La Rioja will host the 7th UNWTO World Conference on Wine Tourism in 2023

Spain will be the organizing country of the seventh World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Conference on Wine Tourism in 2023. This was announced by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili; and the Minister of Autonomous Development of La Rioja, Jose Angel Lacalzada, during the presentation of the book 'Thewineroutes of theworld'. La Rioja is the venue chosen to hold this event, which brings together experts from all over the world related to wine tourism, from wine producers and distributors, to tour operators.

 

 

For the minister, “the celebration of this international event in La Rioja represents great recognition for a region that has placed wine at the center of its tourism model. In La Rioja, wine is a culture, a way of life that tourists can experience during their visit,” she noted.

 

According to the person responsible for Tourism, this recognition is also present in the book “Thewineroutes of theworld” where La Rioja Alavesa and La Rioja Alta are included among the seven chosen routes in Spain. “The towns of La Rioja keep their traditions alive through their popular festivals such as the wine battle in Haro or the harvest festival in Logroño. Wine tourism is consolidated in La Rioja and in Spain as a high-quality tourism product that attracts an increasing number of tourists and has the decisive support of the Secretary of State for Tourism and TURESPAÑA through the Spanish wine routes product club”, he highlighted.

 

Wine tourism in Spain

 

Wine tourism, also called wine tourism, is the tourist proposal in which this product is an essential part. The sum of culture, architecture and wine landscape come together with the wine itself in a proposal that seeks to transmit the essence of a region through its link to the wine product. There is also talk of gastronomic tourism, which in a broader sense encompasses local gastronomy.

 

In 2019, almost three million people visited the wineries and museums of the Wine Routes of Spain with an expenditure close to 80 million euros.

 

Spanish wines are sold in 189 countries around the world. In 2019, Spain was the world's leading exporter in volume and the third largest exporter in the world in value, with nearly 2.700 billion euros exported.