PROMOTING ITALIAN WINE &FOOD AND TERRITORIES FOR CHINESE AND AMERICAN WINE LOVERS AND BUSINESSMEN IN ITALY FOR EXPO2015 IS THE ENOTOURISM PROJECT BY VINCENZO RUSSO OF IULM UNIVERSITY IN MILAN AND MASSIMO GIANOLLI

Expo2015 is close at hand and there are still very few wine tourism initiatives linked to the Milan event, though the theme of the big event is "Feeding the Planet - Energy for Life". There are some projects on the board linking Expo and the after-event to Made in Italy wine & food, and one of these is by Massimo Gianolli, president of La Collina dei Ciliegi, together with Professor Vincenzo Russo of IULM University in Milan, member of the Scientific Committee of Universities for Expo 2015 and Director of the Master in Food & Wine Communication. They presented "EXPleasure", an initiative to promote wine & food tourism for visitors expected to arrive in Italy.

The project, designed primarily for wine lovers and businessman from the markets of China (1.5 million people expected to attend Expo) and the US, is a network of Italian firms to ensure the unique characteristics of the selected proposals, very high quality and constant attention to the traveler in search of hidden trails. The structures are strictly Welcome Chinese certified, the official quality certification released today to 250 Italian companies by the China Tourism Academy, of the Ministry of Tourism of China, and the US tour operator Select Holding, which in 2015 is expected to reach 1.000 structures.

"The project was created to support spreading Made in Italy products in China and the US”, said its creators, “it is necessary to fully exploit the potential that Expo offers for 6 months and, above all, to put in place a strategy of penetration and contact with over 2 billion potential customers who have more and more access to tools and resources for appreciating Italian products”.
"EXPleasure" will enhance and promote selected Italian companies that represent the excellence of Made in Italy through the creation of a network of partners, an exclusive "club" to offer visitors interesting and off the beaten track travel experiences . Several different routes have already been selected (in view of Expo) to offer unusual alternatives for relaxation, entertainment and business.

“We have to get together to create a system. Only then can we enhance the quality and tradition of Made in Italy products,” said Lamberto Vallarino Gancia, Commissioner General of the Italian Pavilion Expo Milano 2015.
“In the wine sector, we must enhance the many brands that distinguish our products, traditions and uniqueness of territories, the vines that characterize Italian production, the uniqueness of many productive years and the quality/price ratio that is often not yet fully understood. Playing with these elements alone, we can transform the enormous potential that we possess in a flywheel promotion of our country, and also encourage recovering jobs as well as create value”.