The project, which was validated by the Program for the Economic Valorization of Endogenous Resources (PROVERE), should be completed on the ground in 2027, the president of the Regional Tourism Entity (ERT) of Alentejo and Ribatejo, José Manuel Santos, told Lusa agency.

The person responsible explained that the regional strategy to develop wine tourism brings together public and private investment, bringing together several partners, such as wine commissions, the University of Évora, polytechnics from Portalegre and Beja, and producers.

“There are 16 million euros of private investment” for “the improvement of wineries and the construction of new wine tourism”, but also investment coming from “public projects, from ERT do Alentejo and Ribatejo and from some municipalities, hence the name a collective strategy, which unites the public, private and even associative aspects”, he explained.

According to José Manuel Santos, of the 20 projects that are planned to be developed within the scope of the candidate strategy, nine are business projects.

Highlighting that the wine tourism sector is “strategic” for the region, the president of ERT also explained that the polytechnics of Beja and Portalegre will work to “support the training” of professionals in the sector, namely in the creation of an IT tool.

“It is a tool to allow understanding and characterizing the profile of the wine tourist, the expense parameter. It’s a kind of observatory just for wine tourism,” he said.

The municipalities, according to José Manuel Santos, will “invest a lot” in the creation of museum infrastructures and events to promote the wine sector.

After the strategy has now been recognised by the competent authorities, the Alentejo 2030 steering committee will request, through a “notice/invitation”, that the ERT of Aentejo and Ribatejo draw up an action plan.

“In this plan, we will detail all the initiatives, programs and actions to be promoted, schedule them, and even quantify them in a more assertive way. We are talking about a project that will last until 2027”, he highlighted.

The president of ERT of Alentejo and Ribatejo also said that he believes that this strategy “will give great muscle” to the communication and promotion of wine tourism throughout the region.