Visit underground wineries located 20 meters below the surface; fly over vineyards in a hot air balloon, pedal, run, drive classic Citroën Méhari off-road cars, ride, eat, sleep or practice Nordic walking, meditation or yoga among the vines; pair wine with music (from classical to jazz, including pop, boleros, bossa-nova or soul), with escape rooms, with local gastronomy, with art, with archeology or even with astronomy ; enjoy wine therapy; Tasting on sailboats and in bell towers or experiencing first-hand harvest activities including grape or must tasting are just some of the many offers of the growing ecotourism sector in Spain.
The president of the Spanish Association of Wine Cities (Acevin) and the Spanish Wine Routes, Rosa Melchor, states that “everything that surrounds wine is a generator of cultural and economic wealth.” In fact, according to the latest Acevin report, spending at the destination per wine tourist reaches 504.40 euros per stay. The volume of wine tourists who spend the night grows significantly to 70.38%. The average expenditure has grown again, reaching 201.80 euros per person per day (it is also still higher than the expenditure of foreign and national general tourists).
The report confirms that the time that the wine tourist spends in the destination has also increased: the average days of stay rise to 2.85. Regarding the type of accommodation preferred by wine tourists, the 4-star hotel once again occupies first place (with 23.76%), followed by rural accommodation (17.19%). It is a category, the latter, that has experienced a notable boom in the last two years motivated by the pandemic.
The president of the Wine Tourism Committee of the Spanish Association of Wine Journalists and Writers and general director of the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, Rafael del Rey, states that “wine tourism in Spain is a reality that places us among the first in the world. world, but still with extraordinary development potential.”
For the third consecutive year, the Acevin report indicates that there is a higher percentage of women than men among wine tourists who visit the Spanish Wine Routes. The female audience represents 53.70%, and the male audience represents the remaining 46.30%. Compared to the previous report, the percentage of women has decreased by eight percentage points, but they still represent more than half of the total visitors.
The most common age group is between 46 and 65 years old (36.46%), followed by wine tourists between 36 and 45 and those between 26 and 35 years old, with percentages that exceed 23 %. The youngest, those between 18 and 25 years old, have experienced an increase in the percentage of visitors, reaching 12.10% of the total. It is the second consecutive year that an increase has been observed in the younger segment of the public.
Travel in groups of friends is increasing, which has experienced a growth of almost seven percentage points compared to the previous period. Even so, trips as a couple continue to predominate (42%). The rest of the categories (families with or without children and individual travelers) maintain similar percentages to those reflected in the previous study. Regarding the means of transport used by wine tourists, the use of their own vehicle continues to decrease, while the percentage that uses public transport such as the bus or train increases.
The overall satisfaction of wine tourists who visit the Spanish Wine Routes (there are currently 36 spread throughout Spain, of which 9 are in Catalonia) reaches a score of 8.98 out of ten, and 99.84% of them assure that They would recommend the visit. The best valued aspects are those related to the stay in the accommodation, visits to wineries and the gastronomic offer, although the rest (hospitality in care, quality and landscape surroundings, visits to wine museums, tourist service and information) also reach very high values.
Half of the winemaking wineries in Catalonia open doors for wine tourism. This is revealed by the Wine Travel Observer study, prepared by the Escola d'Enoturisme de Catalunya with the collaboration of the Consorci per a la Formació Contínua de Catalunya within the framework of the Projecta't program. The report has analyzed 918 active Catalan winery producers in 2023, locating a total of 451 that can be visited: 49% of the total. These wineries have offered 1,683 different wine tourism experiences during 2023. 69% of the wineries that can be visited have detailed experiences, while the remaining 31% only indicate that they are open to visits, without giving more details. Throughout 2023, 65% of the experiences have been fixed throughout the year, and 35% have been sporadic (such as the special grape harvest visit, a concert, or a Christmas market).
The analysis, commissioned by journalist David Jobé, has highlighted that of the more than 1,600 wine tourism experiences, 42% involve wine tasting and gastronomy. 26% are visits with pairings (cheese, ham or local products), and 16% with food and wine (they include the equivalent of a full meal with the visit). 12% of the wineries that offer wine tourism have their own wine bar; 10% accommodation and 9% restaurant. On the other hand, only 1% of the offer includes a visit to the winery and an overnight stay, “one of the main challenges being to extend the stay of wine tourists in each wine-growing territory,” according to the authors of this study. Another conclusion is that the process of purchasing experiences can be improved.
