Agri-food tourism and territorial appropriation. The case of wine tourism in central Mexico

The rise of wine tourism in Queretaro is part of a larger process of economic and social restructuring of rural areas in central Mexico. In addition to the regulation and provisioning services that rural areas provide to society, it highlights the importance of cultural services such as tourism that are highly appreciated by the inhabitants of large cities. This opens the way to a new distribution of the territory where the natural, cultural and symbolic capital are appropriated in many different ways. Multifunctionality of territory and pluriactivity of actors reveal the growing complexity of disputes over local resources.The State of Queretaro in central Mexico is a major producer of cheese and wine, whose production is associated with the legacy of Spanish colonization. It is an agro-industrial complex and tourism destination, located an hour and a half from Mexico City, the fourth largest megacity in the world. Taking advantage of the location, wineries and the local Ministry of Tourism developed the Wine and Cheese Route, which because of its originality is shown as an effective tool for local marketing. Wineries that make up the route are heterogeneous, ranging from multinational companies to small sized family businesses. All wineries contribute to the creation of a bucolic imaginary about the territory, which attracts thousands of visitors. The main beneficiaries of tourism are the largest producers of wine, which are better able to offer leisure services