WINE NEWS /
Six Million “Oenotourists” Traveled
Italy in 2003
Last
year, 6 million tourists visited cellars and vineyards along
Italy’s 6,000 miles of wine roads.
The thriving business of “oenotourism” is concentrated
in a few classic destinations in the Langhe, Collio, and Tuscany,
but it has seen positive trends throughout Italy in emerging
wine-producing zones and in regions with wine roads. A census
performed by Censis Servizi has shown that tourists spend five
times more money in surrounding territories than in the oenological
destinations themselves, bringing wealth to many types of businesses.
Development of this industry depends on the “condensation” of
the more than 500 Wine Cities and 325 communes along the routes
of the wine roads.
Fabio Taiti, president of Censis Servizi, saw a strong trend against
paying tour operators in favor of ‘do-it-yourself’ vacations.
Moreover, the amount of money spent by oenotourists, though it has
doubled in the last two years, is still unsatisfactory and the wine
industry is feeling the effects of an ambiguous economic situation.
Taiti feels that local officials have not grasped how potentially
important a role wine could play in the economy of tourism. Nevertheless,
vintners have continued to invest considerable sums in vineyards
and cellars, resulting in a consistent increase in the quality of
Italian wines that seems to have stopped in other countries.
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