A WINE TOURISM SHOWROOM IN BORDEAUX 2009

New project : Bordeaux will host the first professional wine tourism fair.

Wine tourism is booming. The French wine sector which has been developing its capacity to welcome tourists in recent years, is to receive a boost in 2009 : in the form of an international professional trade fair for wine tourism. This showroom will take place next year from the 4th - 6th November at Hanger 14, on the quayside in Bordeaux. In 2010, the venue will be the Exhibition Centre. Its name? The International Wine Travel Market (IWTM), inspired by anglo-saxon tourist trade fair terminology.

The news was announced yesterday during the traditional "Best of Wine Tourism" ** gala evening.
The Reed Group, world leader in organising professional trade shows, together with the Chamber of Commerce, will organise the IWTM.

"Wine tourism is a by-product, another way to sell wine. It's intelligent tourism and Bordeaux is the legitimate venue for this event, as it was for the launch of Vinexpo," explains Laurent Courbu, president of the Chamber of Commerce. The twin organisers met for the first time in May to discuss the project. Reed already organises around fifteen trade fairs and events linked to tourism including those in London and Dubai.

7 - 8000 euros for 6m2 : "It's the first time our activity is involved in the wine sector and we believe in the expansion of tourism linked to wine," says Alain Bagnaud, in charge of transport , tourism and communication at Reed Expositions, a subsiduary company of Reed. Indeed, given that there are some 900 million tourists on the planet today and that in fifteen years' time, the number should reach 1.4 billion...wine and gastronomy in general should see their market share become a much coveted and competitive sector.

One hundred and fifty exhibitors from all over the world are expected at the IWTM : châteaux, wineries, bodegas,...all offering a wine tourist service (seminars, congress, hotel accommodation...). The IWTM awaits more than a thousand visitors, coming to buy these services : tour operators, travel agency managers, activity and event organisers for companies..
As usual in this top drawer type of event, the most coverted potential clients will be invited, air fare included, by the organisers.
Which explains the steep floor prices for exhibitors : between 7 and 8000 euros , for example, for a stand measuring 6m2.
"This will not be a mere 'business card exchange fair'. We are scheduling meetings between exhibitors and buyers : contracts will be signed on the spot," forecasts Vincent Lhoste, who manages several fairs at Reed Expositions and who will be overseeing the future IWTM fair. "The tourist industry needs structure and good organisation. Wine tourism is just waiting to explode and this fair will be its chance to benefit from the centre stage, " continues Vincent, who adds that conferences will also be on the fair agenda.

Bordeaux is already the world wine trade capital thanks to Vinexpo and capital for viticultural technology, thanks to Vinitech. It is soon to add a third professional fair to its prize list with a view to becoming the cultural capital of Europe in 2013...



** Prize List of the 6th BEST OF WINE TOURISM :

The 6th night of the Best of Wine Tourism competition welcomed more than 500 guests yesterday at Château Smith Haut Lafitte, owned by Florence & Daniel Cathiard, in Martillac.
87 properties or companies participated in this competition , organised every year by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce.
There were 19 prize winners divided into 5 catagories including 5 Gold "Best of" and one "Passion" prize.

1. Architecture, Parks & Gardens : Gold Best of attributed to Château Franc-Mayne, Saint-Emilion.
Other prize winners in this catagory were : Châteaux Lanessan, La Tour de By, Rauzan-Gassies, Haut-Sarpe and Fonplégade.

2. Château Accommodation : Gold Best of attributed to Château Carbonneau, Pessac-sur-Dordogne.
Other prize winners in this catagory were : Châteaux du Petit Puch, Pédesclaux and La Croix de Roche.

3. Discovery & Innovation : Gold Best of attributed to Château Agassac, Ludon-Medoc and the jury's "Passion" went to Château La Rose Bellevue, Saint-Palais.
Another prize winner was the agency "Week & Break".

4. Event Organisation : Gold Best of attributed to Château Haut-Bailly, Léognan.
Other prize winners in this catagory were : Châteaux du Taillan & Pape Clément and the merchant company Millésimia.

5. Enviromental Techniques : Gold Best of attributed to Château Cablanc, St.Pey Castets.
Another prize winner was Château Mercier.

César Compadre

doc@sudouest.com


S.O. 17/10/08
Translated by Maxine Colas.

STANDARD OF LIVING TAKES A NOSE-DIVE :

America : As the economic crisis goes planetary, the Bordelais Guillaume Touton, an importer based in New York, notices how the market is falling back on less expensive wines.

Based in New York, Guillaume Touton is one of the important wine importers in the U.S. North East. Set up twenty years ago, the company "Monsieur Touton Selection Ltd" employs 130 people in four offices : in New York (headquarters), Washington, Boston and Chicago and imported 1 million cases of wine in 2007. Guillaume Touton is also a consultant for foreign trading. Wine consumption has been on the increase in America for the past fourteen years and hit 26 million hectolitres in 2007. The U.S. market is the second largest in the world after the French domestic market.

Sud Ouest : What is your analysis of the current situation in the U.S, prey to the financial crisis?

Guillaume Touton : Here everyone is very scared and a sort of terrified hysteria pervades. In contrast to France, where peoples' bank savings are often secure, most U.S. savers pump all their money into the stock exchange, even retirement pensions. So we can say that the financial crisis has hit everyone's pockets. Millions of dollars are lost or evaporate every day.

Sud Ouest : What are the consequences for the consumer market?


Guillaume Touton : Americans buy less : less petrol, less consumer products, less meals in restaurants...This has been a very noticeable trend for a month. As for wine, this much is clear - we no longer sell top-of-the-line bottles!


Sud Ouest : Has the market for great wines stopped dead?


Guillaume Touton : Yes. Just today I postponed an order for Bordeaux grand crus. I told the merchant "We'll wait and see". It is important to note that a bottle leaving the Bordeaux area at a price of 15 euros is found in American stores at 50 euros (retail price). Included in this retail price are the transport costs, the sales margin and especially the taxes which are very high. It's the same story for wines from other vineyards. And no one in New York is in the mood to buy a big car or to open an expensive bottle of wine at the moment. Champagne and Cognac imports are also on the decrease.


Sud Ouest : Will Americans stop buying and tasting wine altogether?


Guillaume Touton : No. The standard of living has taken a nose-dive and consumers are making do with cheaper wines. Even in a financial crisis, consumers do not suddenly stop enjoying wine! But I have noticed a shift in consumer values. Wines leaving their country of origin at a price of a few euros and which sell here for around 10 dollars are still selling well. That is why my turnover continues to increase, because I import Malbec from Argentina, Syrah from Australia and many other wines from Spain and Italy. In fact five or six containers (4 - 5000 cases) of each arrive every day here. Bordeaux respresents 10 - 15% of the total volume of my imports, depending on the year.


Sud Ouest : What kind of future do you predict for your profession?


Guillaume Touton : Grey clouds are gathering on the horizon and the problems are only just beginning...All the American states and all the distribution and consumer channels are affected by this crisis. Unemployment will rise. I have never witnessed a situation like this in the twenty years I've been in America. Even after September 11th, or after the French "boycott" following President Chirac's refusal to back the war in Irak.
With a stock of 200,000 cases in New York, which represents between 18 and 20 million dollars (a quarter of which is Bordeaux wine), I am looking at two to three months potential sales. Concerning supplies, I've stopped any new orders appart from the more modest wine properties. In order to sell to the U.S. in the immediate future, I would rather be a producer in the Entre-Deux-Mers or Côtes vineyards than that of a great classified château, as the market for these famous wines is at a standstill. The good news is that the dollar is gaining weight against the euro.

César Compadre

doc@sudouest.com


S.O. 14/10/08
Translated by Maxine Colas.