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Great news for Rioja companies linked to tourism in general and wine tourism in particular. La Rioja has been chosen to host the 7th World Conference of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Wine Tourism. This event, which will take place in 2023, will bring together hundreds of professionals related to wine tourism in La Rioja: from wine producers and distributors to tour operators.
The news was announced by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Secretary-General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, during the presentation of the book The wine routes of the world. This publication features the most important wine routes in ten countries, including the Rioja Alta Wine Route.
For our region and for the members of the Rioja Alta Wine Route, holding an event of this magnitude will place La Rioja as a benchmark in wine tourism. An unparalleled opportunity for all the companies that form part of the Rioja Alta Wine Route to place ourselves in the international spotlight.
In the words of Minister Maroto, the designation of La Rioja as the venue for the conference is: “A recognition for a land that has made wine the centre of its tourism model. For the minister, wine tourism is consolidating in La Rioja and in Spain as a high-quality tourism product that attracts an increasing number of tourists. “In La Rioja, wine is a culture, a way of life that tourists can experience during their visit,” she said.
The Conference is organised by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the United Nations’ specialised tourism organisation, made up of a total of 159 countries. The UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and provides leadership and support to the sector to expand knowledge and drive tourism policies worldwide.
This event mobilises experts from more than 50 countries and could generate a direct impact of approximately 1 million euros in La Rioja. In addition to this, there is an even greater indirect impact, as more than 500 wine tourism professionals are expected to attend, who will become prescribers of La Rioja as a tourist destination around the world.
The first edition of this conference took place in 2016 in Georgia. Subsequently, it has been held in the main wine regions of the world: Mendoza (Argentina, 2017), Colchagua Valley (Chile, 2019) and Alentejo (Portugal, 2021). In 2022 it will be held in the Piedmont region (Italy).
