Speakers & Speaker Notes – Spain 2023

Meet our keynote speakers and industry experts headlining the IWINETC 2023 conference talk programme. Expect fresh ideas and inspiration! To view speaker notes click on the presentation title found on each of the speaker profiles.

Alexandra Anthidou

Industry expert

Wine MarCom director of the association “Winemakers of North Greece”, responsible for the organization of wine tasting events, communications, media, wine tourism and the wine tourism network “Wines Roads of North Greece”.  Also, a food and wine freelance writer and tv broadcaster-commentator.

Alexandra was part of a round table discussion at IWINETC 2023 titled:

Round Table: Marketing the Business Brand of a Wine Route

Anna Nieto

Industry expert

Anna Nieto is a postgraduate in Marketing of Tourism Destinations and works for Penedès Tourist Board, the official public-private entity that has been working since 1999 for the management, strategic planning and promotion of Penedès wine area as a tourism destination. Among other aims, the Tourist Board manages the Ruta del Vi del Penedès - Penedès Wine Route, being one of the very first certified by ACEVIN in 2001. Ruta del Vi has more than 200 associates, including around 70 cellars, accommodation, restaurants, tourism services and museums. Inside the Penedès Tourism Board team, Anna works in destination marketing strategies, and overall, the promotion and commercialisation of the destination.

Anna was part of a round table discussion at IWINETC 2023 titled:

Round Table: Marketing the Business Brand of a Wine Route

Anthony C Swift

Industry expert

Cert ED University of Sheffield Geography & Biology
B.Phil (ED) Applied Linguistics University of Birmingham
M.A. Descriptive & Applied Linguistics University of Essex
Diploma in TESOL Trinity College London
Diploma in Marketing The Chartered Institute of Marketing

IWINETC Event Director since 2009.

Ariadna Ribas Merino

Industry expert

Ariadna Ribas Merino is an expert in Tourism Marketing and specialised in Wine & Food and Cultural Tourism. As a representative coordinator of Catalonia, European Region of Gastronomy 2016 she was responsible for the development of the project’s action plan and results evaluation. With an international experience, she lived and worked in Germany in the travel industry.

Ariadna was the moderator for the round table discussion at IWINETC titled:

Round Table: Marketing the Business Brand of a Wine Route 

Armen Gevorgyan

Industry expert

Doctors Astghik and Armen Gevorgyan have more than 25 years of experience in general medicine and gerontology, founded Wine and Grapes Spa centre eleven years ago. Armen is the owner of the brand “Wine and Grapes” registered in more than 25 countries including Europe.

Armen and Astghik gave the following industry presentation at IWINETC 2023:

The role of Wine and Grapes SPA Services & Spa Line Cosmetics in Wine Tours, Wine chateaus & Wineries>>

 

 

Chris Torres

Keynote speaker

Chris is an author and Brand & Digital Tourism expert with over 26 years’ industry knowledge and speaks at many tourism events worldwide, offering his advice and guidance on how travel, tourism and destination businesses can gain brand recognition and increase bookings. Chris has focused his business, the Tourism Marketing Agency, on destination marketing with over 80% of his client base coming from outside the UK (where he is based), working with some of the biggest players in the industry including Gray Line, the oldest and largest sightseeing company on planet earth. This knowledge on international markets gives Chris a unique insight into how destination businesses should market themselves internationally. Chris is the author of 'How to Turn your Online Lookers into bookers', a 400 page book full of practical marketing advice dedicated for the for tours and activities sector. Chris also produces a video advice series called The Digital Tourism Show which you can watch on his Facebook Group, YouTube channel or listen on Google or Apple podcasts.

Chris delivered the following talk at IWINETC 2023:

Harness the Marketing Power of User Generated Content for the Wine and Culinary Tourism Industry>>

 

Damià Serrano i Miracle

Keynote Speaker

Doctor from the University of Barcelona with doctoral thesis on the Development of Wine Tourism in Catalonia.
Master in Business Management
Degree in Tourism Information and Marketing
Degree in Geography

Damià is currently the Experiential Marketing and Research Director at the Catalan Tourist Board. He leads the team of Brand Managers who develop highly specialized programs for companies and public entities in the catalan tourism sector. He has coordinated the Barcelona Tourism Observatory and has been a consultant in several public (WTO, WTTC, TTRA) and private institutions (CETTConsultors, PwC, etc.) He continues to be a guest professor at some of the most prestigious universities and business schools in Europe and America (University of Toulouse, Basque Culinary Center, CETT-UB, University of Monterrey, etc.)

Damià presented in the IWINETC Conference Programme the following talk:

The Wine & Culinary Tourism Strategy for Catalunya 2022-2027>>

 

David Mora

Keynote Speaker

Coordinator of the master's degree in Gastronomy Tourism, Basque Culinary Center: David Mora has been chosen for three years (20/21/22) as one of the "Top 150 most influencing professionals in Spain's tourism". He started his career in the T&T industry in 1995. Since then, he had the chance to work on different activities such as destination marketing, hotel management, consulting, and UG and PG education. He holds a Diploma in Tourism by Universidad de Deusto (Spain), B.A. in Tourism by Universidad Nebrija (Spain) and a master's degree in Tourism Management by Bournemouth University (UK). He has managed several post-graduate studies in Tourism at different colleges and business schools. He currently is the coordinator of the master's degree in Food Tourism at Basque Culinary Center (San Sebastián, Spain). He has been involved in food and wine tourism-related projects since 2004 and recently had the chance to visit Japan to take part on World Gastronomy Tourism Forum.

David delivered the following talk at IWINETC 2023:

Designing Experiential Wine & Culinary Tourism Products that WOW>>

 

Eter Gorgiladze

Industry expert

Eter is a wine tourism specialist and represents the Californian wine marketing and communication agency - Balzac. She holds a master's degree from the University Rovira I Virgili, Bordeaux University, and Porto University in the International Master Program on Wine Tourism Innovation (WINTOUR). She has research experience from Tbilisi State University, where she earned a master's degree in Psychological Anthropology. Eter was also a researcher at a leading Georgian research firm.

Iker delivered a talk at IWINETC 2023 as follows:

How to WOW in Wine Tourism? Best Practices Revealed based on Global Research>>

 

Jana Humpolíková

Industry expert

As a manager for cultural tourism in the Czech National Tourism Board, Jana is responsible for marketing activities in the field of culture and gastronomy and developing new tourism products following international travel trends. With Czechia not having been a well-known wine travel destination until now, Jana has been working on bringing international attention of both tourists and travel trade to Czech winemaking and the amazing wine and gastronomic experiences this hidden gem destination in the heart of Europe offers.

Jana together with Sarka Nadvornikova delivered a talk at IWINETC 2023 as follows:

Czech Wine Escapes: Where Wine Pairs with Folklore, Heritage and Design>>

 

Judith Lewis

Keynote speaker

Judith is a renowned writer, trainer, blogger and a digital and media consultant specialising in applying strategic understanding of digital technologies to help businesses innovate and optimise their effectiveness within the new, networked communications environment. She is a regular speaker around the world on SEO, content strategy, link building, PPC, and digital strategy, a contributor to the Huffington Post, and has been recognised by her peers as one of the most influential people in the UK digital industry. Judith judges industry leading awards MENA, EU, US, Australian, Nordic, and UK Search Awards, and has every year since their inception. She has worked with market-leading global businesses including Google, Orange, COI, NatWest/RBS, National Gallery, CIPD, Fidelity, GalaCoral, NBC Universal, Readers Digest, Bayer, Family Search, Amadeus, AMD, AmEx , TotalJobs, Virgin.com, Virgin Startup& more. She has over 20 years of experience, predating Google in her entry into the market and now runs her own consultancy. She has worked at Centaur Publishing, i-level, & Beyond before setting up her own consultancy. Judith also blogs about chocolate, helps with London Girl Geek Dinners, was a founding Modern Muse, and has contributed to the book “Pimp My Site” and the Econsultancy guide to Paid Search and is currently updating the large foundational Guide to SEO.

Judith delivered two talks at IWINETC 2023 as follows:

Connecting Your Winery or Travel/Tourism Brand to the Consumer>>

Optimising Your Business Website for the New Search: Practical Solutions for Small Business in Search>>

 

Lilith Sarafyan

Industry expert

Majoring in art history and being enthusiastic traveler, Lilith combined these two of her passions and started career in tourism 12 years ago. She co-operates in the inbound tourism department of one of the oldest and major travel companies in Armenia, GoArmenia powered by Visa Concord. Having an opportunity and platform to invest in developing tourism in Armenia with her personal touch, Lilith incorporated her love of wine and its industry to travel section in Armenia, and with the help of GoArmenia, Visa Concord invested in the development of Wine tourism in the country, becoming a wine tourism expert. Lilith is a regular attendee of many travel events all around the world representing the big and small wineries, wine producers of Armenia. She along with her team work to bring attention to the reputation and competitiveness of country’s winemaking and its unique centuries old traditions. Main goal being to promote Armenia's attractiveness as a travel destination and winemaking country.

Lilith was part of a round table discussion at IWINETC titled:

Round Table: Marketing the Business Brand of a Wine Route

Narcís Ferrer

Industry expert

General Manager at the Agencia Catalana de Turismo. I have extensive experience in the management of strategic and operational projects involving public and private sector participation. Not only do I have a background in the consolidation and creation of tourist destinations and tourism projects, I am also highly aware of the role played by the areas involved in the economic promotion of a territory, municipality or county.

Narcís opened IWINETC 2023 with the `plenary session:

Wine & Culinary Tourism. Destination Catalunya>>

Nataliia Burlachenko

Industry expert

Nataliia is member of the Ukrainian delegation to OIV, Director International Brand Ambassadors of Vinos de La Luz, certified sommelier (sommelier school "Master class" by Natalia Blagopuchnaya, WSET in Spanish, WSG Spanish Wine Scholar), columnist at Drinks+ Communication Media Group,  judge at such competitions as The Best Kavist of Ukraine, The Best Sommelier of Ukraine, Wine & Spirits Ukraine, and Variety and Terroir (contests of craft producers). Nataliia is a nominee for the Wine Travel Awards where she won the Judge's Choice Awards last year. She is owner of the winery "Big Wines" and founder of the website about wine and travel nataliaawines.com.ua.

Natalia together with Veronika Busel delivered a talk at IWINETC 2023 titled:

Shine Bright Like a Diamond. Add Value to your Wine Tourism Brand: What Wine Travel Awards can Offer>>

 

Nicolas Manfredini

Industry expert

Nicolas Manfredini is the founder and CEO of Winalist.com, the leading wine tourism booking platform in Europe that streamlines the management of reservations and tours for wineries. With a background in technology, a Master’s Degree in International Business and Marketing and a passion for wine and travel, Nicolas was inspired to create a solution that would help wineries optimize their operations and increase revenue through wine tourism. Under his leadership, Winalist has quickly become a leading player in the industry, helping +1000 wineries worldwide to improve their customer experience and streamline their operations. Nicolas is also known as a speaker and an expert in the field of wine tourism technology, sharing his insights and best practices at conferences and events.

Nicolas delivered the following Industry Presentation at IWINETC 2023:

Unlocking Increased Revenue & Occupancy for your Winery. Streamline your Hospitality Management with Winalist

 

Peter Syme

Keynote speaker

Peter operates his own inbound adventure activity business in Scotland and also an outbound global expedition business. He has also owned and operated inbound activity businesses in Spain and Morocco. He has travelled and operated in over 120 countries and his businesses have helped introduce over two hundred thousand customers to adventure. He is a regular speaker at travel events around the world on the impact of the digital era on small tourism businesses and what they can do to thrive with so much change happening. He is also a regular speaker at University MBA and executive leadership courses on Digital Transformation. His current passion is being a strategic advisor to several scalable digital startups in the tours and activities sector.

Peter delivered a talk at IWINETC 2023 as follows:

How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Wine & Culinary Tourism>>

 

Roberta Garibaldi

Keynote speaker

Roberta Garibaldi is professor of Tourism Management. She is in the Board of Director of World Food Travel Association, in the Advisory Board of the World Gastronomy Institute and of the Italian Society Tourism Science (SISTUR). Keynote speaker at the main international conferences on these topics, including the UNWTO Forums and the World Economic Forum in Davos. She is currently president of the Italian Association of Gastronomy Tourism and author of the Report on Gastronomy Tourism in Italy. She works on applied projects for the development of food and wine tourism destinations and networks in Italy and worldwide.

Roberta delivered the following talk at IWINETC 2023:

Wine Tourism Future. Between Sustainibility and Attention to the Local Community>>

 

Šárka Nádvorníková

Industry expert

As a project manager of the National Wine Centre, the organization promoting wine and wine tourism of the Czech Republic, Sarka’s work is focused mainly on the organization of training courses and seminars. She participates in the publishing of educational and promotional materials and is selects representative wine tourism facilities for international promotion. As a representative of Czech wine, she takes part in tourism trade fairs and similar events in the CR and abroad. She is an organizer of the GRAND PRIX VINEX international wine competition and a wine taster.

Šárka together with Jana Humpolíková delivered a talk at IWINETC 2023 as follows:

Czech Wine Escapes: Where Wine Pairs with Folklore, Heritage and Design>>

 

Silvia Culell

Keynote Speaker

Renowned professional sommelier and journalist, Sílvia Culell, is an expert in wine communication, as well as a current member of the BulliFoundation's Bullipedia editorial team.

Silvia will be leading the Grand Cava Tasting featuring renowned producers within the DO Cava

Discover Great Cavas and Fantastic Winery Visits>>

 

Veronika Busel

Industry expert

Veronika Busel is a Wine Marketing Manager, Wine Writer and a Managing Partner at Wine Travel Awards. She finished her Master’s Degree at the University of Bordeaux in Wine Marketing and Tourism, after that she has been collaborating with internationally recognized wine companies in Spain, France and Portugal. Parallelelly, Veronika became a wine writer and columnist for the leading wine specialized media groups in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Veronika together with Nataliia Burlachenko delivered a talk at IWINETC 2023 titled:

Shine Bright Like a Diamond. Add Value to your Wine Tourism Brand: What Wine Travel Awards can Offer>>

 

 

Víctor Goitià

Industry expert

Currently the Marketing Director of Costa Brava DMO, Victor has an  wide experience in the tourism sector in sectors such as wine tourism, tour operation and destination marketing.

Victor was part of a round table discussion at IWINETC titled:

Round Table: Marketing the Business Brand of a Wine Route

Join the IWINETC Network
Stay up to date on conference happenings