WINE TOURISM 2026: CHOOSE YOUR WINERY BEFORE YOU LEAVE. AND CHOOSE ONLINE.

Two opposing movements coexist in Italian wine in 2026.

On the one hand, consumption is falling, exports are complicated and consumers have become more cautious.

On the other hand, the number of people who want to enter the cellar, walk among the rows and meet the producers has never been so high.

The report "Italians and Wine Tourism Experiences," edited by Roberta Garibaldi with Ascovilo, estimates that approximately 18 million Italians had wine-related experiences during their travels in 2026. In 2024, the number was 13.4 million.

Over four and a half million more people in two years.

And it's not just a cultural phenomenon. According to Nomisma-UniCredit, in 2025, wine tourism generated approximately €3.1 billion for Italian wineries, an average of 21% of their company turnover . Winery visitors grew by 15.3%, and nearly six out of ten wineries recorded an increase in attendance (MTV-CESEO LUMSA).

For many companies, hospitality is no longer a mere entertainment expense. It's a revenue stream.

The problem is no longer interest. It's the moment in which one is chosen.

If demand grows like this, the right question to ask changes.

No longer "how do I get someone interested in wine?" , but "how do I be there when someone is deciding what to do on their trip?" .

Because that's where the game is played.

When a tourist arrives in the Langhe, Valpolicella, or Mount Etna, most of the decisions have already been made. They've chosen their destination, booked their accommodations, and often already have one or two experiences in mind.

The winery that makes it onto that list isn't necessarily the best in the area.

It's the one that was seen first.

The smartphone has become the entrance door to the cellar

The data from the 2026 report tell this clearly.

Between 2024 and 2026, winery tastings increased from 49% to 64%, and visits from 32% to 46%. Visitors continue to seek the simplest and most authentic experience: coming in, seeing, tasting, and speaking with the producers.

But to get there, first go digital.

Search. View photos. Read reviews. Compare. Check hours. Book.

And in fact, when wine tourists are asked what would make them return to a company, 68% indicate the welcome and professionalism of the staff, but immediately after, with 66%, comes the ease of booking and organizing the visit .

This is a fact worth reading twice.

The ease with which an experience is found and booked is now part of its perceived quality, just like the wine in the glass.

The more digital the pre-visit journey becomes, the more tourists, once they arrive, seek authenticity and a human connection.

Digital technology is there to remove obstacles, not replace the manufacturer.

Getting found while the journey is still building

Here opens up a space that the world of wine has so far explored little.

The winery almost always communicates with those who already know it: its mailing list, its followers, customers who have already purchased, those who search for the company name on a search engine.

It's a precious audience, but it's an audience that has already noticed her.

The traveler currently choosing where to go in September, however, is elsewhere: on the websites and apps where they search for flights, hotels, and experiences, in the travel newsletters they open in the evening, in the content they browse for inspiration.

This is the terrain of the so-called travel media networks , the advertising networks of the major travel operators. Expedia Group's advertiser claims over 10 million average daily visitors to its brands, more than 70 petabytes of proprietary data on travel behavior, and over 175 targeting parameters , including food and drink interests.

In other words, you don't buy a generic banner ad aimed at just anyone. You choose to appear before those who are actually planning a trip to a particular area, at the time they're planning it, and have shown interest in its food, wine, and experiences.

According to the same group's 2024 Traveler Value Study, these travelers spend 17% more at their destination than average, with 37% more on activities , such as tours, visits, and tastings. And they are 41% more likely to purchase from a brand seen in an advertisement.

This isn't an audience that needs to be persuaded to travel. They're already traveling.

Onsite and offsite, without technicalities

There are essentially two ways.

The first is onsite presence: the winery appears on the group's brands' websites and apps while travelers search, compare, and book their stay. This is the moment of maximum decision-making concentration.

The second is offsite presence: the same traveler data is used to reach the same people outside those sites, through display and video, YouTube, Advanced TV, email, and social media.

In the first case, you reach those who are already planning. In the second, you sow seeds early, when the trip idea is still a hypothesis.

It doesn't have to be a big winery

There is one piece of data from the 2026 report that deserves a separate article on its own: the most desired experience among wine tourists is a visit to a family-run winery , indicated by 27%, even ahead of direct purchases at affordable prices.

What seems small from an industrial perspective can become exclusive from a tourist perspective.

This means that the competition for traveler attention isn't lost on small and medium-sized businesses. The advantage of the large companies isn't their vineyards: it's their investment in being seen at the right time.

Today, that moment is technically achievable even by those who produce thirty thousand bottles.

From visibility to visit

In practice, the path is less complicated than it seems.

We start with the objectives: more midweek visits, extending the season, attracting an international audience, and filling the tasting room during off-peak months.

We then build the audience we want to reach, define our creativity, budget, and seasonality, launch the campaign, and optimize it as it runs, measuring what generates real leads and bookings.

This is where those who manage the campaign every day come into play.

Blinkup has been operating in the Italian tourism sector since 2014, supporting hotels and hospitality businesses in online distribution and digital marketing, and is a partner of Expedia Group Advertising. For wineries, it offers three very concrete services: positioning and distribution strategy, operational campaign management, and results measurement, with a single point of contact from start to finish.

The goal is not to advertise the winery.

It means making the cellar exist in the traveler's mind at the exact moment he is deciding where to go and what to do.

Because there is no shortage of tourists in Italy.

The moment when they are told that you exist is often missing.

To learn more about the proposal aimed at wineries

Expedia Group Advertising — Carolina Incocciati — cincocciati@expediagroup.com Blinkup — Edoardo Dal Negro — edoardo.dalnegro@blinkup.it www.blinkup.it

Sources: R. Garibaldi, "Italians and Wine Tourism Experiences" with Ascovilo (2026); Nomisma-UniCredit (2025); MTV-Ceseo Lumsa (2025); Wine Suite Wine Tourism Observatory - Vinitaly Tourism (2025-26); Expedia Group, Traveler Value Study (2024).