Wine tourism

Global Wine Tourism Organization invited to the International Wine Culture and Tourism Festival in China

GWTO invited to the International Wine Culture and Tourism Festival in China

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.

ABOUT GWTO

Global network of entrepreneurship and knowledge, made up of entities from the entire agritourism value chain (public, private located in wine destinations and academic sectors), understanding the term ‘wine’ in its broadest sense, with the aim of contributing to social development -economic of the destinations and their residents, in accordance with value proposals demanded by their associates and aligned with the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, both from the United Nations.

More information: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @gwto_omet  @gwto_academy

GWTO invited by Russian authorities

The president CEO of the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) José Antonio Vidal, got Russia despite all the difficulties of traveling during the pandemic. The main purpose of his visit was to hold meetings with representatives of the russian public, private and academic sectors.

Mr. Vidal’s trip started in the city of Perm (Ural region), where he participated in the Russian Culinary and Services Olympiad «Legend». Chefs from all over Russia, including regions with great potential for the development of wine tourism, took part in the Culinary Olympiad.

The opening ceremony was attended by Governor of Perm Krai,Dmitry Makhonin, the president of the National Culinary Association of Russia, Victor Belyaev, and Leonid Gelibterman, GWTO Director for Central EurAsia region and president of the russian International Center of Wine and Gastronomy. In the opening ceremony, José Antonio Vidal said: “On behalf of the GWTO I congratulate all participants and organizers of the Olympiad and wish success to the National Culinary Association of Russia. I bring you also greetings and best wishes from Rafael Ansón, Honorary President of the GWTO and President of Honor of the International Academy of Gastronomy”.

Together with Yulia Vetoshkina, Minister of Tourism and Youth Policy of the Perm Krai, and Yulia Rybakova, Adviser to the Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), José Antonio Vidal took part in the panel discussion ‘Development of gastronomic tourism in Russia’, moderated by Leonid Gelibterman, in which Mr. Vidal stressed that “wine tourism -matching with gastronomy proposals- is the real motor for agritourism destinations”, offering GWTO support for its socio-economic development.

José Antonio Vidal gave as well a master class about wine tourism for professors and students of the Higher School of Economics, one of the leading universities in Russia with campus in Perm, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

GWTO president had a useful and important meeting with the Minister of Tourism and Youth Policy of the Perm Krai, Yulia Vetoshkina, who appreciated the potential of cooperation with the GWTO for the development of agritourism in the Perm Region, planning to include in the next meeting the Ministers of Culture and Agriculture, as well as the academic sector of Perm. As a joke -but, as we know, every joke has its share of truth-, Ms. Vetoshkina suggested opening a GWTO office in Perm.

In Moscow, José Antonio Vidal held four important negotiations with the main national stakeholders.

The president of the Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia,Leonid Popovich, who said: “We discussed the benefits of GWTO membership for producers who are members of the Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia”. Mr. Popovich described the possibilities of cooperation as fantastic: “We also discussed the prospects of cooperation between the GWTO Academy and Russian universities because the Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers is interested in increasing the professional level of the industry participants”. 

From the Government of the Russian Federation, the Adviser to the Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), Yulia Rybakova, will organize meetings among GWTO with the Ministers of Tourism of the Russian wine regions.

From the academic side, the Rector of the Moscow State University of Tourism and Sports, Masyagina Natalia Vasilievna, has also shown her interest in the educational field of the GWTO Academy.

Finally, José Antonio Vidal held a meeting with the Director of Simple Wine Travel Agency, Natalia Zhestkova, the main outcoming wine tourism touroperator in Russia.

About GWTO

A Global wine, agri and gastro Tourism Business and Knowledge Network, comprising the whole agritourism value chain located in wine destinations -related to ‘wine’ in its broader sense-, the public sector and the academic by GWTO Academy. GWTO has been created to enhance the social-economic development of wine tourism destinations and its residents through strategic value propositions, as part of an inclusive and supportive governance framework, based on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

More info: Julia Smirnova
[email protected]

The Georgian EnoTourism Association (GETA) and Caucasus Int’l University join GWTO

With many centuries of experience in the field of winemaking, Georgia considers wine tourism as a source of revitalization.

To advance and move forward into a management and development stage, the Georgian EnoTourism Association (Geta) and its associate, the Caucasus International University (CIU), have formalized their membership to the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO).

“Working together with GWTO is a great opportunity to promote the development of wine tourism in Georgia, actively contribute to the success of family wineries and their products, increase educational activities and, most importantly, to carry Georgia’s name as one of the best destinations for wine tourism in the international arena”, says the founder and member of the Geta Board of Directors, Kety Gorgiladze.

On August 5, the Rector of CIU, Kakhaber Kordzaia, and the founder of Geta, Keti Gorgiladze, held a meeting with the President of GWTO José Antonio Vidal, and the Senior Advisor, Carlos Vogeler, during which various areas of cooperation with GWTO and with the GWTO Academy were discussed.

Geta and GWTO thank the Ambassador of Georgia in Spain, H.E. Mr. Ilia Giorgadze for his collaboration, as well as the gastronomic writer and editor Federico Oldenburg, for his mediation.

The Global Wine Tourism Organization is presented in Puglia (Italy)

The first experience in Puglia for José Antonio Vidal (OMET President), where he had the opportunity to participate in a journey along almost the entire region to discover some excellent food and wine experiences having the opportunity to know its history, culture, tradition and simplicity of the genuine products of this land of the sun, taking an active part in all activities: picked tomatoes, strawberries and zucchini in a farm in Manduria run by a typical apulian family; visited the olive oil mills (frontoi) typical of Gallipoli area; has tasted the wines of the best wineries that produce Primitivo and Negramaro inside some exclusive Masserie, only to name a few. And to get even more into connection with the locals, José Antonio participated in a lab-cooking class to create the famous orecchiette, one of the symbolic products of the region.

During the live event at Oasi Quattro Colonne (Santa Maria al Bagno, Lecce) -the first in attendance after almost two years!-,  José Antonio presented GWTO to Puglia, the Global Wine Tourism Organization, in order to give its support to all companies and local actors who want to enter into a new vision of Wine Tourism: “Smart tourist destinations cannot exist without taking account of the sustainability and inclusiveness, not only as distinctive factors, but also as fundamental principles of the company’s philosophy and daily practice.  Now the capital relational takes on value over any other capital, ways of relating and uniting to be successful:  working together within the industry to strengthen quality and support the sale of local and fresh products and season to reactivate consumption and economy, supporting the entrepreneurial fabric “closer”, said the GWTO president.

In addition to interactive workshops and show cookings that have delighted all guests, high-level speakers have followed each other in the thematic panels.

About GWTO

A Global Wine Tourist Business and Knowledge Network -related to wine in its broader sense-, comprising the whole agritourist value chain (from public, private resources located in wine destinations, and academic sectors),  to contribute to the social-economic development of wine tourism destinations, as part of an inclusive and supportive governance framework based on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

More information: [email protected]

Global Wine Tourism Organization: Logo
Privacy summary

This website uses cookies so that we can offer you the best possible user experience. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website or helping our team understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

You have all the information about privacy and cookies on our privacy policy and cookies policy page.