Economic sustainability of wine tourism services and direct sales performance – emergent profiles from Italy
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 6 April 2020
Issue publication date: 28 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Direct sales at the winery constitute one of the most used indicators for evaluating the success of a wine tourism experience. In this respect, service performance at the winery can have some influence on sales, which assumes that there is a direct link between the service level intensity of the wine tourism offer and the intensity level of direct sales at the winery; thus proposing that the global sustainability of the economic performance of the winery would increase if the wine tourism experience was supported by intense wine tourism services.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive statistical investigation was conducted on a sample of 35 Italian wineries, giving evidence on the adoption of different service categories as part of the wineries' wine tourism offers. From these results, an inferential statistical analysis was conducted to detect the existence of a direct link between wine tourism services and direct sales at the winery.
Findings
Based on the current investigation, even though it was of an exploratory nature, the evidence does not in general support a direct link between the service level intensity of the wine tourism offer and the level of intensity of direct sales at the winery. Instead, some evidence points to a potential direct link between logistics services and direct sales. Unfortunately, some evidence emerged regarding the lack of availability of wine tourism services for disabled persons.
Originality/value
Wine tourism is a relevant success factor for the wine business. Its influence affects not only the wineries' reputation through word-of-mouth, most of all on the social networks but also their image and most importantly their direct sales. Frequently, in fact, wine tourism performance can be evaluated by direct sales performance. As a result of the current investigation, however, it is likely that the intensity level of direct sales at the winery is not the most correct indicator for evaluating the success of a wine tourism experience with high levels of service, especially when considering overall sustainability.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Author's contribution: This paper is the result of the common reflection of all of the authors. In the editing phase, the “Introduction” and the “Conclusion” sections were written by Sławomir Smyczek. The “A general review of wine tourism's contribution to the wine business” section was written by Filippo Monge. The “Study design: research question and methods” and the “Wine tourism services' contribution to economic sustainability through direct sales at the winery: the results of the survey” sections were written by Giuseppe Festa. The “Findings”, the “Theoretical and practical implications” and the “Limitations of the study and possible directions for future research” sections were written by Matteo Rossi.
Citation
Smyczek, S., Festa, G., Rossi, M. and Monge, F. (2020), "Economic sustainability of wine tourism services and direct sales performance – emergent profiles from Italy", British Food Journal, Vol. 122 No. 5, pp. 1519-1529. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-08-2019-0651
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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