In pursuit of balance: How wine is redefining tourism in Spain

The hastily painted graffiti appeared on a well-trafficked street during my yearly visit to A Coruña, in northwest Spain: ‘TOURISTS GO HOME!’

This coastal Galician city receives far fewer tourists than popular holiday destinations such as Barcelona, Ibiza or Benidorm, but even A Coruña – an increasingly popular stop for cruise ships from Germany, the UK and the US – has felt the strain of a rising tide of visitors.

It’s a tension being felt all over Spain. Earlier this summer, simmering frustrations bubbled over as protests broke out across the country.

Angry locals picketed hotels and berated tourists sitting outside cafés, even spraying them with water pistols. Tourism, which according to official data accounts for more than 12% of Spain’s GDP, is being blamed for a medley of issues including gentrification of city neighbourhoods, higher housing costs and damage to the environment.

Other side of the coin

Despite its very real pitfalls, not everyone is against tourism – at least not in certain forms.

Many of Spain’s wine regions are putting their resources into ‘enoturismo’, or wine tourism. The benefits are compelling – in fact, tackling many of the issues caused by overtourism elsewhere.

Wine tourism redistributes visitors beyond cities into rural areas, helping to ease overcrowding. And it isn’t especially seasonal; there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy wine regions throughout the year.

It also creates economic opportunities in places where they might otherwise be harder to come by – an important countermeasure to the socioeconomic forces that created the so-called ‘España vacía’: large swathes of Spain’s rural interior that became depopulated as people moved away to find employment, particularly during the 1950s and ’60s.

Data reported by tourism organisation Rutas del Vino de España (Wine Routes of Spain) for 2023 estimates that wine tourism brings in more than €100 million a year in visits to wineries and museums alone – not including spending on accommodation, restaurants or tour companies, which is estimated to be in excess of €300 million.

Inland discoveries

With that in mind, Spanish wineries are making moves to attract more wine-loving visitors.

In popular holiday destination Mallorca, more and more wine lovers are heading inland, driven by a growing interest in local wines and the desire for an affordable way to escape the chaos of the Balearic island’s coastline.

‘Currently, between 85% and 95% of our visitors are international,’ says Araceli Servera Ribas, 10th-generation winemaker at Bodegas Ribas in Mallorca. ‘They’re looking for authenticity and cultural experiences that allow them to truly understand the place they’re visiting.’

At her winery near Binissalem, Ribas offers limited tours to 16 people per group to preserve an intimate feel. Others, like Bàrbara Mesquida Mora at Porreres in the island’s centre, hold jazz concerts at the winery or host lunches in the vineyard.

Marina Vera, director of Vi de la Terra de Mallorca, says wine tourism is definitely more sustainable than the mass tourism the Balearic islands experience in the summer. ‘We have good weather all year and our wineries are open all year, which deseasonalises tourism – people can come whenever,’ she explains.

Vera points out that tourists spend their money directly at the winery, ‘which means that money goes back into our community’.

Despite the enthusiasm, and having the example of coastline tourism as a cautionary tale, Araceli Servera Ribas is aware that not everything is fair game. ‘It has to be managed with common sense and responsibility,’ she says. ‘The great challenge lies in opening our doors without leading to overcrowding.’

Beyond the obvious

Even regions that aren’t typical tourist destinations themselves are seeing an increased interest in wine-led visitors. According to DOCa Rioja’s annual Wine Tourism Monitor report, released in April this year (as reported by Vinetur), in 2024 Rioja saw a record-breaking surge in international visitors, who represented 36.3% of the total, along with a 70% year-on-year increase in investment in wine tourism to exceed €3.5 million (£3m).

Noelia Villarreal Moreno, of Bodegas Javier San Pedro Ortega, near Laguardia, says that the average visitor has become more international, diverse and quality-driven.

‘In our case, over half of our visitors are international,’ she says. ‘We’ve seen tourism grow in quantity, but above all in terms of quality. People don’t just come to check Rioja off the list. They come looking for authenticity.’

Villarreal adds that the influx of tourism motivates wineries to improve their hospitality offerings. ‘Wine tourism has stopped being just something you do if you have extra time on your holiday – it’s now the main reason for travelling,’ she says.

‘As wineries, we have to go beyond just showing barrels and tanks.’ Each year, she explains, the team creates a new experience for visitors, connecting wine with other creative pursuits.

‘We believe that wine can evolve, just like art or fashion. We want our visitors to come back and experience something unique each time.’

For Villarreal, wine tourism is an ideal antidote to Spain’s overtourism problem. ‘Wine tourism isn’t built for large crowds, it’s more intimate,’ she says.

‘You don’t down a glass of wine in a hurry. That pause to enjoy is exactly the opposite of mass tourism. Do we need to put limits on it? Maybe not with the current numbers, but definitely in principle. We’re not looking to fill buses – we want to create relationships.’

Personal connections

Iago Castro Rodríguez, sales director at Pazo Señorans in Galicia’s Rías Baixas region, agrees that a personal connection is one of wine tourism’s main draws.

‘We’re showcasing our region and the philosophy behind the way we work, but at the end of the day each visit is a personalised, insider tour led by someone who works at the winery every day,’ he says.

In Rías Baixas, wine tourism is becoming a year-round endeavour. ‘There are still a lot of people who come in the summer and locals complain about overcrowding. Galicia doesn’t have the infrastructure for mass tourism,’ he explains.

‘But we have people coming to visit our winery all year. That means we can hire a full-time wine tourism department, which creates jobs.’

UK-born Adrian McManus has seen the growing interest in Galician wine tourism first-hand. He’s the founder of North West Iberia Wine Tours, a boutique tour company specialising in wine and gastronomic experiences across northwest Spain. He has lived in Galicia since 1991.

‘The new generation of winemakers are fully aware of the importance of getting the word out,’ he says.

McManus agrees that wine tourists are usually looking for something different and specific. ‘I see wine tourism as being in the same category as curated birdwatching tours or trekking itineraries for small groups of ecologically minded people,’ he says.

‘The typical profile that I tend to host is knowledgeable about wine in general, maybe a wine industry professional or someone with a “who I want to see” shopping list,’ he explains.

Going with the flow

While wine tourism is infinitely rewarding for travellers, a bit of planning and perspective make it even more enjoyable. ‘We work with small groups and focus on a more intimate experience,’ Araceli Servera Ribas explains. ‘If people don’t book in advance, it can be difficult to find an available visit.’

McManus says flexibility is key. ‘People shouldn’t expect a tasting room-only, “let’s dispense with the vineyard and cellar” experience,’ he says. An urgent issue in the vines can mean a winemaker has to cancel a visit at the last minute, so McManus always has a plan B ready to go.

Castro highlights the importance of cultural exchange and respectful travel when visiting a wine region. ‘Coming to Galicia isn’t the same as going somewhere like Benidorm – people need to try to adapt themselves to the place they’re visiting,’ he says.

Although Spain’s struggle with tourism is far from over, it seems most of the gripes concern the hordes that descend on Spain’s beaches and plazas. In the country’s wine regions, at least, those who arrive with curiosity and respect will be received with open arms.

If Spain is to reconcile its reliance on tourism with the desire to protect the people who live there, then enoturismo offers one clear opportunity for success: rooted in community, sustained by relationships and guided by respect.

The first wine tourist?

Spain’s very first wine tourist may have been James Busby, a Scotsman who was pivotal in establishing Australia’s wine industry and who helped lay the foundations of New Zealand itself.

In the early 1830s, Busby set off on a four-month tour of agriculture in France and Spain. Among his stops were the wineries and vineyards of Jerez.

At about the same time, Richard Ford travelled around Spain and following his return to England published (in 1845) A Handbook for Travellers in Spain. Widely considered to be a defining work in the travel literature genre, Ford’s book made mention of several Spanish wines.

Later, in 1927, the Spanish writer Joaquín Belda visited Spain’s main wineries and recounted his experiences in his 1929 book Vinos de España.

Spain also boasts a long tradition of royal wine tourism. Visits from monarchs such as Empress Eugénie de Montijo (1826-1920), Isabella II (1830-1904) and Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) are recorded in winery guestbooks in Jerez, Catalonia and Rioja.

Find out more about wine tourism in Spain

Since the mid-1990s, huge numbers of Spanish wineries have opened their doors to a thirsty and curious public. The association of Spanish wine cities, ACEVIN, has lent its support, not least through the promotion of official wine routes in regions around the country via Wine Routes of Spain, the Rutas del Vino de España website.

An increased desire to know where our food and wine come from have made wine tourism a global industry. To find plenty of guidance on travel in Spain in general, and specific details of wine routes around the country, go to Spain’s official national tourism website, and investigate the ‘What to do’ tab.

Or, find more in-depth information on all Spain’s main wine regions and routes at the Wine Tourism Spain website.

This article first appeared in the Spain 2025 supplement that accompanies Decanter magazine’s November 2025 issue.

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