The world’s longest wine tourist route

Wine tourism in its purest form

Argentina’s Inprotur, Chile’s Sernatur and the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) promote, support and publicize the creation of The World’s Longest Wine Tourist Route (1,300 km of wine culture), favouring the twinning between the Chilean and Argentinian Regions of Coquimbo, San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero.

Argentina and Chile, as wine tourism destinations, feature over 250 and 130 wineries that receive visitors, respectively.

The Tourist Route re-enacts the journey made by conquistadors and missionaries, who, after founding La Serena -the first coastal city in Chile- projected the bi-oceanic union and crossed the Andes to establish the oldest settlement in Argentina, Santiago del Estero. Subsequently, they would use the same road to introduce the first grapevine stumps, hence consolidating the base for the wine culture in both countries and in all of the Southern Cone between 1553 and 1556 (Source: Orígenes).

During the project’s presentation within the cycles The Journeys of the Vine and the Wine, the President of the GWTO, José Antonio Vidal, pointed out that “this initiative qualifies as what GWTO defines as a Tourist Route (since it includes more than one country), it boosts public and private collaboration and regards coopetitivity, academic investigation, innovation and sustainability as its essential core. From GWTO, we encourage every country to assist this type of initiatives.

The president of the GWTO carried on stating that “in these current particularly difficult times, it is necessary to redefine concepts in regards to Tourism and Wine Tourism, aimed at satisfying the new demands marked by the sanitation safety:

1.Public-private, public-public and private-private cooperation is more essential than ever.

2.Companies that have not done it yet, must redefine themselves towards an inclusive and sustainable approach.

3.We all have to work on our reliability in orderto maintain ourselves within the buying decision scope of consumers.

There is a wide opportunity window linked to the pluses that a comprehensive and transversal sector such as Wine Tourism offers. It implies innovative strategies, and this Tourist Route includes them.

In the face of the current complex situation, if the aim is ensuring Wine Tourism in the markets by developing the socio-economical environment at destinations, ADDING to the effort is necessary, nurturing the commitment to unity.

Entrepreneurs must work on their individual and creative projects, but while being aware of the fact that they also have to work together within their sector in order to strengthen the unique qualities of their destinations.

Coopetitivity (competing with a cooperative spirit) will teach us how to adapt ourselves to the new situation: let us become the BIG FAMILY OF THE GLOBAL WINE TOURISM, all agents working united and co-ordinately as in the GWTO.

No wine tourist experience -and, practically, any other- can be understood without its complementary gastronomy as an instrument for the social and local development.

Wine Tourism sector has to incorporate it into its offer, not only as part of the integrated service, but during the wine tasting at the wineries, harmonizing them with simple gastronomic Km 0 proposals.

At GWTO we consider that the time is ideal to take actions towards broadening up the horizons of a responsible, supportive and sustainable global Wine Tourism.

The leadership in sustainability takes in an inclusive and supportive Governance Model that gives prominence to ‘Knowledge Management’ applied to the Investigation for the Training in Sustainability via GWTO Academy, which acts as the headquarters and the voice of the Wine Tourism know-how. It features 50 authorities from the most prestigious universities and Business Schools in 24 countries, specialized in the investigation of Tourist Intelligence, in Wine Tourism Management, Gastronomic Tourism and leading the education in Agricultural and Wine tourism.

Because of and for this purpose, the GWTO has been created: “probably the most inclusive and supportive touristic project that has ever been proposed”.