The UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism has been held for the first time in La Rioja, one of the world’s leading wine tourism destinations, with the focus placed firmly on inclusion and sustainability for local communities and territories.
Paving the way towards inclusive growth, especially in rural areas, requires clear policies and a commitment to embracing digital transformation and innovation. Recognizing this, the Conference brought together key stakeholders and leaders from across the growing wine tourism sector to address priorities including education, skills development and the effective use of data.
The 7th edition of the UNWTO conference welcomed thought-leaders from both emerging and established wine destinations, including Argentina, Armenia, Chile, France, Germany, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States of America. As well as celebrating the growing interest in wine tourism, the event made clear the challenges for building more competitive destinations and transforming demand into economic growth and social inclusion. Over two days, workshops and masterclasses focused on:
Skills development and a better understanding of the impacts and trends of wine tourism were identified as crucial elements to create value and promote wine regions, ultimately enhancing their competitiveness.
With the impact of climate change affecting the sector, experts debated how to progress sustainability in wine tourism as well and progress digitalization for better processes. Participants discussed the need to harmonise data collection, the use of new data sources and innovative strategies for expanding new products, outreach on social media, utilizing cutting-edge digital tools, and leveraging new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, to create knowledge and a seamless experience.
Navigating the complex network of stakeholders in wine tourism, the event also put the spotlight on the importance of having national and local wine tourism strategies while fostering the debate on new, innovative forms of collaboration. A series of masterclasses allowed participants from over 40 countries to exchange and expand their knowledge on the links of wine tourism with gastronomy, arts and culture, communication and branding, new technologies, product development and sustainability.
During the closing ceremony, La Rioja handed over the symbolic amphora to Armenia, marking the country’s status as the next host for the 8th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism in 2024.
Members of the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) have met to exchange insights on the importance of governance, participatory approaches and timely data in advancing sustainability in destinations.
Made up of leading destinations, members of the World Tourism Organization’s INSTO network are at the forefront of work to conceive and implement sustainable development practices at the ground level. These practices, which focus on inclusivity and making decisions based on evidence, are leading to a positive shift towards tourism development that is both resilient and inclusive.
The meeting showcased the Observatories’ efforts in various measurement areas such as local satisfaction levels, destination carrying capacity, and environmental and social aspects of tourism. INSTO members emphasized the challenges they face in monitoring, underscoring the importance of reliable data obtained through partnerships with diverse providers. They also highlighted the selection of relevant indicators tailored to each destination’s specific needs, making it easier to compare between destinations.
The INSTO destinations emphasized the importance of timely and evidence-based policy actions that support the ongoing transformation of the tourism sector. Discussions centred around real-world examples and experiences from leading destinations as well as progress in the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism and One Planet initiatives and the efforts related to biodiversity climate action.
The INSTO network continues to expand, welcoming four new Observatories during this week’s meeting: Gifu Prefecture in Japan, Cali in the Valle de Cauca in Colombia, the Centro de Portugal, and the Atlantic Coast of Ireland. These destinations have demonstrated their work towards sustainable tourism through participatory approaches, evidence generation and transparency - essential requirements for INSTO membership. Additionally, three members have joined since the beginning of 2023: Yucatan and Tlaxcala in Mexico and the Monitoring Centre from the Batanes Islands in the Philippines, bringing the total INSTO membership to 42.
All INSTO members are committed to assessing the impact of tourism in 11 mandatory areas spanning economic, environmental and socio-economic dimensions. This commitment aligns with the new Measuring Sustainable Tourism (MST) framework UNWTO is developing, which goes beyond broad indicators such as GDP.
In line with its commitment to promoting tourism as a catalyst for economic growth, inclusive development, and environmental sustainability, UNWTO is garnering consensus around the Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainability of Tourism (MST).
The fourth meeting of the Expert Group for MST took place in Marbella - with the collaboration of the Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, co-financed with European Funds - to consolidate technical progress and articulate governance ambition.
UNWTO Executive Director, Zoritsa Urosevic, said "Andalusia is known for its openness, collaboration and innovation, quite a fitting symbol for this meeting and for our MST endeavour".
MST seeks to establish an internationally recognized reference framework for measuring the economic, social and environmental impacts and dependencies of tourism. Consequently, countries will gain access to reliable and internationally comparable data at both national and subnational levels. This ensures that sustainable initiatives adopt a unified approach and yield a lasting and meaningful impact.
UNWTO has followed a UN process that will culminate in the presentation of the Statistical Framework for MST to the United Nations Statistical Commission. The goal is to secure endorsement and thereby elevate it to the status of third statistical standard for tourism.
The framework has undergone numerous consultations, has been fed by the work of nine research teams and over 21 discussion papers, as well as close technical guidance of the MST Editorial Board.
The meeting convened representatives from Ministries, Statistical Institutes, subnational authorities, academia, and the private sector. This momentum will see the agreed Framework undergo global consultation and presentation to the UNWTO Statistics Committee and the UNWTO General Assembly for endorsement.
The successful conclusion of this journey owes much to the valuable efforts and collaboration of 44 countries plus over 30 international organizations, academic institutions, and regional tourism authorities. To date, 28 MST pilots have demonstrated the policy relevance and technical feasibility of the Framework, which is flexible to adapt to different country situations and policy priorities
MST fills a critical gap in tourism data by offering a consensus and guidance for generating data on the economic, social and environmental dimensions of tourism's sustainability. Now, more than ever, governments, businesses and citizens require reliable and standardized data to assess performance, communicate progress, inspire the right policies and more innovative business models, and to ensure that tourism action on the ground contributes to achieving a more sustainable development.
The Palacio de Congresos de Palma hosted the Summit of Sustainable Destinations organised by UNWTO in partnership with the Mallorca Tourism Foundation. The conference has shared the best practices of environmental, social and economic sustainability developed around the world by leading organisations and companies in these initiatives.
Catalina Cladera, the President of Consell de Majorca, Isabel Oliver from the Office of the UNWTO Secretary-General and José Hila, Mayor of Palma, opened the event of which was followed by more than 300 attendees in-person and online. Closing the summit were Closed the summit the vice president of the Spanish Government and Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño; and the president of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol
Cladera expressed her pride that Majorca is "the world capital of sustainable tourism during the celebration of this international summit" and assured delegates that "we want it to continue beyond this summit". During her speech, the president highlighted the potential of the island as a benchmark of sustainability within the tourism sector. The president added, "Majorca is a leading, quality destination around the world, year-round, with pioneering laws in waste management and tourism.
Representing UNWTO, Isabel Oliver highlighted the importance of "promoting sustainable tourism that respects human rights" and highlighted the weight of Majorca as a benchmark in terms of sustainability for "its ability to innovate, the professionalism of its entrepreneurs and the management of its governments". The Mayor of Palma, who announced the recent approval of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for the city, highlighted the "need to bet on sustainability to improve the experiences of tourists and the quality of life of its residents, being a shared work between public administrations, the private sector and citizens".
Calviño stressed the importance of making public investments now, as well as the need to work collaboratively with the private sector to modernise a sector as important for Spain as the tourism sector and to continue to place the country in a position of leadership. She further emphasised that Spain will be able to recover 80% of international tourists of 2019 this summer under the leadership of the Balearic Islands, which this Easter has already exceeded the figures for 2019 in some segments.
President Armengol ended the closing ceremony by highlighting the importance of the new tourism law that is being processed by the Parliament focused on sustainability from the triple perspective of business competitiveness, environmental sustainability and care for workers.
On the first day, the Minister of Transition, Tourism and Sports, Andreu Serra, commenced the conference with the presentation "Majorca, leading the transition towards regenerative tourism". This was followed by the first round table of the summit on institutional experiences in water management. Speakers included such as Miquel Mir, the Balearic Islands Minister of Environment and Territory, Jaume Mata, the Head of Sustainable Tourism for Visit Valencia, and Asad Riza, the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Maldives Islands. Aniol Esteban, Director of the Marilles Foundation, and Stefan Gössling, professor of Linnaeus University School of Business and Economics, also participated. The moderator was the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Tourism of the University of the Balearic Islands, Tolo Deyà.
Representatives of the private sector also discussed solid waste management, including Sandra Benbeniste, Director of Sustainability of EMEA -Iberostar Hotels, Miguel González San Roman, the Director of Business Development at Minsait/Indra, and Antonio Pérez, the Mayor of Benidorm.
In addition, the experiences of civil society in the United States have been heard, with Nina Bellucci Butler, CEO of Stina, and Andy Schroeder, co-founder of an ocean plastics recovery project. The round table was moderated by Toni Munar of Turismoconsulting.
In the afternoon, the forum began with presentations on circular economy, moderated by José María de Juan, from Koan Consulting. The panel involved the views of Enrique Martínez, President of Segittur, Antoni Riera, Director of the Impulsa Foundation, Jaume Ordinas, the auditor of Hotels Garden, and Elif Balcı Fisunoğlu, the deputy director of the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency of Turkey.
The day ended with the block of analysis of data for the decision making in initiatives of touristic sustainability. The debate was moderated by Dolores Ordóñez, Director General at AnySolution, and was attended by Dirk Glaesser, Director of the UNWTO Sustainable Development Programme, Luis Javier Gadea, Director of Tourism Research, Development and Innovation at Segittur, José Javier Ramasco, CSIC Researcher at IFISC (CSIC-UIB), Sergio Guerreiro, Director of Knowledge Management and Innovation of Tourism of Portugal, and Carlos Cendra, partner at Mabrian Technologies.
The second day of the forum was attended by the Minister of Economic Model, Tourism and Labour of the Balearic Government, Iago Negueruela, who participated with the presentation "Social Circularity and other axes of the Balearic tourism model". This was followed by a round table on Human Development, with the participation of Catalina Alemany, CSR manager of Riu Hotels, Lola Herrero, professor and director of the Jean-Baptiste Say Institute, ESCP Europe, José Mañas, founder of Wireless DNA, Estelle Antognelli, director of Tourism and Congresses, Tourism and Convention Authority of Monaco, Manuel Butler, director of OTS in London and Juanma Martínez, director of projects and culture of sustainability at Green&Huma.
Finally, the island councillor for Transition, Tourism and Sports, Andreu Serra, the president of FEHM, María Frontera, Mark Tanzer, executive director of ABTA, Miguel Sanz, director general of Turespaña, and Norbert Fiebig, president of DRV, presented the conclusions of the conference in a debate moderated by Michael Collins, director of TravelMedia.ie.
Parallel to the second day of the summit, a hackathon was held at the same Palacio de Congresos. The event was aimed at professionals, researchers, and students with an interest in and commitment to sustainability. They worked in groups on problems linked to three major challenges: water, food, and mobility. Each challenge will have a winning group, which will receive €5,000, to be divided equally among the members of each team.
UNWTO has welcomed a pledge made by tourism leaders at the Adventure Next Latin America summit to realign the sector along a path of greater resilience and sustainability.
The tourism trade event welcomed the Ministers of Tourism of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras, alongside high/level representatives of the governments of both Brazil and Jordan. Joining them were private sector leaders, brought together by the Adventure Travel and Trade Association (ATTA).
The summit culminated in all parties signing the Declaration: “Transformation Towards the Future of Tourism”, a clear commitment to act on UNWTO’s call for the public and private sectors to work together and seize the opportunity to place sustainability and inclusivity at the heart of the sector’s restart and recovery. The Declaration states: “the future of tourism is collaborative, bringing together the ancestral wisdom of local and indigenous communities with pioneering scientific and economic knowledge in service to long-term stewardship of integrated ecosystems”.
At the same time, the Declaration also makes clear the signatories’ commitment to advance “transformation towards a carbon-neutral and more socially resilient tourism economy”. In November, Panama was one of the founding signatories of the Glasgow Declaration of Climate Action in Tourism, launched by UNWTO at the COP26 summit.
