Structuring wine tourism so that it can become a resource for exiting the industry crisis

ine tourism is experiencing promising growth in France, fuelled by ambitious projects and diversification of the choice on offer. No fewer than 165 international tour operators and 163 exhibitors from across the French wine regions were registered to attend the 10th Destination Vignobles exhibition on October 1 in Angers, in the Loire Valley. Welcoming nearly 10 million wine tourists including 4.2 million from outside France, the business is one of the most dynamic aspects of French tourism.

Ludovic Walbaum, vice-chairman in charge of wine tourism at the French independent winegrowers’ federation (VIF) and chairman of the wine tourism department at Atout France, emphasised how the industry had become more structured with the creation of the Vignobles et Découvertes endorsement in 2009 and its subsequent federation ten years later. “This initiative created synergies between winegrowers and tourism stakeholders. Since the pandemic, consumers have shown an appetite for local vineyard players, closer contacts and short supply chains”. At the exhibition, 71% of exhibitors had an endorsement. Walbaum claimed that the secret to a successful wine tourism project lies “primarily in the ability to adapt to one’s region and one’s heritage and to do something that is familiar to us. It would be a mistake to think that there is a one-size-fits-all, formulaic solution”.

Walbaum stressed that the number of stakeholders with an endorsement was on the increase, now totalling 2,900 wineries. The variety of solutions on offer and particular attention paid to consumer needs usher in a promising future for wine tourism in France, which is proving to be replete with opportunities. Provided it is structured, that is. “We are overseeing extensive research into wine tourism in France and are introducing a committee designed to structure and develop targeted educational processes in the future”, explained the chairman of the wine tourism division at Atout France.