Experiential tourism and handcraft GIs in Latin America and India, and the new GI protection in the EU

Karla Loranca

IP expert at the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk / CEO & Founder at Denken & Bloom

Experiential tourism, also called immersive tourism, is a way of travelling that focuses on meaningful engagement with the history, people, culture, food, and environment of a place, rather than simply visiting attractions or following standard sightseeing itineraries. Travellers involved in this kind of tourism seek to participate in local life through activities such as workshops, farm or winery visits, cooking classes, or craft demonstrations that create personal connections with communities and their heritage. 

This form of tourism has become closely linked with products protected by geographical indications and designations of origin because it turns abstract notions of origin and territory into concrete experiences on the ground. Wine, spirits, and agrifood producers with protected GIs have been among the pioneers of experiential tourism, using cellar visits, vineyard walks, tasting rooms, and food and wine routes to bring consumers into direct contact with their territories. 

Wine areas such as La Rioja in Spain or Champagne in France show how protected appellations have been combined with structured wine tourism offers, including guided tastings, visits to historic wineries, and themed routes that encourage longer stays and repeat visits. Similar dynamics can be seen for many protected agrifood products, where farm stays, cheese or olive oil tastings, and cooking experiences help visitors understand the specific local know-how and environmental conditions behind the reputation of the GI or Designation of Origin. 

These activities have strengthened regional branding and deepened consumer loyalty by transforming quality schemes into tangible, memorable experiences. They also help visitors understand the importance of the Geographical Indication, what makes the products special, and why there is, sometimes, such a marked difference in price compared with non-protected alternatives. Tourists frequently become informal ambassadors for the GI, recommending the experience to friends and family and sharing what they have learned. After these encounters, visitors often develop a deeper appreciation of the cultural and environmental factors that help build quality products and may even become more responsible consumers when they return home, maintaining their demand for certified GI goods and support for fair value chains.

Mexico

Handcrafted GIs are increasingly using the same logic, positioning workshops and artisan communities as destinations where visitors can learn about traditional techniques and cultural meanings while purchasing authentic products on site. In Mexico, in the state of Puebla, Uriarte Talavera offers guided factory tours where visitors observe the multi-stage process of producing Talavera Poblana under the Mexican Designation of Origin and can participate in hand-painting workshops to create their own ceramic pieces, often combined with culinary events or city tours that highlight the broader cultural landscape of Talavera. Travel descriptions of the seminar emphasise that tourists can see artisans at work, follow the process from clay preparation to firing, and then buy certified items in the showroom, which turns the GI or DO label into a tangible encounter with place, skill, and history. 

Peru

In Peru, Chulucanas pottery, product of the Piura region, is at the centre of day trips where visitors travel to meet potters, see demonstrations of pre-Inca-inspired techniques such as smoke-firing with mango leaves, and explore nearby craft villages. Tour operators promote full-day experiential tours to Chulucanas that combine workshop visits, explanations of the clay and firing processes, interactions with artisans, and opportunities to sample local cuisine, embedding the ceramics within a wider territorial experience. 

Colombia

In Colombia, arts and crafts tourism routes developed with the support of national institutions invite visitors to travel through towns known for specific crafts, including Guacamayas, in Boyacá, where colourful fique-fibre baskets protected with a Denomination of Origin are a main attraction. 

India

Beyond Latin America, in India, handcrafts and handlooms such as Channapatna toys and Kutch embroidery are registered as geographical indications and promoted as part of sustainable tourism offers that invite visitors to workshops, craft complexes, and villages to watch artisans work and understand the social and cultural value of these products. The town of Channapatna has developed facilities for visitors, including a lacquerware craft complex and demonstrations of toy making, which support both preservation of the GI-recognised craft and the local economy. 

Benefits

The benefits of experiential tourism for OD and GI products are multi-layered, combining economic, social, cultural, and legal dimensions. By bringing visitors directly to the place of origin, this form of tourism stimulates local value creation through on-site sales, hospitality services, and complementary activities, thereby increasing the share of GI-related value that remains within the community. At the same time, immersive visits allow producers to explain product specifications, traditional methods, and control systems in person, which, as has been mentioned, can strengthen consumer trust in the GI or DO label and differentiate authentic products from imitations. 

Experiential tourism also supports intergenerational transmission of know-how because workshop visits, demonstrations, and participatory activities create incentives for younger community members to stay in or return to the sector (and therefore, to their communities) and see the craft or agrifood tradition as a viable and respected livelihood. Moreover, these experiences contribute to place branding and rural development policies by aligning tourism, cultural heritage protection, and IP tools in a single narrative that highlights the uniqueness of the territory.

There are also important reasons why public authorities, producer groups, and tourism organisations should actively foster experiential tourism around GI and OD products. Structured experiences can be designed to manage visitor flows, encourage more extended stays, and reduce seasonality, which enhances the resilience of local economies while reducing the pressure of mass tourism on fragile sites. When carried out with community participation and appropriate safeguards, experiential tourism can help address issues of cultural appropriation. 

Europe

As discussed in our recent article, in Europe, the entry into force of the new EU Regulation on geographical indications for craft and industrial products on 1 December 2025 opens significant new opportunities for handcrafted GIs in the experiential tourism space. Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 extends EU-wide GI protection beyond agricultural, food, wine, and spirit products to cover crafts and industrial goods such as ceramics, glassware, textiles, and cutlery, placing them on an equal legal footing with long-established agrifood GIs. Official communications emphasise that artisans across the Union, including producers of well-known items like Limoges porcelain, Solingen knives, and Harris tweed, will now be able to register their names and benefit from stronger protection against misuse and counterfeiting. 

Such a framework is expected to encourage the development of tourism offers centred on recognised craft GIs, as secure and visible protection at the EU level can make it easier to invest in visitor centres, workshop tours, and cross-border promotional campaigns that link cultural tourism, regional branding, and intellectual property coherently.

For more information

• DG GROW – Geographical indications for craft and industrial products
• DG AGRI – Geographical indications and quality schemes explained – Agriculture and rural development
• Video – From Executive Vice-President Séjourné presenting the EU-wide geographical-indication protection for craft and industrial products (CIGIs)
• Video – What makes certain products unmistakably tied to a place?
• Video – How to register your name as a geographical indication for craft and industrial products
• Video – Geographical indications for craft and industrial products explained
• EUIPO – CIGI Hub
• Letter from Executive Vice-President Séjourné to EU-based producers and craftsmen