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FINE, the international wine tourism fair, will hold its third edition on 1 and 2 March in Valladolid (Spain)

Feria de Valladolid is organising FINE #WineTourismExpo, the International Wine Tourism Trade Fair, a specialised wine tourism recruitment market that will be held for the third time on 1 and 2 March 2022.

At the presentation of FINE, held within the framework of Fitur, representatives of the institutions backing this pioneering project in the promotion and dissemination of wine tourism took part. The Mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente; the Director General of Tourism of the Castilla y León Regional Government, Estrella Torrecilla; the President of the Valladolid Provincial Council, Conrado Íscar; the Deputy Director General of Marketing of Turespaña, Blanca Pérez-Sauquillo; and the President of the Executive Committee of the Valladolid Trade Fair, Víctor Caramanzana.

The contents of FINE are structured around three complementary work areas: a commercial exhibition, an area for interviews with national and international buyers and training sessions with the participation of specialists in areas such as commercialisation, marketing and innovation in wine tourism.

"The heart of FINE is B2B, the programme of pre-arranged interviews between buyers and sellers. Last June we started with more than 2,000 closed appointments, 42 percent more than in the first edition, and to these we must add the spontaneous meetings that are generated at different times, because FINE is a working space in each and every one of the scenarios, both in the formal ones and in the more informal activities," explained the general manager of the Valladolid Fair, Alberto Alonso.

From the outset, FINE has been committed to an international profile in both supply and demand. Portugal plays a fundamental role, with the participation of Viniportugal and the country's most important wineries and routes. This year, Italy will once again be represented by firms such as the Tuscan Il Borro Wines. And among the national names, there will be leading names such as Abadía Retuerta, Dehesa de los Canónigos, Protos, Pago de Carraovejas, Enate, Arzuaga Navarro, Viña Costeira, Castilla Termal, Grupo Faustino, Parés Baltá, Freixenet, etc. "Examples of how to develop wine tourism in different territories, with proposals in which gastronomy, nature or culture are the narrative arcs of the wine tourism experience".

In the development of wine tourism, public-private cooperation is essential and FINE also involves institutions, destinations and routes from Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, the European City of Wine 2022 Aranda de Duero, the eight routes of Castilla y León and the Palencia region of Cerrato, among others.

International tour operators

The programme of international buyers invited to FINE includes new tour operators and agencies working in markets such as Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and, of course, Spain.

The segments that arouse most interest among buyers are quality experiences, nature and groups. Among the novelties, the demand for incentive travel and event organisation.

"A large part of the success of the contracting market lies in the correct identification of buyers and for this we have the collaboration of Turespaña, through its network of offices, as well as the dissemination through the most relevant media in the different countries," added Alberto Alonso.

Meetings and incentive tourism

Meetings, incentives and congresses tourism (MICE) will be one of the main themes around which the contents of the next edition will be structured, a segment with excellent growth prospects and of great interest for the business fabric "for reasons such as seasonality, improved occupancy rates on working days and the greater volume of business generated by this type of tourism compared to conventional tourism".

Marketing, success stories and analysis of different models will be dealt with in the sessions to be held on 1 and 2 March. The Director of Market Intelligence and Competitiveness of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Sandra Carvão, will also take part.

Collaboration agreements

Feria de Valladolid has signed collaboration agreements with professional organisations linked to wine tourism and meeting tourism to promote this activity. These include the Spanish Wine Federation, the Leading Brands of Spain Forum, the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies, OPC Spain, Spain DMC's, Acevin, etc.

Sector data

The latest report by the Spanish Association of Wine Cities (ACEVIN) places the Penedès Route as the most visited during 2020, with more than 132,000 tourists; in second place is the Marco de Jerez Wine and Brandy Route and third place goes to Ribera del Duero, with 99,000 and 95,000 visitors, respectively.

Visit www.fine-expo.com for more information.