Gerekou – Wine tourism needs “fermentation”

The need to connect wine tourism with other forms of experiential tourism, in order to enrich the grid of the visitor’s experiences and to strengthen the local brand of each destination, was stressed by the President of Hellenic Tourism Organization EOT, Angela Gerekou, speaking on Saturday 13 November at the 2nd Wine Tourism Conference in the West Macedonia on “Synergies of Wine Tourism with other thematic forms of tourism“, co-organized by the Ministry of Tourism, EOT and the Region of Western Macedonia from 12 to 14 November.

After referring to the systematic initiatives of the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sofia Zacharaki, for the creation of a new and functional legal framework on wine tourism, Ms. Gerekou pointed out that this is not just a form of thematic tourism but an experiential journey.

“Recent international research shows that modern travelers are desperate for a vacation in nature and not just because of the pandemic, looking for alternative destinations, less massive, more pristine, that respect the environment and maintain their authentic, local identity. Destinations that can be visited at any time of the year. Coming in contact with nature, agricultural work, folk arts, local cuisines and cultures, authentic experiences are now in demand,” he noted.

For this reason, the President of EOT called on the winemakers of Western Macedonia to take advantage of the unique advantages of the region in order to cause “fermentation”, connecting wine tourism with “a whole universe of authentic experiences”, focusing on the “Wine Route”. ».

Concluding, he pointed out that EOT promotes, with all the means at its disposal and a central reference to wine tourism, the full kaleidoscope of authentic experiences that Greece offers to its visitors, while in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism will immediately present the new campaign for winter tourism with the aim of strengthening the mountainous areas of the country, the local economies and the businesses that operate there.