For the first time, the most important organizations in the food and wine tourism sector are developing a shared plan with the aim of overcoming the terrible moment of crisis and, above all, of preparing the post-pandemic restart in the best possible way. The team is made up of the Città del Vino and Città dell'Olio Associations, the Movimento Turismo del Vino and the Movimento Turismo dell'Olio, the Italian Federation of Wine, Oil and Flavors Roads and the Unione Italiana Vini.
The six organizations that represent one of the flagships of Made in Italy, a fundamental economic driving force but also an element of historical, cultural identity, custodian of traditions that the world envies us, presented a joint document to Gian Marco Centinaio, Undersecretary of State for Agricultural and Forestry Policies, and today, during a meeting, the Table of Food and Wine Tourism was officially established.
In explaining the situation of the sector, the members of the Table asked the government for active involvement in the implementation of the policies relating to the "National Recovery and Resilience Plan" and in the consultation of the essential strategies to face the post-crisis phase in the best possible way. Today's meeting confirms and gives an initial follow-up to the guidelines drawn up by Prime Minister Mario Draghi who underlined the importance of tourism for Italy, its necessary restart and the strategic function of the Green Card.
A precise request, therefore, that addressed to Gian Marco Centinaio by the: "We are a composite reality that has overcome individual interests in favor of a common intention deriving from the awareness of the complex universe that we represent - declare the members of the Table - Our sector is strategic and we ask to be considered a privileged interlocutor who can contribute to greater harmony between private and public. We hope to be able to start a permanent consultation with institutional referents with whom we can compare ourselves and to whom we can provide support and experience".
The Undersecretary. Hundred in turn underlined the absolute need for concreteness and the need to speed up, also in view of the imminent summer tourist season. “It is necessary to transfer to the Ministry – he said – the need to consider the voice of Food and Wine Tourism as fundamental. Yes to the creation of the permanent table with the active participation of the institutions. Finally, he also underlined the importance of following up on the request for implementation of the oil tourism law.
Many topics on the table: from the implementation of the oil tourism law to the promotion of digitalisation, from infrastructures to professional training, from environmental protection to communication, via a dedicated national portal and the creation of a protocol on the care and maintenance of the landscape, the creation of punctual signage, the revaluation of our beautiful villages.
“The topics dealt with were many and all of great interest – conclude the members of the Food and Wine Tourism Table – but for us the fact of having felt close to the Government was fundamental, which has evidently understood our role which at this moment is that of represent millions of Italians and a varied system made up of artisans of taste, entrepreneurs, farmers, municipalities, restaurateurs and hoteliers. Tourism and food and wine, especially when they come together in this extraordinary binomial, are the backbone of our country, the engine that will get us going again, the visiting card that makes Italy unique”.
