Recovery of wine tourism

The economic impact of wine tourism on the wineries on the DO Empordà Wine Route is estimated at 2 million euros in 2021.

According to the report on visitor statistics at wineries on the DO Empordà Wine Route that the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board produces every year, from 2014 (when there were 24 wineries associated) until 2021 (with 32 wineries) there was a 33.81% increase in the number of visitors to the wineries working in the Costa Brava’s wine-tourism sector. It should be mentioned that in the first five years, between 2014 and 2019, the growth was 58.56%, but with the outbreak of the COVID-19 health crisis this was frozen and between 2019 and 2021 the figure fell by 15.61%. 

Regarding the origin of the visitors to the region’s wineries in the past five years, we find that in 2017 62% of them were from Catalonia, while 38% came from abroad. In 2018 and 2019, the presence of Catalan visitors grew a further two points above international visitors. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Catalans accounted for 8 out of every 10 visits to the Empordà region’s wineries. In 2021, Catalans represented 76% of visitors, while foreign visitors accounted for 24%. This evolution seems to indicate a return to pre-pandemic patterns. 

Regarding the origin of international wine-tourists, visitors from France are the most numerous at wineries in the Empordà region, followed by tourists from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The percentage of international visitors rose by five points between 2020 and 2021, reaching 24%. 

Finally, the report on visitor statistics at wineries on the DO Empordà Wine Route reveals that wine-tourism expenditure has been growing annually since 2014. Currently, the average spending per wine-tourist is 41.14 euros, double the amount registered seven years ago. The economic impact of wine tourism on the wineries on the DO Empordà Wine Route is estimated at 2 million euros in 2021.