World Tourism Day, A day to recognize the extraordinary value of tourism as a means of bringing peoples, cultures, and territories together.
Jose Antonio Vidal
Founder & President CEO of the Global Wine Tourism Organization
This year, under the theme “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism,” the tourism sector is entering a new stage of transformation.
Redesigning tourism does not mean losing its essence. Technology and Artificial Intelligence offer us new opportunities to discover and connect destinations, design better experiences, engage with travelers, and make the heritage of our territories more accessible.
At GWTO , Global Wine Tourism Organization, we would like to remind something essential:
a) The most important intelligence is human intelligence.
b) Technology is a tool that must serve our territories and their cultures.
The future of tourism and Wine Tourism will not simply be more digital. It must also be more recognized :
a) Responsible towards our territories.
b) Sustainable over time.
c) Satisfactory for both those who visit us and those who live in our destinations.
Behind every experience and behind every product, there are people who keep traditions alive and build the future of their destinations.
In this context, Wine & Food Tourism takes on a strategic dimension. We must work together to ensure that our destinations achieve a genuine international position on the global EnoTourism map by:
a) Using innovation to enhance the identity and value of our territories.
b) Connecting all professionals across the value chain.
c) Generating new opportunities for socioeconomic development. This is our commitment:
a) To continue building bridges between countries, destinations, businesses, institutions, and professionals through international cooperation.
b) To continue promoting education and training.
c) To continue recognizing and enhancing what makes each territory unique: its identity. Its culture, its products, its landscapes. Its people.
On this World Tourism Day 2026, I call upon all the professionals, institutions, businesses, producers, destinations, and communities that form part of our sector to face this transformation together.
At GWTO, we work together to ensure that Wine & Food Tourism becomes a true instrument of connection, development, and future for our destinations and their communities.
