promotion

gwto visits mexico

The Global Wine Tourism Organization visits México

Promoted by the National Association of Tour Operators of Mexico (ANTOMEX), the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) visited four wine tourism states, sponsorized by ANTOMEX and VinoFest Querétaro.

gwto visits mexico1

Accompanied by the president of ANTOMEX, Luis Gilberto González Arocha, the general coordinator Dora Luz Villarino, and by the directors of each of the states -Gilberto Gamiño, from Baja California; Eliud Vertti and Lorenia Martínez, from Cohauila; Mariana Álvarez with the support of Jorge Ferreira, from Querétaro; and Xavi Armas, Carla and Christian Rivera, from Aguascalientes-, the president of GWTO, José Antonio Vidal, held working meetings with authorities from the public sector (Secretaries of Tourism and Directors of OCVs), private sector (winery associations) and academia.

In Valle de Guadalupe (Ensenada, Baja Ca.) wines are mostly made in small boutique wineries and do not import grapes from elsewhere. This makes it difficult to find a bottle of wine from this region outside the country and has resulted in so many wine lovers travelling to the Valley to taste them at their source and get to know the destination.

gwto visits mexico2

Excellent conception in Coahuila, Querétaro and Aguascalientes of what a brand-destination should be as a tourist attraction in a wine destination: Ruta de Vinos & Dinos, Ruta de Arte, Queso y Vino, and Sangre y Toro, respectively. Cultural and nature heritage.

Invited to the 1st edition of the VinoFest in Querétaro, the president of GWTO signed with its organizers, Elia Navarro and Pedro Gárfias, an agreement for the presentation of international proposals in future editions.

gwto visits mexico3

In each of the meetings, the willingness to collaborate in the design of strategic plans, in promotion through the organization of events, in communication, in the marketing of activities through the EnWineClub.com booking platform, in quality and sustainability tourism certifications, in training, and in advice on the creation of wine tourism associations has been made clear.

All of this with the aim of positioning México on the world wine tourism map.

official visit gwto georgia 1

Official visit of the Global Wine Tourism Organization to Georgia

GWTO President José Antonio Vidal met with Kakha Kakabadze, Vice Minister of Environment and Agriculture, with David Songulashvili, Chair of the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee at Parliament of Georgia, with Levan Andriashvili, Mayor of Telavi (Kakheti), with Levan Mekhuzla and Zurab Vacharadze, President and Vice-President of the National Wine Agency, with Kakha and Vakhtang Tsivtsicpvdze, President and Director of the Caucasus International University, and with Kety Gorgiladze, co-founder of the Georgian EnoTourism Association (GETA).

official visit gwto georgia 2

During the meetings, the importance of the development of enotourism in Georgia and the quality of wine was emphasised.

“Georgia is a country with an 8000 year old wine tradition. We attach special importance to this rich history, working to improve the quality of wine and increase its export. It is also relevant to note that tourism is experiencing rapid growth in the country; both tourism and the thriving wine industry drive our economy. Sharing best practices in any field, including enotourism, is a necessary and important condition for development,” Kakha Kakabadze stressed.

“Enotourism is gaining popularity globally, and this goes beyond wine tasting. Tourists also enjoy exploring vineyards, and Kakheti is the ideal place to boost this facet of tourism. With Mr Vidal, we discussed prospects for future collaboration. For us, it is crucial to share and benefit from his wisdom and experience. Mutual cooperation promotes positioning Georgia as one of the world’s leading enotourism destinations,” said Levan Andriashvili, Mayor of Telavi.

official visit gwto georgia 3

The President of GWTOn visited the Caucasus International University. José Antonio Vidal met with CIU leaders and discussed with them the main aspects of future cooperation focused on the implementation of joint academic and educational projects in enotourism management.

During his visit to CIU, the president of GWTO visited the library, the multimedia centre, the material and technical base of the faculty of business and viticulture and oenology, the laboratories and the “Kolkhi” winery where guests learned about the production process of the university company “Ethno-Okami”, the potential of converting the existing spaces into a tourist area and the traditions of Georgian winemaking.

official visit gwto georgia 4

“GWTO’s main objective is the socio-economic development of wine regions. To this end, we promote enotourism destinations in order to position them in global markets. The awareness and participation of all chain actors is fundamental in this process. We offer support to both the public and private sectors, as well as to the academic sphere: Strategic Plans, brand creation, MICE organization, booking platform, quality certification and professional training,” said José Antonio Vidal.

1st wine tourism forum in abrau durso

1st EnoTourism Forum in Abrau-Durso (Krasnodar, Russia)

The 1st EnoTourism Forum, the largest wine tourism industry event in Russia, took place in Abrau-Durso on May 12 and 13. It was promoted and organized by the Abrau-Durso Tourism Centre with the support of the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) and the International Center for Wine and Gastronomy (ICWAG), bringing together more than 400 professionals from 11 countries.

Abrau-Durso owner and Forum promoter Boris Titov commented on his company’s position as the largest enotourism centre, “Abrau is a notable player in this segment in Russia and even in the world. But we will also stop developing if there are not many small and medium sized signature, boutique designed wineries. Enotourists don’t go to a wine region to visit one winery, they are interested in exploring the whole wine province”.

GWTO President José Antonio Vidal gave an overview of current trends enotourism at a new level, praised “the potential of enotourism both in the world and in Russia”, and called it the “industry of happiness: tourism, gastronomy, culture and leisure. GWTO welcomes all stakeholders in the development of enotourism: governmental and public bodies, wine producers, tourism companies, industry associations and academia”.

Leonid Gelibterman, GWTO Vice President for Eurasia: “Based on its own history and following the trends of the modern world, Russian enotourism can successfully compete on the international market and develop an (eno)gastronomic culture in Russian society.

The participants of the Forum discussed the development of enotourism in the Russian wine regions, described the main problems and possible solutions. It was, in particular, promotion and commercialization (through GWTO MICE events and EnoWineClub reservations platform), International Quality Certificate on customer experience (by GWTO Q seal), training of qualified personnel and wine tourism guides (GWTO Academy), creation of a unified map of wine routes (GWTO Advisors), improvement of legislation, economic efficiency and accessibility of transport.

Leonid Popovich, GWTO Director for Russia, stressed the particular importance of the cooperation of market players: only together will it be possible to achieve positive changes.

Within the framework of the Forum, an important event for national enotourism took place: the first three Russian wineries were awarded certificates of membership in the Global Wine Tourism Organization: Abrau-Durso, Château de Talu and WinePark received their certificates.

wine tourism forum abrau durso

Joining the international organization will provide opportunities for exchange of experiences, training with GWTO Academy, hosting events, international wine tourism quality certification, participating in the global wine tourism booking platform and advice on creating national and regional enotourism associations.

GWTO Vice President for Latin America, Pablo Singerman, gave an overview of the state of enotourism in different countries of the region. He drew attention to an important point: an “oenological” tourist spends on average 56% more than a regular tourist.

Sergei Danilov, Director of GWTO in Uzbekistan, spoke about the connection of enotourism with gastronomy, as well as with the history and culture of individual countries and regions.

A real eye-opener for many forum participants was the speech by GWTO China Director Jiawei Jiang on the impressive pace of development of oenology and enotourism in China where GWTO President will participate in the Yantai International Expo on June 16 and 17.

Ceylan Sensoy, Marketing Director of the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, spoke about her country’s emerging enotourism regions.

I GWTO Global Summit to be held in Uruguay

Arnaldo Nardone, GWTO MICE Director, presented the 1st GWTO Global Summit on EnoTourism to be held in Spring 2024 in Punta del Este (Uruguay).

“Uruguay is honoured to host the first GWTO Global Summit next year. We are very grateful that our country has been chosen to host it -said Daniel Rubén Castillos, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay to the Russian Federation.

Personnel make the difference

A panel was dedicated to the topic of Training and Talent in the field of enotourism. Moderated by Elena Didenko, director of the GWTO Academy in Russia, Russian experts together with the directors of the GWTO Academy in Portugal and Chile, Bebiana Monteiro and Jorge Espinosa, respectively, addressed the lack of qualified personnel.

“Every employee who meets a tourist must be highly professional. In entourism specially, a guide must not only be an excellent communicator, but also capable of transmitting emotions,” José Antonio Vidal stressed.

It is envisaged that the EnoTourism Forum will become an annual meeting place for wine tourism industry professionals in Russia and other countries.

error: Content is protected !!