Italy, Wine Tourism “Capital”: in 2021 Italy will host the “Global Conference on Wine Tourism”

“Italy has been chosen to host the Global Conference on Wine Tourism in 2021”. The announcement was made via twitter by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the UN agency that manages the promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism (which will be in Italy also in 2020 for the autumn session of the Executive Council, ed.).
This decision “confirms that Italy’s tourism-wine&food combo is an international excellence. It will be an opportunity to teach tourists to eat and drink Italian”, commented the Minister of Agriculture and Tourism, Gian Marco Centinaio, who just recently at the Anteprima Amarone in Verona, had anticipated the news now officially confirmed. Moreover, the combination wine&food - tourism is one of the pillars of Centinaio's mandate, with which “to create a new idea of the tourism product; that is, the tourist must want to make his dream come true, but realize as well that it is an opportunity to enjoy new experiences”.
The UNWTO choice was announced at ITB, the International Tourism Fair in Berlin, one of the most important ones at the international level, which will be taking place until March 10th. The choice confirms that Italy is one of the leading countries in the world, in wine production, not only because of its widespread diversity in every single part of the country, but also because of its ability to link its excellent food and wine products to its immense wealth of culture and history, and to the beauty of its landscapes that winemaking itself contributes significantly to maintain. This leadership is, therefore, also translated into numbers, and according to the Italian Wine Tourism Report number 15, compiled by the University of Salerno and the Cities of Wine, they are: 14 million tourists annually, linked strictly to wine tourism, 2.5 billion euros turnover for the entire industry, 85 euros average spent each day, increasing to 160 euros for an overnight stay.