For travel agents, having a trusted partner for wine and food experiential tourism in Italy really is a must. Travel agents have to carry out a lot of research to find the right partner that matches their needs, and the desires of their clients. Travel agents cannot possibly be expected to be able to come up with experiential tourism packages in Italy by themselves – it’s just not their business. Besides, any travel agents operating outside of Italy will necessarily be at a disadvantage in terms of organising, and creating, experiential tours of any kind in Italy, and that is one of the main reasons you will need to work with a partner who is based locally and specialised in experiential tourism in Italy. We at Artès believe we fit the bill.
Just too many partner options in food & wine experiential tourism niche in Italy
It can be really difficult for travel agents to find trusted partners to develop an experiential travel offer in Italy. Just to give you an idea, one website we dialled up randomly called bookmundi.com listed 584 of the best tour operators in Italy for 2019/2020! And that is just the tip of the iceberg! We also googled “wine and food tourism tour operators in Italy” and got 40,100,000 results! Leonardo da Vinci himself would have trouble navigating this complex labyrinthine world of tour operators! There are so many tour operators out there that a travel agency will have to do A LOT of research when choosing a partner for wine and food experiential tourism in Italy. And travel agents will be keen to enter the world of wine and food experiential tourism in Italy seeing as it is lucrative and because there is huge potential market development.
Finding a good partner VS finding the right partner
Admittedly there are quite a few good tour operators out there working in the area of wine and food experiential tourism in Italy. However, travel agents do not only need a good tour operator, they need one that matches well with their business, their identity and personality.
When a travel agent works with a tour operator it should develop into a close partnership which is mutually beneficial. The relationship must be solid and ideally everyone involved should get along with each other very well. It is not enough to go by online reviews of tour operators. Actually, when we did our random search for tour operators in Italy, the website had 1,590 reviews which were all 5/5. It is hard to take these reviews seriously. That’s why we recommend that travel agents meet any prospective partner face to face, or at least take the time to have some skype calls, before deciding on a partner for their wine and food experiential tourism in Italy. This is also a good way of being sure of the prospective tour operator’s English language skills – something that is very important in the experiential tourism sector!
Developing wine and food experiential tourism products in Italy is a specialised profession
There are 20 different regions in Italy and each has its own wine and food culture. The numbers vary from year to year, and different sources give different information, however, in Italy, there are approximately 70 DOCG wines, and over 300 DOC wines, which are made from a variety of over 350 types of grape.
Wine in Italy is a deep, dark, mysterious subject, only real adepts and experts have mastered.
And that is to say nothing of the vast range of cuisine which varies wildly from region to region in Italy. So, it is easy to see why travel agents – even travel agents within Italy! – need to work with a trusted partner when it comes to wine and food experiential tourism in Italy. (And there is a lot more that a partner has to do and know about when creating experiential tours in Italy! ) We at JoynPlayce are looking for trusted partners to work with within the wine and food experiential tourism sector. We have the necessary experience and knowledge to help you develop original and customised offers for your clients, and a trusted network of local operators to work with, and to top it all off, we have a good reputation within the sector so you know that you can rely on us. Visit our site to find out more, and download our catalogue.