Wine tourism summit coming

Photo: Contributed

This November 8, a cornucopia of wine and food enthusiasts will take to social media to celebrate Wine Tourism Day, Tweeting, Facebooking, and Instagramming special events and promotions to encourage travel to the world's wine regions.

In the heart of BC wine country, All She Wrote, the consulting company that lobbied for and successfully executed the 2013 North American Wine Bloggers conference in Penticton - generating an incredible 52 million social media impressions - will host Canada's first Wine Tourism Summit at the Penticton Lakeside Resort and Casino.

"The potential for wine tourism - not just for the Okanagan, but for Canada as an international destination - is an incredible opportunity," says Allison Markin, founder of All She Wrote."As an industry we need to be collaborating now to create a strong Canadian wine brand and be competitive against other yet to be discovered regions."

Markin has traveled to a number of wine regions around the globe, conducting research on the challenges facing unknown and emerging wine destinations, and speaking at several international conferences on wine tourism.

The first Canadian Wine Tourism Summit is a day-long grassroots event to create and celebrate a Canadian wine brand and begin a collaborative conversation about wine tourism across Canada, as well as discuss how wine tourism can support other sectors of tourism and develop economic growth.

"Wine may be the first motivating factor for a traveler, but to be successful a wine region needs to have robust activities in other areas such as sports tourism, arts and culture, and outdoor activities to draw visitors and keep them for longer stays," continued Markin.

Speakers will include representatives from media, both traditional digital, national organizations, regional organizations, and All She Wrote will be presenting a report prepared on the state of wine tourism in Canada.

Registration is $25 per person, and can be completed here via EventBrite.