Wine tourism, a B2B fair makes its debut: how investments are changing the sector

The growth of wine tourism pushes wineries to invest, dedicating more and more human resources, adequately trained, to meet the needs of wine lovers who today have a decisive impact - between direct sales, purchase of experiences and post-visit loyalty - on company revenues. In 18% of cases, this business accounts for 60% of the total. Wine tourism is a booming phenomenon, and today 28 October sees the debut of a B2B event dedicated exclusively to operators, to the meeting between the offers of wineries and the demand of tour operators.

In fact, the Fine #WineTourism Marketplace Italy, the first edition of the Italian exhibition entirely dedicated to wine tourism, organised by Riva del Garda Fierecongressi in collaboration with Feria del Valladolid, with the participation of over 70 wineries and destinations from Italy and Spain, and sponsored by Enit - the National Tourism Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy and the Ministry of Tourism, has begun

Nell’occasione è stato presentato un Rapporto dedicato ai modelli di gestione, alle scelte di investimento e alla governance italiana del turismo del vino: curato da Roberta Garibaldi (docente all’Università di Bergamo e presidente dell’Associazione Italiana Turismo Enogastronomico) e da Srm Centro Studi collegato al Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo è frutto del coinvolgimento di un campione - costituito per rappresentare le realtà più attive in ambito enoturistico - formato da 200 imprese (mix di player più grandi micro-imprese).
«Proprio la differenziazione dimensionale, insieme a quella territoriale, rappresenta una sfida cruciale per la coesione e la competitività di un comparto che, nell’enoturismo, vede un settore maturo, ma al tempo stesso in evoluzione», hanno commentato gli autori dello studio.

Although still managed directly in 63% of the cases (only 12% have created a dedicated and unbundled business unit), half of the wineries surveyed dedicated between five and nine employees to hospitality and, in 17% of the cases, well over ten employees. Dedicated not only to tastings, but also to catering and accommodation - offered by 36% and 30% of the companies respectively.

The impact is important in economic terms: 49% of those surveyed stated that wine tourism accounted for up to 30% of their company's profits, 33% between 31% and 60%, and 18% over 60%.68% of companies welcomed between 100 and 2,000 visitors per year, while only a small part (5%) exceeded 5,000. Foreign tourists accounted for just over 30%, while if we analyse average European figures, international visitors accounted for 43% of wineries, a net difference of 12 percentage points.