Wine tourism figures in the DOCa Rioja

Wine tourism generates almost 186 million euros, a third (61.98 million) directly in the wineries and the other two (123.96 million) in the rest of the activity sectors within the territory of the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (accommodation, hospitality establishments, commerce, transport services…). This global impact has grown by 19.5% compared to 2022 and 7.3% compared to the pre-pandemic.

There are already 204 wineries in Rioja that practice wine tourism, which open their doors to visitors. There are twenty more wineries than five years ago. The average trajectory in the development of this activity is 14.5 years on average.

The year 2023 marked a new record for visits to wineries within the DOCa Rioja, with a total of 879,423, 17.5% more than in 2022 and, what is more relevant, 2.5% above the previous figure. to covid, from a 2019 that until then was the best in history (858,107 visits).

The United States is the main country that sends tourists to Rioja wineries, with 27.30 of the total. It is followed by three European countries: the United Kingdom (16.22%), France (14.23%) and Germany (12.95%). In total there were 287,561 visits by foreigners in 2023, 32% more than in 2022 but still below 2019, specifically 8.8% less.

The Spanish customer continues to be a priority and two thirds of the visitors are of national origin. Especially from the Basque Country, Navarra and Aragon, as well as La Rioja, which in total number more than 222,000. Madrid and Catalonia are the other two major source markets for national customers.

Special tastings (mainly with unique wines), gastronomic experiences offered by a pairing menu, cooking workshops or picnics among vineyards or seasonal experiences (harvest harvest, grape stomping…) are the most common experiences on offer. wine tourism of the DOCa Rioja wineries.

The average price of a visit with food at a Rioja winery amounts to 68.18 euros, 16.26% more than the previous year. That figure drops to 38.29 euros if the visit includes a tasting of special or ‘premium’ wines and to 20.71 euros in the case of a basic visit with a tasting of one or two wines.