Vinitaly USA 2026 brings the story of Italian wine tourism to New York. The demand for experiences related to territories is growing, and the U.S. market is confirmed as strategic for Italian tourism. Wine is not just a product. It is a way to enter a territory, learn its stories, traverse its landscapes, and meet its communities. This is also why wine tourism occupies an increasingly significant space in Italy's tourism promotion strategies, especially in international markets. This is the story that Italy will bring to Vinitaly USA 2026, scheduled in New York on October 26 and 27, where wine will be at the center of a discussion on its economic, cultural, and identity value and on the opportunities related to the growth of food and wine tourism. The event will also be an opportunity to present a new editorial HUB dedicated to wine tourism, in Italian and English, which will be hosted on the ENIT website. A sort of large editorial map of the Italian offer, designed to provide an overview of the territories and experiences related to wine in the different regions. The growth of wine tourism is part of a broader transformation in how travelers choose and experience a destination. Tastings, visits to wineries and vineyards are no longer isolated experiences, but increasingly enter itineraries that include culture, gastronomy, nature, landscape, and sustainability.
Data confirms the potential of this segment. According to an analysis by the ENIT Study Office based on UniCredit-Nomisma Wine Monitor 2025 data, 98% of wine tourists say they want to repeat at least one wine-related travel experience in the next two or three years. And Italy ranks first among the destinations indicated for future experiences, chosen by 85% of wine tourists. Numbers that tell of a demand increasingly oriented towards authentic experiences strongly linked to the identity of places. In this scenario, the U.S. market assumes particular weight. In the first half of 2026, there were 1.9 million U.S. travelers arriving in Italy, for over 17.7 million overnight stays. Compared to the same period in 2025, spending increased by 7.5%, while travelers increased by 6.2% and overnight stays by 7.6%. The food and wine component also shows significant growth. In 2025, about 30,000 U.S. travelers chose Italy for a food and wine vacation, double compared to the previous year, generating a spending of 42.3 million euros. This data suggests an evolution in the expectations of international tourists: food and wine are increasingly becoming tools through which to discover a territory in its complexity, bringing together local productions, culture, landscape, hospitality, and traditions. It is precisely this dimension that makes wine tourism particularly interesting from the perspective of territorial development. The journey related to wine can indeed take visitors away from the more well-known destinations, towards villages, rural areas, and small towns, helping to distribute flows and create new opportunities for local economies.
For the Ministry of Tourism, wine tourism therefore represents a sector to be developed also in international markets through ENIT, with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the Italian offer and supporting a more balanced and sustainable growth of the territories.
«The Ministry of Tourism strongly supports and promotes wine tourism, a strategic sector worth 3.1 billion euros, enhancing territories and villages and favoring destagionalization», emphasizes Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi, highlighting how wine, together with culture, landscape, gastronomy, and hospitality, contributes to telling the Italian identity in the world. The Italian presence at Vinitaly USA thus goes beyond product promotion. Wine becomes a starting point for building a broader narrative of Italy and its destinations, connecting businesses, territories, and travelers. The press conference on October 27 at 12:00, with the participation of Ivana Jelinic, CEO of ENIT S.p.A., and Hon. Gianluca Caramanna, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism for institutional relations and member of the X Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, will be the occasion to delve into this perspective. A theme that also looks to the future of tourism: transforming a tasting, a visit to a winery, or a journey through the vineyards into a gateway to the knowledge of a territory. Because, increasingly often, the journey does not start from the destination, but from the experience that destination is capable of offering.
