Wineries in the Republic of Moldova feel the decline in the number of tourists caused by the pandemic. Representatives of this industry that propels the country’s economy consider local tourism needs increased attention on the part of the public and brand consumers in the country. To create a friendly wine circuit, two state-owned enterprises, Cricova and Mileștii Mici, this month will stage a wine run marathon intended for those who want to promote and support wine tourism, IPN reports.

According to the director general of Cricova S.A. Denis Șova, the pandemic affected tourism, which saw a decline of almost 80% in the number of visitors compared with the previous years. But their production line continued to generate profit. “An accomplishment of which we can boast is that Cricova is an authentic country brand that fully belongs to the state. It was recovered by talks from a foreign company ten years ago and now Cricova is a model of success for the state-run enterprises, with an annual profit of 20 million lei and with over 50 million lei taxes paid annually. Last June, the activity was stopped, but this year we already have important incomes and have now the best period of the year, November and December, when almost half of the sales revenue is collected,” Denis Șova stated for IPN. He noted that they have worked a lot on the production line and on the improvement of the brand’s image abroad so that the frothy wine Blanc de Noirs, Pinot Noir won gold at international contests this year.

Mileștii Mici director general Viorel Garaz, said the consumers are most important promoters of their company’s products. “We are glad that the young people intensely promote us on social networking sites, sharing their impressions and experiences they acquired in our wineries. They are our calling card. We also work on communication campaigns to promote the wine in tandem with poetry, art,” Viorel Garaz told IPN.

Both of the wineries cooperate and take part together in a number of national and international projects. “We are not so great and powerful to be able to do all things independently. Taking part in international exhibitions and contests, we placed Moldova on the wine consumption market without making a difference between the two wineries. We now have faithful consumers in China. Tourism and wine help each other and I consider this will bring welfare to wine producers and to the related sectors - transport, typography, hotel services and many others,” stated the director general of Mileștii Mici.

To fructify the results of the cooperation and to develop a tourism route between the two destinations, Cricova and Mileștii Mici, a wine run marathon will be staged this month to attract more local consumers and visitors to the wineries.