Innovation and Sustainability at UNWTO Global Wine Tourism Conference

Alba, Italy, September 15, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / UNWTO and the Government of Italy will celebrate the 6th Global Conference on Wine Tourism. Under the theme ‘What’s next? Wine tourism pairs with Innovation…’ and building up on the success of the past five editions, this 6th edition will take place on 19-21 September 2022, in Alba in the Piemonte region, at the heart of the ‘Vineyard Landscape of Piemonte: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato’, a UNESCO recognized Heritage Site.

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Featuring over 30 international speakers, the Conference will focus on the role of innovation in the future of wine tourism, how can wine tourism be more sustainable and what are the opportunities of digital and social to enhance the wine tourism value chain and create local benefits.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili says: “As the sector’s recovery get underway, I am confident that the conference will represent a unique opportunity to learn from experiences that face up these challenging times to ensure a successful and resilient wine tourism sector in the future”.

Massimo Garavaglia Italian Minister of Tourism: “Wine tourism is much more than just selling wine, which clearly is important.  When you sell a bottle of wine, you are selling the territory behind that bottle, the culture of that territory, the history of the men who designed these landscapes with the rows of vines.”

As the sector’s recovery get underway, I am confident that the conference will represent a unique opportunity to learn from experiences that face up these challenging times to ensure a successful and resilient wine tourism sector in the future

“Wine-related tourism has a component in environmental sustainability. It is a component of slow tourism, partly different from traditional tourism. And it is no coincidence that 90 percent of tourists have a food and wine experience during their visit.”

“For these reasons, the UNWTO Alba Conference is certainly a great event for the Piemonte Region. But it is also for all Italian regions, because it provides an international showcase for the entire Italian territory”.

“Wine is a driver of Italy’s image worldwide, and an increasingly popular tourist attraction for visitors, thanks to how it blends with our country’s characteristic culture, art and history. In today’s uncertain circumstances, it is of central importance to strengthen the sector’s ability to remain competitive, so the Alba event will offer a key opportunity for the world of wine to reflect on the prospects and challenges wine tourism is set to face”, said ENIT CEO Roberta Garibaldi.

Piemonte Region, Councillor for Tourism, Vittoria Poggio says: “We are honored to welcome this important event, whose work will be preceded and accompanied by a rich program of events related to wine on the entire Piedmont. It will be a prestigious moment to introduce the world to the excellence of wine and tourism of our region, to discuss new issues and opportunities for the sector”.

Mariano Rabino, President of Ente Turismo Langhe Monferrato Roero, says: «We are proud that Langhe Monferrato Roero region has been chosen to welcome the 6th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism. For the first time, this Conference will be hosted in Italy and hundreds of delegates and institutional representatives will reach our region to attend the event. They will not only have the opportunity to discuss the main themes of wine tourism, but they will also have the chance to discover the beauties and the uniqueness of our hills. Our region is a pioneer in the world of wine tourism and among the first in Italy and in the world to interpret the demands of a constantly growing tourism market. The challenge today is to continue on this path, keeping the compass oriented towards a development looking to innovation, diversification and environmental, economic and social sustainability».

Over the two days of this edition, 300 professionals from the sector, leading experts and institutional representatives will benefit from the live debates, keynote speeches and workshops that experienced speakers will bring to Alba.

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Among these, David Furer, Wine Business Communications and harpers, Writer; Wine Future and Green Wine Future, Program Director; Carlo Petrini, Founder of Slow Food; Tanisha Townsend, Chief Wine Officer, Girl Meets Glass; Chef Pilar Rodriguez from Food & Wine Studio and UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Ambassador, Mauro Agnoletti, UNESCO Chair, Agricultural Heritage Landscapes Institute of Higher Education University of Florence, Marta Domènech Tomas, General Director of Tourism of Catalunya, Spain, Martin Hawke, Head of Global Product of WINERIST, Pamela Lanier, Founder of the Sonoma Sustainable Tourism Observatory, Roberta Garibaldi, CEO of Italy’s National Tourism Board (ENIT), Niklas Ridoff, CEO of WineTourism.com, David Mora, Founder of Wine Tourism School, Filippo Polidori, Food GURU and CEO of Polidori and Partners, Jana Kreilein, Founder of the.wine.girl, Julia Zuccardi from Bodegas Zuccardi, Sofía Ruiz Cavanagh, CEO of Wineobs, Martin Lhuillier, Head of Wine Tourism in Atout France, the French National Tourism Board, Luca Balbiano, President of the Urban Vineyard Association in Italy, António Pé-Curto, CEO & Founder of Alle Wine and Santiago Vivanco, Vice President and Director General of Fundación Vivanco.

The Conference also includes a High Level Panel on The Future of Wine Tourism, where the necessary policies to advance wine tourism will be discussed by the Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, the Deputy Minister of Tourism of Greece, the Minister of Tourism of Italy, the Minister of Culture of Moldova, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services of Portugal, the Minister of Tourism, Posts, Cooperation and Expo of San Marino and the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia.

Since 2016, the Conference has highlighted the importance of wine tourism to the socio-economic development of destinations and has served as a platform to exchange experiences, identify good practices and promote wine tourism as a tool for sustainable development.