On 26 September, the launch ceremony of the China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Festival, with the theme of “Meet Ningxia Chuan – Taste Helan Mountain”, was held in He Dong Wine Town, Shizuishan City, Ningxia. The conference aims to provide the biggest stage, the best booth and the best platform for the exchange and cooperation of the wine culture and tourism sector at home and abroad.
Representatives of the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) in China, relevant ministries and commissions, provincial and regional cultural and tourism departments, experts from the wine, culture and tourism industries at home and abroad, and representatives of private companies witnessed the awards ceremony of Ningxia as a “global wine tourism destination”.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his visit to Ningxia that the Ningxia wine industry is a microcosm of the development of China’s wine industry and it will be a world beater. Ningxia has a long history of grape growing and is renowned for its wine. The eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains are recognised as a prime wine grape production zone, with sufficient light, little precipitation, large temperature differences and low humidity, and the excellent terroir and climate have created the unique qualities of Ningxia wine, including sweetness and balance, rich aroma and a long aftertaste.
In his speech, Lai Jiao said that the Party Committee and the government of the autonomous region have implemented the new development concept and included both wine and cultural tourism in the nine key industries of the autonomous region, as an important grasp of the initiative to integrate into the new development pattern, focusing on promoting the integrated high-quality development of wine and cultural tourism and accelerating the construction of wine tourism destinations. Relying on cultural and tourism resources, we will cultivate a new connotation of wine culture, tell the story of wine, disseminate the terroir culture of the region, “shape” and “give soul” to wine, so that wine will not only have a single look but many aspects that go beyond the wine.
GWTO Founder President and CEO, José Antonio Vidal stated, “Innovation is the bridge to the future of Wine Tourism and the challenge is to achieve joint action from all the wine tourism stakeholders who share the goal of world leadership in this important sector as wine tourism is. For the Province of Ningxia, the objective should be promoting the international recognition of Ningxia Brand as a world-class wine tourism destination, by positioning Ningxia wine-agri-tourism destinations in global markets, through their presence in all the events (domestic and international) organized by GWTO or in which GWTO participates. In this sense I extend a formal invitation to Ningxia to participate in the GWTOtalks to discuss “hot topics” on wine tourism, matching governments and private sector. Recently, the Minister of Tourism and Sports of Argentina, the Director General of Tourism Policy of Greece, the President of Tourism of Portugal and the Vice-minister of Tourism of Uruguay participated in different sessions and we had great outcomes”.
GWTO Senior Advisor Carlos Vogeler said in his online speech that the Global Wine Tourism Organization highly recommended Ningxia as a quality wine tourism destination and that Ningxia’s initiatives to promote the integration of the cultural and tourism industries have contributed to the wine industry becoming an important pillar in attracting tourists, contributing to the development of wine tourism and making China one of the most attractive upcoming destinations for wine travel experiences in the international market.
During the China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Festival, a series of cultural and tourism events were held, including the Wine Tourism Destination Industry Integration Development Forum, the Winery Leisure Tourism Promotion Conference, the promotion of wine culture and tourism resources in the eastern Helan Mountains.
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