Lake Garda’s Wine Roads and Tourism: Boosting Culinary Heritage
“Wine and oil are enjoyed best when you understand the beauty of the land that produced them.” Aware of the rich heritage of offerings that Lake Garda can provide to tourists, especially from Northern Europe, the extraordinary commissioner of the tourism promotion company Riviera degli Olivi, Marco Zaninelli, during his meeting with tour operators from around the world at the Milano International Tourism Exchange (the Bit, which concludes tomorrow), had no doubt in playing all his cards for culinary tourism, which finds its main expression on wine roads.
Itinerary tourism and Lake Garda attractions
“The Bardolino route, for example, is not a coincidence if it has been one of the first for 25 years,” confirmed the commissioner in Milan. “It follows a unique itinerary capable of satisfying the needs of every type of traveler. Along the route, there are 67 wineries open; if you enjoy sports, you can find directions for sailing, mountain biking, golf, horseback riding, and tennis, as well as hang gliding and paragliding. Truly exceptional is the concentration of amusement parks, and the cultural offerings of the 16 municipalities crossed by the route are also rich. On the outskirts of Garda, but absolutely worth visiting, is the Custoza white wine road, enriched by 30 wineries and a rich cultural and historical offer, enhanced by the dedicated efforts of Luciano Piona, president of the Custoza wine route.”
The commissioner also highlighted the strategic position of Lake Garda, “the closest Mediterranean climatic zone to Northern Europe.” Just a few kilometers from Verona, a city rich in cultural, historical, and exhibition offerings, a true jewel to visit from every corner, equipped with excellent transportation arteries (highway, train, and airport) and hosting a hotel capacity up to expectations, with 70 hotels just in the city and a wide availability of conference rooms.
The cuisine and promotional initiatives
“Regarding the theme of the fair,” explained Zaninelli, “culinary tourism as a value enhancer of the territory. Garda can offer a unique cuisine, markedly different from the rest of the province, light, based on lake fish, asparagus, and Valeggio tortellini, but also truffles, mushrooms, and cheeses of the Baldo, all washed down with the best local wines and enhanced with Garda DOP oil, one of the best in Italy for delicacy, especially when used cold.” The commissioner concluded his Milanese meeting with journalists and tour operators by outlining the goals for 2001, along with the figures for 2000 visits: “We represent a territory with great tourism potential,” he said. “And so far, we have worked well, as demonstrated by the numbers for the just-ended year, which registered over eight million stays, an increase of 6.3% compared to 1999. This influx was welcomed by 487 hotels, 59 campsites, and 812 non-hotel structures, totaling 83,469 beds. In this scenario, the internal navigation service, which allows travel from one bank to another, and the cable car that reaches Baldo in a few minutes, along with wine and olive oil roads, can become tools to promote even the lesser-known aspects of our area. Therefore, the commitment will be to enhance collaboration between trade associations and institutions, primarily municipalities, to implement robust and unified promotional projects, avoiding many fragmented initiatives that end up dispersing efforts.”