Wine tourism, in structured wineries +16.8% of visitors and +21.4% of direct sales per year

Wine tourism continues to prove itself as a driver of growth, both in terms of visitor flows and economic value: in 2025, the average value of a wine tourism booking reached 39.4 euros per adult, with a Cagr (compound annual growth rate, ed) of 11% over the past 4 years. Meanwhile, structured wineries recorded an average annual visitor growth rate of +16.8% and an increase in direct sales of +21.4%, a figure which exceeds the rise in visitor flows and indicates greater commercial conversion capacity and profitability. These insights come from the previews of the “Wine Suite Report” 2026, which will be presented in advance at Vinitaly Tourism 2026. After its debut in 2025, the wine tourism sector, no longer just an ancillary activity for Italian wineries but a true competitive asset guided by business-oriented planning - becomes a permanent part of Vinitaly, at the edition No. 58 held at Veronafiere in Verona (April 12th - 15th), where skills, visions, and concrete tools for an increasingly integrated Italian wine tourism offer in global tourism will be analyzed.
Vinitaly Tourism, explains Veronafiere - which carried out the study with Wine Tourism Hub and in collaboration with partners Wine Suite, Wine Meridian, and Winedering aims to establish itself as an operational infrastructure connecting wine tourism supply and demand. In this direction, the incoming plan for national and international tourism buyers from the United States, Brazil, Croatia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Thailand moves. Among the highly specialized profiles involved, there are tour operators, travel designers, and wine & food experience professionals in the outdoor and nature, cultural tourism, and luxury & experience travel segments.
Considering the program (in the gallery between pavilions 2 and 3), the schedule blends content and operational tools. It opens on Sunday, April 12th with the topic of administration and taxation in wine tourism, preceded by experiential tastings. On Monday, April 13th, after the official inauguration of Vinitaly Tourism, the program continues with “Celiachia ed enoturismo: numeri, trend, richieste e opportunità” - “Celiac disease and wine tourism: figures, trends, requests, and opportunities” and “Impatto dei wine club e del direct-to-client” - “Impact of wine clubs and direct-to-client”. Additionally, a masterclass curated by The Wine Net on the wine tourism offer of Italian cooperatives will be presented. On Tuesday, April 14th, an exclusive preview of the survey “Hospitality managers and tour operators” will illustrate perspectives from hospitality managers and tour operators on the needs, challenges, and opportunities for the development of Italian wine tourism. Following this, there are “Winebar: dalla mescita all’esperienza” - “Winebars: from pouring to experience” and “Risorse umane, Hr recruiting e opportunità di lavoro nel mondo dell’enoturismo” - “Human resources, Hr recruiting, and job opportunities in the world of wine tourism”. Finally, on April 15th, a seminar on digitization opportunities in wine tourism (shipping, guest management, software) will conclude the Vinitaly Tourism events.
There will also be a second thematic area dedicated to wine tourism (Palaexpo), hosting four sector-focused sessions. “Enoturismo in Italia, valore della prossimità. Il viaggio verso le cantine: la vera sfida dell’enoturismo” - “Wine tourism in Italy: the value of proximity. The journey to wineries: the real challenge of wine tourism”, organized by Movimento Turismo del Vino - Wine Tourism Movement, will open the working sessions on April 13th, followed by “L’Italia del vino nel turismo globale. Attrattività e posizionamento nel mercato americano” - “Italy wine sector in global tourism: attractiveness and positioning in the American market”, created by Roberta Garibaldi in collaboration with Vinitaly Tourism. The program continues on April 14th with the presentation of the Unicredit-Nomisma Wine Monitor research on “Ruolo dell’enoturismo per lo sviluppo delle imprese vinicole italiane: valori, scenari evolutivi e prospettive future” - “The role of wine tourism in the development of Italian wine enterprises: values, evolving scenarios, and future prospects”, while on April 15th, “MetodoContemporaneo. Osservatorio su arti e paesaggio vitivinicolo” - “MetodoContemporaneo. Observatory on wine-growing landscape and the arts”, signed by the University of Verona and Bam Cultural Strategies, will close the in-depth sessions of Vinitaly Tourism 2026.