Global Wine Tourism Report 2025

Over the past decade, wine tourism has become a dynamic and profitable branch of the wine industry, supporting jobs, local communities, sustainability, and heritage. However, a lack of international data has hindered evidence-based policymaking and business strategies. To fill this gap, Hochschule Geisenheim University, in collaboration with UN Tourism, OIV, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, and WineTourism.com, launched the Global Wine Tourism Report as part of an annual worldwide survey delivering up-to-date insights.

The newly released Global Wine Tourism Report 2025 marks a milestone for the industry. Drawing on insights from 1,310 wineries across 47 countries, it offers the most comprehensive international analysis of wine tourism to date and highlights both current realities and future directions.

• Economic Impact: Wine tourism is a key driver of regional development, strengthening rural economies and communities.
• Profitability: Two-thirds of wineries report wine tourism as profitable, generating around 25% of total revenue.
• Sustainability: Wine tourism is firmly embedded in business strategies, with two-thirds rating it as important or very important.
• Engagement: Staff shortages and time constraints remain barriers, yet 25% plan to enter wine tourism and 50% are considering it.
• Regional Growth: Visitor numbers are rising in Europe, while 41% of overseas wineries report declines.
• Visitor Profiles: The core audience remains 45–65 years, but younger travellers (25–44) are gaining significance, driven by interest in education, sustainability, and gastronomy.
• Challenges: Economic pressures, falling wine consumption, regulations, labour shortages, and digitalisation demand adaptive responses.
• Core Activities: Tastings, cellar visits, and vineyard tours continue to form the backbone, offering authentic experiences and personal connections.
• Trends: Growing demand for authentic, local, culinary, eco-friendly, and nature-based offers, reinforced by strong digital engagement.
• Strategies: Innovation is driven by storytelling, social media, food pairings, local partnerships, education, and cultural events.
• Innovation & Investment: Wine tourism is widely regarded as essential for competitiveness, though actual investment levels vary.
• Outlook: Half of wineries plan further investment, most anticipate growth, and nearly two-thirds see wine tourism as a resilience tool.

• 9th UN Tourism Global Conference on Wine Tourism,October 6–7, 2025, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• Great Wine Capitals International Conference, November 6, 2025, Bordeaux, France
• 65th International DWV Congress, December 1–3, 2025, Mainz, Germany
• Global Wine Tourism Report Presentation, January 26, 2026, 6:00 p.m.: free webinar (register here)

“Guided by the motto ‘from the industry, for the industry’, this global survey-based report provides up-to-date insights into wine tourism, highlighting key trends, innovations, and developments. The findings give wineries, regions, countries, and organizations valuable benchmarks to understand how wine tourism is managed globally and to refine their own strategies.”

– Prof. Dr. Gergely Szolnoki, initiator of the study and Professor of Market Research at Hochschule Geisenheim University

“The now-annual Global Wine Tourism Report confirms that wine tourism has become a strategic pillar for rural development and for enhancing the appeal of wine regions, playing a significant role in regional economic growth and place marketing. It highlights the key challenges we must address collectively – from innovation to sustainability – while emphasizing the opportunities available to all stakeholders. By connecting the world’s leading wine regions, Great Wine Capitals is proud to contribute to this growing momentum.” 

– Catherine Leparmentier, General Secretary, Great Wine Capitals Global Network

“In a data-driven world, the Global Wine Tourism Report 2025 marks a milestone, providing essential insights for businesses and policymakers on key issues facing wine tourism industry including sustainability, talent or visitor profile in various regions worldwide.”

–Sandra Carvao, Director of Market Intelligence, Policies and Competitiveness, UN Tourism

“The wine industry is undergoing a digital transformation that is reshaping how wineries operate and sell wines and other ways to earn money. Those that fail to adapt quickly will struggle to stay competitive in the years ahead.”

– Calle Nilsson, Co-Founder and CEO of Winetourism.com