Wine tourism in Rioja posts record growth and revenue as visitor numbers and spending reach new highs in 2024

On Wednesday, May 27, the Regulatory Council of the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (DOCa Rioja) in Spain publicly presented the annual reports from its Wine Tourism Monitor for the 2024 period. The report, prepared with technical assistance from Dinamiza Asesores and published in April 2025, provides a detailed analysis of wine tourism activity across the DOCa Rioja territory, which includes parts of La Rioja, the Basque Country, and Navarre.

In 2024, a total of 912,438 people visited one of the 214 wineries open to wine tourism in the region. This figure represents a 3.54% increase compared to 2023, with positive growth recorded in all three subzones of the designation. Rioja Oriental saw the largest rise in visitors at 10.61%, followed by Rioja Alta with a 4.36% increase. Rioja Alavesa remained stable with a slight growth of 0.82%. The seasonal pattern of tourism persisted, with September and October as the busiest months. August also saw significant visitor numbers, while March experienced a notable surge of 35.78% over the previous year, driven by Easter celebrations. Despite some growth during off-peak months, the data highlights an ongoing need to reduce seasonality.

The report shows that 63.73% of visitors were from Spain, though international demand grew by more than three points to reach 36.27%. Among foreign markets, the United States accounted for 29% of international visitors, followed by the United Kingdom at 17.75% and France at 14.67%. Mexico registered the highest percentage growth among international markets in 2024.

Visitor behavior data indicates that 80% made advance reservations for their visits and 82.37% booked directly without intermediaries. The most common visitor profile was someone interested or enthusiastic about wine (79.27%), followed by passionate wine lovers (69.51%) and food tourists (40.24%).

From the supply side, Rioja wineries offered a broad and diverse range of experiences. Winery tours with tastings and wine sales remain nearly universal services among wineries. Wine and local product tastings, corporate events, and premium experiences are also widely available. Half of the wineries offer dining services upon request, while 14.58% have restaurants open to the public.

Regarding pricing, the average cost for a basic visit with tasting was €22.29, up 7.61% from 2023. Premium visits averaged €40.40, while visits including meals reached €70.21—reflecting a trend toward higher-value offerings.

Wine tourism experiences continue to expand: 61.46% of wineries offer special tastings and 45.83% provide gastronomic activities such as pairing menus or cooking workshops. Seasonal experiences like grape harvests or grape stomping are available at more than a third of wineries. However, there was a decline in sports-related activities and games such as escape rooms.

Wine tourism events gained prominence in 2024, with more than 60 events hosted at wineries attracting over 30,000 attendees. These included themed tastings, concerts, special pairings, and festivals like Villabuena Wine Fest and Noches de San Lorenzo. Half of surveyed wineries participated in wine-related events; 40.48% took part in music events; and 21.43% joined gastronomic activities.

Organizationally, 63.83% of wineries have a dedicated wine tourism department staffed by professionals averaging over nine years’ experience—most with university education. English is spoken at 85.11% of wineries; French at 26.60%; Basque at 13.83%. Surveyed wineries reported a total of 344 direct jobs linked to wine tourism—an average of 2.2 full-time and 1.5 part-time employees per winery—which extrapolates to about 725 direct jobs across all open-to-tourism wineries in Rioja. An additional 65 external collaborators provide services such as guiding or sommelier work.

Profitability was rated positively by 78.48% of wineries; most consider wine tourism already profitable or expect improved results soon. Wineries sold an average of 9.5% of their wine through wine tourism channels; for some this share exceeded 75%. Nearly all surveyed wineries (97.47%) plan improvements to their tourism projects—mainly new products and experiences (58.23%), agreements with agencies (53.16%), and facility upgrades (45.57%). Other planned actions include enhancing guided tours, updating promotional materials, staff training, and creating new spaces like shops or tasting areas.

Investment in wine tourism surpassed €3.5 million in 2024—a rise of over 70% from the previous year and more than triple that invested in 2022—focused on new experiences, equipment upgrades, and space improvements.

Economically, wine tourism generated €65.74 million for Rioja’s wineries in 2024—a rise of just over six percent from the previous year—with €45.43 million coming from visits and shop sales; €20.3 million from other activities such as events or restaurant services; business events alone contributed more than €2.5 million.

The average spend per visitor in winery shops reached €40.05; basic winery visits averaged €22.29—both record highs that confirm a shift toward premium offerings.

Across the entire destination—including spending on accommodation, dining, transport, shopping and other services—the economic impact of wine tourism reached €197.2 million in 2024: an increase of more than €11 million over last year.

The report also profiles visitors: according to a national survey, nearly three-quarters had visited Rioja within the past three years; main travel motivations were interest in wine culture followed by gastronomy and enjoyment of landscape or heritage sites; most traveled as couples or with friends using private cars for both arrival and local travel; average stay was just under three nights with hotels and rural guesthouses preferred; Haro, Logroño and Laguardia were top destinations within Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa subzones.

Average daily spending per visitor was estimated at €155—with winery visits as the most popular activity followed by tastings, paired meals and vineyard walks.

The DOCa Rioja Wine Tourism Monitor has become an essential tool for understanding trends in this sector within Spain’s leading wine region—showing continued expansion marked by increased investment, professionalization, service diversification and growing demand both in volume and quality throughout the past year.