Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2024 now accepting submissions

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This annual international competition is designed to reward the wineries in each of the Great Wine Capitals Global Networks' member cities for their excellence and innovation in seven different categories, including:

• Accommodation;
• Wine tourism restaurants;
• Sustainable wine tourism practices
• Architecture and landscape
• Art and culture
• Innovative wine tourism experiences
• Wine tourism services

The Great Wine Capitals is a network of major global cities in both the northern and southern hemispheres, which share a key economic and cultural asset: their internationally renowned wine regions.

Founded in 1999, the network has developed and introduced several projects, initiatives and programmes with the objective of achieving excellence in tourism, business services and education within the global alliance of its renowned wine regions.

Its aim is to encourage travel, education and business exchanges between the prestigious wine regions of Adelaide (South Australia), Bilbao (Rioja: Spain), Bordeaux (France), Cape Town (Cape Winelands: South Africa), Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand), Lausanne (Switzerland), Mainz (Rheinhessen: Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco (Napa Valley: USA), Valparaìso (Casablanca Valley: Chile) and Verona (Italy).

Recognising transformation leadership

South Africa’s unique history demands that there should be additional awards for the region. The Wine Tourism Ambassador Awards 2024 celebrate ongoing transformation in the wine tourism industry, with the Conservation Pioneer Award proudly celebrating leaders making innovative efforts to ensure sustainability and conservation in the field.

It also highlights the critical role of eco- and social sustainability in wine tourism. The ambassador award categories are:

• The Wine Tourism Diversity Award
• The Authentic South African Experience Award
• Conservation Pioneer Award

The Western Cape winners will be announced on the 4 October 2023 at one of the awarded wine estates, while the international award winners will be announced at the Great Wine Capitals Annual General Meeting and Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland on 26 October 2023.

Winners of the contest will be included in an annual global marketing campaign financed by Great Wine Capitals, which includes developed marketing assets, advertorials on industry-related media, social-media exposure of the winners’ activities and joint marketing activations aimed at promoting the destination and the winners.

The fee for each entry is R700 + VAT, and the deadline for submissions is 21 July 2023. Please follow the link to access more information about the awards and to complete the application form.

“Our membership within the Great Wine Capitals Global Network demonstrates our commitment to showcasing our beautiful wine-tourism destination to the world, and also serves as inspiration for the sustainability of wine tourism in South Africa.

"The Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism Awards are the industry’s benchmark for excellence in wine tourism, and I encourage all wine producers, wine aficionados and wineries in Cape Town and the Western Cape to enter into these prestigious awards,” said Wesgro chief executive officer, Wrenelle Stander.