Since then, the pathway has continued both within the sector—through constant dialogue with Consortia of protection and enterprises—and in cooperation with institutions, through moments such as the one organised by Qualivita in 2022 in Liguria, which enabled direct discussion between the Minister of Tourism and representatives of the PDO and PGI world. During those years, Qualivita developed the first strategic framework on the topic, from which the Turismo DOP Observatory was born: a permanent structure for research, analysis, and training that monitors tourism activities linked to Geographical Indications. In 2023, to consolidate the operational and regulatory framework of food and wine tourism connected to GIs, Qualivita and Origin Italia—the association collecting Italy’s GI Consortia—promoted an amendment to Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, under discussion in the European Parliament, through rapporteur Hon. Paolo De Castro. The amendment introduced a tourism function among the institutional competences of the Consortia: a historic turning point that made tourism an integral part of GI valorisation strategies. Thanks to the progressive use recorded in the press and at conferences, in 2025 the term “Turismo DOP” entered the Treccani Italian dictionary (Neologisms section), confirming its cultural consecration as a concept used by the media and practitioners to define a high‑relevance sector. In the same year, during the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit in Rome, the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, Hon. Francesco Lollobrigida, used the term, underscoring the strategic importance of this form of tourism for Italy’s agri‑food and identity system. In June 2025, Qualivita published the 1st Turismo DOP Report, the fruit of years of work by the Observatory. This monitoring, classification, and analysis project offers a snapshot of the sector and states coordinates for its proper understanding. For 2024, the national picture reports 585 activities—promoted by 361 Consortia of protection and involving 597 PDO/PGI products—and 87 reference regulations, together with a selection of the main scientific studies and sector data. Shared and disseminated with GI stakeholders, the report aims to support Consortia in managing tourism activities, guide businesses toward models in line with territorial identity, and foster the participation of supply chains and local communities in shared projects. It is a decisive step that consolidates Turismo DOP as a strategic component of Italy’s Geographical Indications system and provides tools to design coordinated, organic development paths aligned with institutions. 317 TURISMO DOP: AUTHENTICITY, EDUCATION, AND SUSTAINABILITY
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