Wine Tourism on the Rise: Can France Keep Up?

©Calice Hospitality and Wines

The 9th World Wine Tourism Conference , organized by UN Tourism in Plovdiv last week, brought together participants from 27 countries around the same observation: wine tourism is now establishing itself as a major lever for economic and cultural development .

In a global context marked by a decline in wine consumption, the wine tourism sector is showing continued growth , driven by visitors seeking authenticity, meaning and adventures rooted in the territories. This trend confirms that wine is no longer just a product, but a story, a culture and an experience that connects producers, visitors and local communities.

Frameworks to be structured for sustainable development of the sector

The presentations unanimously highlighted the importance of clear and sustainable regulatory and investment frameworks to support the sector's growth. The Bulgarian example was particularly noteworthy, as the country has been able to build an ambitious national strategy , bringing together the government, regions and private stakeholders around a shared vision of wine tourism as a pillar of rural and cultural development.

According to the data presented at the conference as part of the global study carried out by Professor Gergely Szolnoki , it appears that wine tourism is generally profitable , representing on average 25% of the turnover of wine estates . Beyond the figures, it is the strategic place of this activity that was highlighted, since it contributes directly to the economic vitality of the territories, to the preservation of landscapes and to the transmission of know-how. The challenge now is to encourage coherent investments , both public and private, capable of strengthening the quality of reception, the training of teams, and the networking of local stakeholders.

International cooperation to be expanded

One of the common threads of this 9th edition was cooperation between producer countries . The discussions highlighted the concrete benefits of a collective approach: cross-border projects , data sharing , joint funding and even applied research initiatives on reception models and sustainability.

These collaborations should help accelerate the development of skills in emerging wine destinations , while promoting mutual learning between historic regions and new wine territories. They also open the way to international sources of funding , particularly from regional cooperation programs or funds linked to ecological transition and sustainable development.

This message resonates particularly with European stakeholders. Interregional partnerships are becoming a key instrument for pooling resources and co-constructing more internationally visible offerings , where culture, wine and tourism meet, as evidenced by the commitment of ITER VITIS Les Chemins de La Vigne en Europe and Emanuela Panke on the subject.

The importance of embodying the values of the territories

The discussions also highlighted the need to anchor each project in the identity values of the territory . Wine tourism is no longer limited to tasting or visiting a winery, but is becoming a gateway to architecture, design, gastronomy, music, art and heritage .

Several speakers recalled that the success of a destination depends neither on its size nor its means, but on its coherence and its authenticity , as Dr. Elif Balci Fisunoglu (PhD) for Turkey, Camilla Lunelli on the Italian market, Anna Karamanli representing Greece, and Vanina Manini Williams for Argentina. It is often local initiatives on a human scale, based on encounters and emotion, which generate the most significant experiences.

In this spirit, hospitality is seen as an "art of care", an art of welcoming and caring, which relies as much on the quality of the experience as on the value of human relationships . Innovation, here, does not necessarily mean technology, but rather creativity, meaning and sincerity.

Towards a new generation of visitors

The data presented confirms a change in the visitor profile . The core market remains made up of travelers aged 45 to 65, but the strongest growth is now between 25 and 44 years old. This new generation is looking above all for fun, responsible and multi-sensory experiences , integrating nature, local gastronomy, well-being and heritage.

To capture this audience, estates and destinations must rethink their offering by further integrating digital and immersive storytelling, by creating bridges between culture, wine and gastronomy, and by adopting more inclusive and participatory formats. It is also a major opportunity to strengthen the international visibility of wine-growing regions, by renewing their image and communication.

And for France? A vision of wine tourism to reaffirm

France enjoys a unique wine tourism reputation, thanks to its appellations, its heritage and its art of living. Its increasingly structured wine regions embody a model recognized for its excellence. But compared to the vitality observed in other countries, France sometimes appears too institutional and insufficiently bold in its methods of promotion and innovation.

The discussions in Plovdiv highlighted a crucial issue: that of reaffirming an ambitious national vision, commensurate with the potential of our vineyards. The future of our wine tourism will depend on our ability to change software and remove our blinkers. We must absolutely innovate in experiences, attract new generations, modernize our offers, support the structuring of local sectors, work on data aggregation, and better support the rise of start-ups in the sector to structure true international leaders, in order to pursue an effective policy of promoting destinations and know-how.

To achieve this, a strong commitment from the State remains essential, through the perpetuation of a Ministry of Tourism and the strengthening of the resources of the Higher Council of Wine Tourism , the only one capable of piloting a coherent national policy, capable of combining competitiveness, sustainability and international influence. Without ambition in this area, we will not be able to keep up with the times. Competition is intensifying, and it is time to recognize that the general level of supply has risen considerably, including among our European neighbors. If we want to have a strong leadership tomorrow, saying that France is the leading country for wine tourism will not be enough, we must work together to speak with one voice, and facilitate the emergence of differentiating projects.

Wine tourism is no longer a complementary activity, it is a pillar of development and innovation, at the crossroads of tourism, culture and the local economy. Led by visionary players, it offers France and the wine world a tremendous opportunity, that of transforming the passion for wine into a universal experience of transmission, sustainability and hospitality.

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