The Republic of Moldova in 2018 will be the World Capital of Wine Tourism, under the aegis of the UN, and the host of the third Global Conference on Wine Tourism that is expected to bring together people from 70 countries, IPN reports.
Tourism Agency director general Stanislav Rusu told a news conference that the selection of Moldova as the host of this event is considered a victory for the image of the country as a tourist destination and this will place it in the world rankings of wine tours destinations.
The Tourism Agency presented the first video clip about Moldova’s wine tourism called “Let’s raise a glass of wine in Moldova”. Stanislav Rusu said the wine tourism is the “must see” that tempts foreign tourists to visit Moldova. The video cost 9,500 lei, which represented public funds. The Tourism Agency aims to soon produce thematic video clips about ecological, rural, gastronomic, cultural and adventure tourism.
The Agency’s director general noted the touristic interest in Moldova increases annually. As the data of the border police showed, 3.4 million foreign citizens came to Moldova last year, which is by over 500,000 more than in 2015. According to the World Tourism Organization, this indicator placed Moldova fifth in the world in 2016 by the rise in the number of foreign tourists. Also, the number of arrivals in the first half of 2017 rose by 6.1% compared with the corresponding period last year.
Even so, the results are not the expected ones. The tourism industry worldwide represents 10% of the GDP, while in Moldova this indicator stands at only 1%. Stanislav Rusu said this sector needs to be reformed. Moldova will soon switch over to a new statistical method in the tourism industry and this will enable to determine most of the costs incurred by a foreign tourist in Moldova.
As to other projects, Stanislav Rusu said the Tourism Agency, in cooperation with Romanian colleagues, will soon launch three new projects called the Vine Road, the Monasteries’ Road and Medieval Fortresses. Also, there will be initiated a number of crossborder projects in cooperation with Ukraine.
