On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the international organization calls on businesses and destinations to undergo a digital transformation that puts people, cultures, and local development at the center.
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Artificial intelligence, digital innovation and enhancing local areas are at the heart of World Tourism Day 2026, which is celebrated on September 27. On this occasion, the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) draws attention to the strategic role of food and wine tourism and the need to accompany technological transformation with investments in people, training, and international cooperation.
This year’s theme, Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism, calls on the sector to rethink the relationship between new technologies and destinations. This approach is also reflected in the message from the United Nations, which states that innovation must contribute to open, inclusive tourism development that is attentive to local communities.
Summary
GWTO: artificial intelligence at the service of local areas
In the message issued for the occasion, José Antonio Vidal, founder, president and CEO of the GWTO, emphasizes that digital transformation must not lead to the loss of destinations’ identities. Artificial intelligence can offer new tools to promote local areas, design experiences, engage travelers, and make cultural and landscape heritage more accessible.
The organization’s position is based on the centrality of human intelligence: technology must support local cultures and generate benefits both for visitors to a destination and for its residents.
Food and wine tourism as a lever for international development
For the GWTO, wine and food tourism takes on a strategic dimension in the sector’s evolution. The goal is to strengthen the international positioning of wine tourism destinations, leveraging innovation without sacrificing the features that make each territory recognizable.
The statement identifies three lines of action: enhancing local identity through innovation, connecting professionals across the entire supply chain, and generating new opportunities for socioeconomic development. Cooperation among countries, destinations, businesses, and institutions is considered essential to build a wine tourism offer capable of competing in the international market.
A video of a previous event by the Global Wine Tourism Organization, dedicated to the organization’s activities and initiatives in the wine tourism sector.
Training and cooperation to face digital transformation
GWTO reiterates its commitment to training professionals and creating connections among operators in the supply chain. The innovation process, in the organization’s vision, must recognize the contribution of producers, local communities and businesses that preserve and enhance traditions. This theme fits within the international debate on the spread of artificial intelligence in tourism. In the message for World Tourism Day, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also highlights the risk that digital tools concentrate visibility and tourist flows on a limited number of destinations and platforms.
For food and wine tourism, the challenge is therefore to use innovation to make lesser-known realities accessible and recognizable, while maintaining the value of personal relationships and authentic experiences.
A transformation to be built together
The GWTO’s appeal is addressed to professionals, institutions, businesses, producers and local communities. The organization invites the entire supply chain to participate in the transformation of the sector, so that food and wine tourism can strengthen its contribution to the development of destinations.
World Tourism Day 2026 thus becomes an opportunity not only to question the potential of new technologies, but above all, how to distribute their benefits among territories, operators and communities.
To learn more about the organization’s activities: Global Wine Tourism Organization.
Pubblicato in Digital Travel
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