UNWTO wine tourism conference to be...

The conference is key to the growth of non-seasonal tourism in rural areas

The seventh edition of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Conference on Wine Tourism will be held in La Rioja in 2023.

The announcement was made at the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture, with the participation of Concha Andreu, president of the government of La Rioja; Reyes Maroto, minister of industry, trade and tourism; and the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili.

The conference has become a leading international forum on trends, tools and opportunities to advance wine tourism. It provides an opportunity for experts and emerging destinations in this growing tourism segment to exchange knowledge, ideas and experiences.

Pololikashvili highlighted the potential of wine tourism as a driver of the growth of local economies and as an engine of social change, saying: “This is a sector that can lead a positive change, especially in many rural communities, creating jobs and opportunities in the most depopulated areas, boosting economic growth and preserving the natural and cultural environment.”

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Speaking about the effect of the conference on the tourist development of the region, Andreu said: “La Rioja possesses a unique and diverse heritage, both material and intangible, related to wine as food and as a product, and, in turn, that heritage constitutes a leading tourism offering that can and should be further enhanced.”

This year’s edition of the UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism will be held in Alba, Italy, from 19-21 September.

For more information, visit www.unwto.org