Are there different profiles of wine tourists? An initial approach

Abstract

Purpose

Wine tourism is emerging as a lucrative sector, with the capacity to generate growing and long‐lasting tourism. Despite Spain's tourism and wine potential, wine tourism is scarcely developed. In order to develop it strategically, it is necessary to know both the real and potential customers of this tourism. The purpose of this paper is to ask, who is the wine tourist and how is he or she different from other visitors to a destination?

Design/methodology/approach

The objective of this study is to determine the existence of a group of wine tourists who are clearly differentiated from those tourists who have never participated in wine tourism. If such a group exists, the study attempts to determine the type of wine tourists existing in our country.

Findings

This study endeavours to provide knowledge about the differences between those individuals who have never participated in wine tourism and those who have. Moreover, the profile of a wine tourist can be divided into two groups, thereby considering the variables of gender, age, wine consumption habits and involvement in activities related to wine.

Practical implications

The effect that wine tourism can have in the area where it is developed means that we must increase our knowledge of wine tourists. The determination of the types of wine tourists and their tastes, desires, preferences, etc. will help to develop suitable marketing strategies.

Originality/value

This paper constitutes one of the first approaches at segmenting wine tourists in Spain.

Citation

Marzo‐Navarro, M. and Pedraja‐Iglesias, M. (2010), "Are there different profiles of wine tourists? An initial approach", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 349-361. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511061011092401