PRESS RELEASE
Wine tourism: current and future challenges, from climate change to alcohol risk perception
Italy’s strong position in wine tourism is an opportunity to assess how effective winery hospitality really is. Are producers still on the right path, or is it time to rethink the formulas behind the visitor offer in order to meet consumer expectations and generate income and jobs across production territories?
That is the question explored by Roberta Garibaldi and the Italian Food & Wine Tourism Association through research on the current and future challenges facing wine hospitality. According to the study, Italian wine is a powerful attraction factor for both domestic and international travellers, but the maturity reached by wine tourism now requires a proactive approach aimed at constantly raising the quality of the offer.
“The sector is called to face new challenges that connect production and tourism: the need to enrich proposals in a more experiential and authentic direction, the risks linked to climate change and to the consumption habits of younger generations, and the role of artificial intelligence. An integrated approach and new territorial development models are needed to improve human resources, individual business offers and system-wide coordination,” says Roberta Garibaldi.
Among the current challenges, the first is the need to differentiate experiences so as to lengthen food and wine holidays and create packages tailored to different age groups and demand profiles. Almost 60% of Italians believe winery offers are too similar to one another. The largest gaps between dream experiences and actually lived experiences include candlelit dinners in the vineyards, sunset tastings, wine-themed wellness treatments and bike tours through wineries. Among dedicated wine tourists, corporate team-building activities in wineries top the list of desired but not yet experienced activities, highlighting the growing overlap between leisure and business tourism.
A second challenge concerns authenticity. The research shows clearly that authenticity primarily means local, place-based offers, cited by 62.3% of respondents. Another key dimension is the desire to see and experience landscapes that preserve their agricultural vocation, mentioned by 38.4%. Meeting local people matters most to younger respondents, and then tends to decline with age.
Experiences also act as a strong booster for wineries’ direct sales, which remain strategically important because of immediate revenue generation and better margins. The data show meaningful differences in consumption preferences by age. Younger tourists are more oriented towards white wines, sparkling wines and alternative products, while baby boomers show a stronger preference for reds and more traditional labels.
Looking ahead, the main future challenge is the relationship between wine and health. The research shows no single consensus on the topic. Forty-seven point nine per cent of respondents agree with the statement that wine consumption is harmful to individual health, 21.5% disagree, and 30.5% remain neutral. The generational picture is particularly interesting: adults aged 35 to 54 are the most likely to agree, while younger respondents are more likely to reject that view.
Climate change will also have a strong impact on the sector. In the short term it is already affecting the seasonality of wine tourism; in the long term it is likely to reshape the sector more structurally. Equally relevant is the critical relationship between Gen Z and wine consumption. Experiential wine tourism may help act as a bridge, attracting younger audiences and supporting the spread of wine culture through more meaningful, contemporary experiences.
Finally, wine tourism is expected to play a decisive role in supporting the development of inland areas, provided that investment is made in transport and in the professional training of the people working across those territories.
