FERIA DE VALLADOLID WILL ORGANIZE ITS FIRST EVENT OUTSIDE OF SPAIN IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ITALIAN RIVA DEL GARDA FIERECONGRESSI.
Feria de Valladolid and the Italian Riva del Garda Fierecongressi have signed a collaboration agreement that involves the organization, at the Trentino venue, of events designed by the Fair Institution of Castile and León.
“This agreement marks a milestone in the history of Feria de Valladolid; for the first time, we will organize an event outside our borders,” declared the president of the Executive Committee, Víctor Caramanzana, who also emphasized: “We are following the example of the leaders, Fira Barcelona and Ifema, which hold editions abroad for some of their flagship fairs.”
Contacts between the two institutions began almost three years ago during the congress of the International Union of Fairs (UFI) held in Rotterdam. In December 2022, the foundations for today’s agreement were laid with the signing of an understanding to “explore joint working formulas and open the door to Spanish-Italian projects.”
The general director of Feria de Valladolid, Alberto Alonso, explained that “with our membership in UFI, we aim to establish relationships with other venues and fair organizers to advance internationalization, bringing our exhibitions to other places and welcoming events promoted by other operators.”
“FINE represents an ambitious international project that unites two great countries, Spain and Italy, thanks to the collaboration between two prestigious fair organizations,” stated Roberto Pellegrini, president of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, “an initiative that further strengthens our company’s presence in the national and international market and promises positive and lasting results.”
“We are proud that Feria de Valladolid has chosen to continue its path of internationalization in Riva del Garda,” said Alessandra Albarelli, general director of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi. “The city and the entire Trentino region are important tourist attractions thanks to their strategic location, which facilitates contacts with European markets, creating significant opportunities for growth and visibility.”
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The signing of this agreement will involve the “export” of the International Wine Tourism Fair, FINE, to Riva del Garda. Víctor Caramanzana recalled that FINE “was born with an international vocation; it is a global project whose itinerancy is positive for strengthening its role as a benchmark for the sector.”
In this regard, Alonso emphasized the importance of bringing FINE to the country “that invented wine tourism in Europe. Wine tourism has an interesting present and a great future, and FINE Italy will be a magnificent platform to allow Spanish wineries and wine routes to present themselves in this new market.”
According to a report by Segittur, there are about 50,000 wineries in Italy, and nine out of ten are open to tourism. In Spain, there are 4,000 wineries, and about 800 offer wine tourism.
The international expansion of FINE plans to hold two editions in 2025, the first in Valladolid on March 5 and 6 and the second in the fall in Riva del Garda.
Wineries, wine routes, travel agencies, and collaborating entities of FINE, such as the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV), business organizations, etc., participated in the event presentation to the sector.