thoughts fly to those Italian regions that have wisely invested and are investing in this direction, from the Langhe and Roero to Conegliano Valdobbiadene.
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