MAY-DEC 2012ISSUES 3 and 4

A new communication model in wine tourism According to the association Great Wine Capitals, a change in the communications model has taken place, replacing monologue with a dialogue between industry stakeholders. The way that this model has been applied in the wine tourism is as follows: until now, wineries have primarily targeted advertising and publicity at distributors, retailers, and only later the end customer. This system did not allow wineries to get feedback from the messages’ recipients. However, in recent years, wineries have established a dialogue, multidirectional communication, not only with customers, but also with other industry stakeholders, creating a network which offers a way for them to exchange information and receive feedback. Social networks have also played an important role in building this network of industry players. According to Great Wine Capitals, wine tourism destinations in the new world are making the most use of these systems, while European cities tend to use more traditional means of communication and promotion which do not offer the same kind of interaction between stakeholders such as attending trade fairs, publishing brochures, and using internet 1.0. Despite this general trend, more and more European destinations are starting to take advantage of social networks. For example, if we compare different old and new world wineries’ activities on social networks, wineries in Spain, Italy and France are on par with American wineries and ahead of the Argentinean ones, according to a Great Wine Capitals internet impact study for the wine sector. In future issues we will examine the differences in the communication systems of new and old world destinations in greater detail.

CONTENTS

HIGHLIGHTS

8 2 4

10 6

Wine tourism in Côtes du Rhône: many denominations spread across three regions (p. 2) Different systems for measuring the quality of wine tourism products and services offered (p. 4) Differentiating characteristics of DO Concade Barberà: Trepat, the wine cathedrals,and complementary services (p. 6)

Similarities and differences in the profile of Spanish, Italian, French, Canadian and Arizonan wine tourists (p. 8) Planning strategies and management of wine tourism by country (p. 10) European Day of Wine Tourism: participants, activities and scope of action (p. 12)

Differences in wine tourist profiles by country

Competing wine tourism destinations: Côtes du Rhône

Quality in wine tourism

Comparison of wine tourism management by country

DO Conca de Barberà

PUBLISHED BY:

Wine tourism routes Area of Côtes du Rhône Source: Compiled by author.

Source: Wine tourism study of the Rhône-Alpes regions2.

visitable wineries

wineries open to

the public

% visitable

Ardèche 59 131 45.0

Drôme 73 131 55.7

Loire 46 69 66.7

Rhône 102 611 16.7

4 Departments 280 942 29.7

This French wine appellation is one of seven found in the Rhône Valley. The following is an examination of the most distinctive elements of this wine region

Côtes du Rhône is a FrenchAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), the equivalent of a Spanish Denominación de Origen, or Designation of Origin. It is spread out across the two sides of the Rhône River, occupying about 60,000 hectares1 in 6 different French departments between Avignon and Vienne (MAP 1). This scattered north to south distribution has significant differences in climate, which has led to the use of different grape varieties in the northern (from Vienne to Valence) and southern areas (from Montélimar to Avignon). The wine tourism region is somewhat complex in terms of its spatial distribution and the fact that it is shared between three different regions: Rhône-Alpes, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. In addition to these, there are four subdivisions: Côtes du Rhône: the general

appellation, with the largest surface area, occupying 6 departments and 171 communes (municipalities).

Côtes du Rhône Village: this covers 4 departments and has 95 appellations.

Côtes du Rhône with name of municipality: a group of 18 appellations.

Côtes du Rhône Cru: a combination of 15 appellations.

Wine tourism services and products

Counting the number of wineries which can be visited in the AOC is quite difficult. However, the wineries of 4 of the 6 departments in the region have been identified thanks to a

study of wine tourism in the Rhône-Alpes region2. These four departments are home to 280 wineries which are open for visits. Although Rhône is the department with the largest number of visitable wineries, in terms of the percentage of wineries open to the public, Loire is ahead of Rhône (TABLE 1). According to Inter Rhône, an association of professional wine growers from 7 AOCs in the Rhône Valley, five wine routes pass through Côtes du Rhône on which visitors will find wineries, accommodations, res-taurants and other leisure services. Of special interest is the recently inaugurated Côtes du Rhône wine interpretive centre Maison des Vins in Drôme, an Inter Rhône project. Profile of the wine tourist

The Inter-Rhône3 study examines the differentiating characteristics of wine tourists in the Rhône Valley, which is shared by seven different AOCs (including Côtes du Rhône). Of the tourists to the valley, 69.0% are men, slightly higher than the average for wine tourists in France (60.0%). As far as age is concerned, tourists are distributed through all segments. The number of tourists in the over-55 segment is noteworthy, considerably above the average for France (36.6% in this region, compared with 30.4% for France). As with the figure for the whole country, wine tourists with a high level of professional qualification have a very notable presence, which translates to greater purchasing power and expenditures. Thus, the average expenditure of wine tourists in the Rhône Valley is higher than the average for France (€104.20).

Côtes du Rhône

MAP 1: Location of Côtes du Rhône.

TABLE 1: Winery services in the four departments of Côtes du Rhône.

Sources: 1 Inter-Rhône, Vins d'AOC Côtes du Rhône et de la Vallée du Rhône. 2 Rhône-Alps Tourisme (2011). Tourisme et Vin. Les clientèles de Rhône-Alpes, Synthèse. 3 Inter-Rhône (2009). Etude des clientèles & Offre Vitivinicole en Vallée du Rhône.

MAY-DEC 2012 ISSUES 3 and 4 TENDÈNCIES ENOTUR 2COMPETING WINE TOURISM DESTINATIONS

Source: Compiled by author using INSEE and Catalan Tourism Observatory data. Inter Rhône, INCAVI. *Note: Data for camping places in France are for 2011, for Catalonia they are for 2012.

Source: Compiled from data provided by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques - INSEE). Note: Hotel accommodation data is for January 2012. Campground data is for January 2011.

Hotel accommodations

Campground accommodations

Ardèche 2,574 21,934

Drôme 4,142 9,429

Gard 4,898 19,644

Loire 3,051 2,220

Rhône 14,281 2,285

Vaucluse 7,054 8,048

Total AOC Côtes du Rhône

36,000 63,560

AOC Côtes du

Rhône Province of Tarragona

Territory 3 regions, 6

departments 8 counties

Area (ha) 60,000 25,277

Tourism zones

4 specific wine tourism brands:

general, Crûs, Village, etc.

2 territorial brands: Costa

Daurada and Terres de l'Ebre

Sub-categories

Over 100 denominations

5 DOs, and part of DO Penedès and DO

Cava

Total wineries 942 296

Visitable wineries (%)

29.7 28.0

No. hotel places (2012)

36,000 60,250

* No. campground places

63,560 76,533

SEGON I TERCER QUADRIMESTRE 2012 Nº3 I 4 TENDÈNCIES ENOTUR

As has been the general trend, most tourists tend to come from the same country as the destination they are visiting. Here, this group makes up 60% of wine tourists visiting the destination. Visitors generally come from the surrounding areas, the region Rhône-Alpes itself or Languedoc-Roussillon, and the Paris region. Of the 40% of visitors who come from abroad, most are from Belgium, Luxembourg, the UK, the USA and the Netherlands. Hotels, family residences and staying with friends are the most common form of accommodation. However, campgrounds provide another alternative which accounts for 20.7% of the total, a significant figure when compared to the French average of 13.5%. Tourists cite their motivations for coming to the destination as discovering new wines, the reputation of the region, the climate, and the cuisine. Among the main reasons for visiting are buying and tasting wines, which are well above the average for this category. Côtes du Rhône’s tourists also tend to travel within the destination. Sixty-six percent visit between one and three different locations during their stay, which is usually 7 days (for 52% of tourists). Word of mouth and having visited the destination in the past are most common ways the tourists come to know about the destination. This is very different from the situation for the whole of France where online information and tourist information offices play key roles. Visitor capacity

Given the importance of staying at campgrounds, the third most common type of accommodation according to the Inter Rhône study, two types of accommodations were counted in the 6 departments of the AOC. While camping accommodations are concentrated in the south of the AOC

(accounting for 65.4%), the department of Rhône in the north has 39.7% of hotel capacity (TABLE 2). Product management

In the region of Rhône-Alpes wine tourism is linked to the terroir, wine as a local product, so it is often wine-growing organisations or chambers of agriculture which take the lead in wine tourism initiatives4. Contrary to what is happening in Aquitaine and Burgundy where there is a clear commitment to wine tourism, the regional tourism organisation is committed to tourism related to water resources as a product, linking it to well-being and spas4. In fact, a look at governmental websites for the tourist destination shows that only the department of Vaucluse, and specifi-cally the city of Avignon, have a focus on wine tourism. Avignon is promoted as the Capital of Côtes de Rhône. For the country as a whole, however, the region participates in the wine tourism initiatives promoted by ATOUT France, such as le Club Tourisme Vitivinicole and Destination Vignobles. So, it is wine businesses which are taking the lead in promoting wine tourism products and services, sometimes representing a single sector, as in the case of Inter Rhône, and on other occasions collaborating with tourism organisations such as the regional wine tourism committee, which is comprised of 9 wine associations, Rhône-Alpes Tourism and 6 departmental tourism committees. However, no specific wine tourism management entity for AOC Côtes du Rhône has been established. Once again, we find a leading wine tourism region without its own management and promotional structure, as we also discovered previously with the Chianti region in Italy in a previous issue.

TABLE 2: Accommodations by type and department.

TABLE 3: Comparison of wine tourismsector for AOC Côtes du Rhône and thecounties of Tarragona.

3

Sources:4 Comité de pilotage vitivinicole Rhône-Alpes (2007). Etat des lieux de l’offre et de la demande oenotouristique en Rhóne-Alpes et premières pistes de stratégie de communication suite aux ateliers.

COMPETING WINE TOURISM DESTINATIONS

MAY-DEC 2012 ISSUES 3 and 4 TENDÈNCIES ENOTUR

MERCATS

44Quality in wine tourism

Each destination establishes its own mechanisms to certify the quality of its wine tourism services. Which entities promote the service or product and the purpose of the brand are some of the aspects considered Quality is one of the competitive aspects of the tourism system. Each country has its own certification system, the Q in Spain, Qualité Tourisme in France and New Zealand’s Qualmark. These systems serve a dual purpose, they increase the competitiveness of the product or service in terms of demand, and they provide a differentiating factor for the selection of a tourist service. Taking advantage of the recent creation of the Q specifically for the tourism industry for the primary wine tourism service, i.e. winery visits, a study was conducted on the different wine tourism quality symbols used in competing countries, which take the form of labels, brands or specific product clubs. The study examines differences in the services and/or products certified, the degree of detail of the requirements, their purpose, and the certifying agent or entity. In some cases the object of certification is the primary wine tourism product itself, i.e. wine cellars, in others, it is granted to an entire wine tourism destination. Our first case focuses on Argentine wineries, using the document Directives for the Management of Tourism in Wineries (Directrices de Gestión Turística para Bodegas) requirements which wineries must meet were determined in order to develop a comprehensive wine tourism model. Another example is that of Spain, which recently implemented the Q symbol specifically for quality in the tourism industry, which includes wineries. It remains to be seen if different requirements will be established based on the type of company seeking certification or, alternatively, a general set of criteria is established.

Brands which certify the quality of the wine tourism destinations come under the second of the two. This is what the French tourist entity ATOUT has done with the support of the Superior Wine Council. Vignobles&Découvertes is a brand which verifies that tourist service providers of a destination are committed to wine tourism. This brand has established regulations for use for each wine tourism product or service. Of interest here is the broad scope of the quality brand which includes other elements such as museums, tourist information centres and tourist reception services in addition to the more traditional wine tourism products and services. Analysis of the French wine tourism quality system has revealed similarities with the Spanish Tourist Destination Quality System (Sistema de Calidad Turística en Destino – SICTED), although in the latter case certification is provided for the entire tourist destination, while the French system provides an example of tourism specialisation. The level of implementation in the French system is quite high (24 destinations have been certified). The demands placed on those who seek certification, and the specifications of requirements are also of interest, while the Argentine system establishes general requirements, the French system is quite different. Although it provides brand certification for wine tourism destinations, the requirements are much more detailed for the members of the destination. Wineries, for example, are required to remain open on Saturdays or Sundays, to provide services in one foreign language (other than French), to offer services specifically for families and groups, and to provide information for the region as a whole.

“While the Argentine system establishes general quality requirements, the French requirements are much more detailed for the members of the destination”

“Vignobles& Découvertes is a brand which verifies that tourist service providers of a destination are committed to wine tourism”

GOOD PRACTICES

MAY-DEC 2012 ISSUES 3 and 4 TENDÈNCIES ENOTUR

GOOD PRACTICES

5If the purpose of the brand is analysed, clear objectives can be established: quality as a promoter of competitiveness, and as a promotional and sales tool. The Argentinean and Spanish brands are clearly meant to increase competitiveness in the sector, although indirectly they may also have promotion as an objective. These systems also take variables related to strategic planning and management into consideration. On the other hand, we have the Italian initiative Quality Time, Club of Excellence, which is backed by the national association Città del Vino and includes tourist products and services which are believed to have values of excellence. Club members offer discounts and promotions to users of the Quality Time card. This initiative is clearly a marketing strategy. Criteria for joining the club are set by the Italian Sommelier Association without a formal document which objectively establishes requirements for each type of member by type. Significant differences were also found among the different certifying bodies. The most common form of initiative found among those analysed were joint initiatives with the body responsible for tourism in a country and other wine tourism entities. For example, the French association ATOUT created its brand following the recommendations of the French Superior Wine Council. The Argentinean system is the result of a joint project between the National Institute of Tourism Promotion, the Federal Investment Council and the association Bodegas Argentinas. Although the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (Instituto para la Calidad Turística Española – ICTE) developed the Spanish system, it received the support of the regional government of La Rioja. Italy is the exception, the wine tourism

association Città del Vino developed its own certificate for the clear purpose of promoting and facilitating marketing of Italian wine tourism products and services. This quality certification trend is relatively new. Some wine tourism destinations such as Chile and New Zealand have no specific certificates. They use other mechanisms to assess quality. This is the case with the Spanish brand Wine Routes of Spain, promoted by the Spanish Association of Wine Cities, ACEVIN. Today the brand has 17 certified routes, including two in Catalonia. Another formula used is product clubs, in France we find the Club Tourisme Vitivinicole, while in Spain we find this on the regional level with the Castile-La Mancha Wine Tourism Quality Club and the Catalan Tourism Agency's Wine and Gastronomy Club. On the local level we find the Penedès Wine Tourism Club which is supported by the Alt Penedès Consortium for the Promotion of Tourism and includes products and services offered in Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Garraf. The purpose of these clubs is to promote wine tourism services through press trips, meetings with tour operators, domestic and foreign promotional campaigns, and other similar activities. Of special interest here is Castille-La Mancha, where members have agreed on quality standards and annual audits aimed at promoting quality rather than the marketing typical of a product club. So there are a variety of quality certificates. The importance of the system lies, more than in the system itself, in its recognition of the tourism market, making the brand an added value to the services and the wine tourism destination.

“If the purpose of the brand is analysed, clear objectives can be established: quality as a promoter of competitiveness, and as a promotional and sales tool”

Argentina: Directrices de Gestión Turística de Bodegas.

France: Label Vignobles&Découvertes.

Italy: Quality Time, Club of Excellence.

Further information:

MAY-DEC 2012 ISSUES 3 and 4 TENDÈNCIES ENOTUR

Source: Compiled by author using Catalan Tourism Observatory data. Data is for 2012.

Source: Compiled by author.

OUR TOURIST DESTINATIONS

6

DO Conca de Barberà is one of six DOs in the counties of Tarragona. It occupies an area of 6,000 hectares in the county of Conca de Barberà, including 14 municipalities, and is home to 81.0% of the population (MAP 1). This wine tourism region has two key differentiating elements, the first of these are the Catedrals del Vi (Cathedrals of Wine)1, and the second is a grape variety that is almost singular to the area, Trepat. These two elements combined with the wineries, the area’s cultural resources such as Cistercian Route, the Poblet Monastery (declared a World Heritage Site), and its natural attractions, are the key assets of the region. Visitor capacity

The DO has 1,386 accommodation places, representing 52.5% of the places in the county. A single campground accounts for 46.1% of all accommodation offered in the DO. Hotels are the second most prevalent type of accommodation and are primarily in the one- and two-star category, with the average for the county slightly higher (2 and 3 stars, see CHART 1)2. Rural bed and breakfasts are the third most common type of accommodation and account for 15.1 % of accommodations in the 14 towns in the DO). Wine tourism structure

Of the 22 wineries registered with the regulatory board, visits can be arranged in 20, including three modernist wineries which have received the Cathedral of Wine certification. The majority of wine tours are free of charge (16 of 20 wineries) and require

prior reservation. Most of the wineries are small family-run businesses, some specialise in organic wines, and some are wine cooperatives. In fact, the town of Conca de Barbera is home to Spain’s first cooperative winery. The region is also home to wineries belonging to some of the larger brands. Although wine tourism is still in its early stages of development, according to the regulatory board, 95.5% of the wineries offer guided tours. However, there is a notable lack of information about the characteristics of the guided tours, both on the wineries’ websites and on the website of the regulatory board itself, which demonstrates that the product is still in an early stage of development. Although the wine tourism services offered in the wineries are conventional (wine tasting, tours of the facilities, etc.), some packages are available which combine accommodations, dining in local restaurants, and winery tours3. The region also has a network of routes linking major wineries and the cultural resources of the municipalities. In addition to the Modernist Cellars Route, the DO has five routes which pass through the different towns and wineries and provide an interesting and different way to get to know the territory. Complementary services The star tourism product of the county is the Cistercian Route, one of the most well-founded cultural tourism products in Catalonia. The route passes through the Cistercian monasteries of the counties of Conca de Barberà (the Poblet Monastery), Alt Camp (the Santes Creus Monastery) and Urgell (the Vallbona de les Monges Monastery).

Initiatives launched in recent years by wine tourism industry stakeholders, as well as the county’s features make the outlook for potential growth in wine tourism this DO rosy

CHART 1: Comparison of the distribution of hotel accommodations by category in the county of Conca de Barberà and in the area of the Conca de Barberà DO.

DO Conca de Barberà

Sources: 1 The Catedrals del Vi, or Cathedrals of Wine, are cooperative wineries constructed in the modernist style between 1910 and 1920. 2 Catalan Tourism Observatory. 3 Information compiled from the website of the DO Conca de Barberà regulatory board.

MAP 1: Location of Do Conca de Barberà.

10.35.9

12.221.0

34.3

55.8

33.0

17.310.1

0.0

% places country % places DOpensions hotel 1* hotel 2*hotel 3* hotel 4*

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Source: Conca de Barberà County Council7.

Source: DO Conca de Barberà regulatory board, Conca de Barberà County Council, Idescat and the Catalan Tourism Observatory. *Note: Number of visits to the Montblanc, Espluga de Francolí and Poblet tourist offices.

Number of municipalities 14

Number of inhabitants (2011) 17,248

Population density (inhab./km2)

40.3

km2 428.5

Wineries registered with the regulatory board (2012) 22

Wineries offering guided tours (2012) 20

No. of accommodations (2012)

1,386

No. hotel accommodations (places) 506

No. of visits to tourist offices (2011)

112,002*

Number of tourist offices (2011) 4

LES NOSTRES DESTINACIONS

7The three monasteries received 195,000 visitors in 20114. The Poblet monastery received 50% of the visits to the three religious centres, according to official figures, nearly 98,000 visits, illustrating the importance of tourism to the area. The county also offers other cultural tourism activities such as medieval Montblanc, the Cave Art Interpretation Centre in Montblanc, and the Alabastre de Sarral Museum. Espluga of Francolí is home to a wine museum, the Museum of Rural Life and Fassina of Balanyà (an aiguardent distillery). Nature and active tourism could also be a valuable complement to wine tourism, taking advantage of the Poblet National Park, the Prades Mountains, the Cave Museum, and the town fountain of Francolí Espluga, or the vast network of GR routes (Gran Recorregut, or long-distance) and PR (Petit Recorregut, or short-distance) for hikers and mountain bikers. Planning and wine tourism initiatives

Wine tourism products have gained prominence in local tourism management. Although currently the county tourism website gives this no special importance, the county government intends to promote wine tourism, as is evident in its 2012 action plan. In 2005 as part of the Cistercian Route, a strategy for the development of wine tourism was set out based on a document drafted by Rovira and Virgil University’s Research Group on Territorial Analysis and Tourism Studies (GRATET). In 2007 a second document5 was drafted which defined wine tourism as accounting for only a small part of total tourism in the area, and supported a commitment from the wineries and the regulatory board to develop wine

tourism in the area. So the approach to wine tourism adopted by the regulatory board on its website is relevant. Moreover, in 2008 the creation of the Paisatges del Vi Project, or Wine Country Project, was announced under the aegis of the inter-territorial Leader Project which combines the efforts of the regions of Priorat, Conca de Barberà and Terra Alta to promote economic development through the creation of a self-guided trail which can be downloaded on MP3 or CD from the project site. Other initiatives have been launched in the region as well. One of these is the Viver de Celleristes, or winemaking incubator. This innovative project is a business incubator for winemakers. The project is backed by the Barberà de la Conca town council with the support of the Alt Camp, Conca de Barberà and Anoia Development Consortium. The incubator provides entrepreneurs with equipment needed to make wine, eliminating the need for each member to make the significant investment required to set up a winery individually. The space is currently home to five businesses. In 2009 the county council and the regulatory board signed an agreement to promote wine tourism, another example of increasing collaboration between different entitites6. Other local initiatives include Conca 5.1, a privately funded project to promote local economic development through wine tourism. Lastly, we should note the use of client loyalty programmes and the promotion of tourist products and services by local management bodies, such as Carnet 6T, which promotes tourism assets related to the Cistercian Route, and the Conca Card, an initiative of the Conca de Barberà tourism body, which offers two discount cards to participating establishments.

Sources: 4 Cistercian Route website news, 18 January 2012. 5 CERES. Investigació Sociològica i de Mercats (2007). Procés de reflexió i revisió de l'actual pla de foment de dinamització turística de la Conca de Barberà, en el marc de la Ruta del Cister, per part del propi sector turístic.Tarragona. 6 Punt Avui news article, 22 December 2009. 7 Conca de Barberà County Council (2011). Report on visitors to Conca de Barberà tourism offices.

LES NOSTRES DESTINACIONS

PRIMER QUADRIMESTRE 2012 Nº2 TENDÈNCIES ENOTUR 7OUR TOURIST DESTINATIONS

TABLE 2: Characteristics of Concade Barberà tourists (2011).

Origin of tourists: 44.7% Catalan, 29.0% foreign and 22.7% from the rest of Spain.

Catalan tourists come primarily

from the city of Barcelona and its counties (65.0%) and the province of Tarragona (22.0%).

TABLE 1: Summary of DO Conca deBarberà wine tourism data.

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STATISTICS AND MARKETS

Male, middle-aged, and from the same country as the destination are some of the characteristics of the typical wine tourist in the countries analysed

In order to gain a better understanding of the profile of the typical wine tourist and find out if there are significant differences from one country to the next, a comparison of different variables was conducted using existing studies for Spain1, Italy2, France3, Canada4 and the U.S. state of Arizona5. The following describes the variables which were compared. Motivation Wine tourists visiting Italy and France placed the highest value on discovering and the quality of the region. This group has a systemic perspective; the landscape acts as a single entity encompassing elements such as nature, culture and cuisine. This is so much so that for Italy the first element to appear which is directly related to the world of wine is in fourth place. For France this feeling (which the French call terroir) is even stronger. However, in Spain and the U.S. tourists give greater emphasis to material elements directly linked to the culture of wine, such as visiting wineries in Spain, or wine tasting in Arizona. In Arizona values associated with the countryside or location are less prevalent. The possibility of visiting a rural area comes fifth in the prioritisation of motivations, and other motivations related to the region are altogether absent (TABLE 1).

TABLE 1: Ranking of wine tourist motivations by country.

SPAIN ITALY FRANCE ARIZONA (USA)

1 winery visits

quality of the region

discovering the region

wine tasting

2

cultural heritage wine quality

cuisine and restaurants

family visits

spending the day outdoors

3 dining events nature

activities with family & friends

4 - wine territory relaxing Source: Compiled by author based on reports 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Length of stay Most tourists who travel for the purpose of wine tourism take day trips and don’t spend the night. The importance of local tourists in wine tourism explains the predominance of people who take day trips. The highest percentage of people who take day trips is found in Arizona (61.2%), where 59.1% are local tourists from Arizona, while the lowest is found in Spain (33% do not spend the night). In fact, Spain has the highest percentage of tourists who spend 4 or 5 days at the destination (TABLE 2). If the distance between the principal points of origin of wine tourists is accounted for in Spain (Catalonia and Valencia, 19.4%; and Madrid, 12.2%)1 and the location of the most visited routes (Marco de Jerez, Cadiz and Penedes, Barcelona)6, it becomes clear why there is a high percentage of stays between 4 and 5 days, especially for tourists from Valencia and Madrid. Considering the distance of between tourists’ residences and the wine tourism resources, we also see a greater percentage of trips which last longer than a week (8.0% for wine tourists in Spain), much higher than in Italy (1.2%).

8

Sources: 1 ACEVIN, Dinamiza Asesores & Consultur (First section 2010). Analysis of Wine Route Demand. Madrid 2 Città del Vino i Osservatorio sui Turismo del Vino (2011). I Nuovo Dinamismi di un Turismo di Tendenza, IX Rapporto annuale. Rome. 3 Lettre de Vitisphère (2007). L'Oenotourisme: Une Valorisation de Produïts et du Patrimoine Vitivinicoles. Paris. 4 Tourism British Columbia (2009). Wine Tourism Product. Building Tourism with Insight. Canada. 5 Office of Tourism of Arizona (2011). The Arizona Wine Tourism Industry. Arizona. 6 ACEVIN (2011). Report of visitors to wineries associated with wine routers in Spain. Spain. Madrid

Differences between wine tourist profiles by country

“Wine tourists visiting Italy and France placed the highest value on discovering and the quality of the region. However, in Spain and the U.S. tourists give greater emphasis to material elements directly linked to the culture of wine”

“Most tourists who travel for the purpose of wine tourism take day trips and don’t spend the night"

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≤20 0%

21-256%

26 -3013%

31-3510%

36-4012%

41-458%

46-5012%

51-5511%

56-6212%

61 a 65 10%

66-702%

71-752%

≥762%

Source: Compiled by author based on data from the report on Arizona1.

INNOVACIÓ

TABLE 2: Length of stay of wine tourists by country.

SPAIN ITALY ARIZONA

1 day (no overnight stay) 33.0% 56.7% 61.2%

2-3 days 30.0% 26.5%

38.8% 4-5 days 24.0% 9.6%

1 week 5.0% 6.0%

More than a week 8.0% 1.2%

Source: Compiled by author based on reports 1, 2, and 5.

Age segment

The 46-60 age group represents the majority of wine tourism lovers, with the highest percentages in Spain and Arizona, 33.0% and 34.8%, respectively. This segment also represents a majority in Italy. The younger 26-35 segment is also prevalent, particularly in the U.S., with 13% of the total, the highest percentage of all the segregated data (FIGURE 1). TABLE 3: Age distribution of wine tourists, by segment and country.

SPAIN ITALY FRANCE ARIZONA

26-35 20.0% 23.0%

36-45 25.0%

67.0%

19.0%

46-60 33.0% majority

34.8%

61-65 10.3%

Source: Compiled by author based on reports 1, 2, 3 and 5.

A correlation was found when age segments were compared with profession. Although the studies used different approaches, they revealed a significant percentage of pensioners, which is due to the fact that wine tourists tend to be older. In Italy, 40% of wine tourists were found to be pensioners. Also, in Spain this segment represented 14.0% of the total, and in France, 18.0%.

Other variables

The gender and origin of wine tourists were two variables which showed no significant differences, regardless of the destination. The percentage of men was higher than the percentage of women, with higher figures in Italy (62.0% men), while Spain (55.0%) and Canada (50.3%) were more balanced. As for the other aspect of wine tourists, their origin, most, a very high percentage, are from the same country as the destination. For the Rutas del Vino 80% of the market is domestic, while in Arizona this represented 98% of the total. France, however, broke with general trend. It has a significant number of foreign wine tourists, only 67.0% of which were French. These tourists come primarily from nearby countries such as Belgium (27.0%), the United Kingdom (21.0%) and Germany (15.0%). The Germans and the British are in first and the fourth position in terms of volume of visitors for wine tourism in Spain, while foreign tourists made up 20.0%, in France this figure is 33.0%.

Conclusions

Wine tourists in all countries analysed appear to have similar characteristics.They are older, they come from the same country as the destination they travel to, which means that many only go for the day, and they are primarily men. Significant differences were identified in the wine tourism motivations and values. Tourists in Italy and France had a more global outlook of wine tourism as part of the countryside, while in Spain and Arizona they saw more tangible and concrete relationship with the wine.

9STATISTICS AND MARKETS

“There are a significant number of pensioners, which is related to the more mature age segment of wine tourists”

FIGURE 1: Distribution of wine tourists in Arizona by age segment.

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This section examines wine tourism planning and leading stakeholders in different countries across the globe. The first part compares the types of actions proposed in the strategic plans of wineries. Afterwards we examine who is driving the sector in the four countries analysed. For the analysis of action plans, three countries representing three different wine tourism models were chosen: France, representing the wine tourism model based on heritage; Australia, as the leader in recreation and education; and Argentina, as a wine tourism destination which has followed a model developed by industry leaders1. To make the comparison, the actions in the different studies were standardised and divided into two different groups, actions that allow an initial structuring of products, and actions that help to bolster and improve existing products. The goal was to find a relationship between the type of actions proposed and the degree to which the destination had been developed. As expected, more developed wine tourism destinations also had a greater number of actions aimed at improving the product. In contrast, wine tourism destinations which were newer had more proposals designed to structure the product.

By country

The model for recreation and education, Australia2, in addition to focusing on planning, education, promoting tourism and networked working methods, stood out for new approaches geared towards innovation, the study of new trends, creating specific products and making the most of the relationship between business and universities. A different approach has been used in Argentina3, where most activities focus on structuring the wine tourism product. The approach calls for the creation of a network of wine tourism interpretation centres, increasing the supply of quality accommodations, and improving accessibility (air connections and signposting) and actions in the area of branding. In the middle ground we find France4, where the actions are distributed evenly between product structure and consolidation of existing products. Actions in their initial phases include a proposal to create a Wine and Vineyard Museum in Paris, calls for the need for networked work methods and improving quality. Proposals in the later phases include one for the establishment of an annual event to promote terroir tourism, and one in the area of tourism research, which would take the form of the creation of a wine tourism observatory.

According to the analysis, there does not seem to be a common pattern for the planning and management of wine tourism, significant differences between countries were found

Sources: 1 SALVAT. Jaume i BLAY, Jordi. (2008-2009). Summary of New trends in wine tourism and territorial development. Rovira i Virgil University’s Research Group on Territorial Analysis and Tourism Studies. Tarragona. 2 Winemakers' Federation of Australia. Harnessing the tourism potential of wine and food in Australia. 2020. Australia. 3 Consultur & Bodegas de Argentina (BA). Strategic planning in wine tourism in Argentina. Argentina. 4 Grup ACC0RD (2007). L’oenotourisme: une valorisation des produits et du patrimoine vitivinicole. Paris.

POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

10Comparison of wine tourism management by country

“Australia stood out for its new approaches geared towards innovation, the study of new trends, creating specific products and making the most of the relationship between business and universities”

Terroir tourism:

a type of tourism with a global view of a region including its

social, economic, and environmental aspects, originally

from Corbières, 19964

Further information:

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ESTADÍSTIQUES

Stakeholders and mechanisms

In the two southern hemisphere tourist destinations, Australia and Argentina, the private sector, specifically the winemaking private sector, promotes wine tourism, while in France and Spain the parties involved in promotion are more varied.In France according to the study analysed4, this mixture of promoters from the economic, political and social realms is not conducive to product innovation. Within the sector we find different administrative and territorial divisions; professional associations; chambers of agriculture, commerce and industry; regulatory bodies; and a wide variety of businesses. Management of wine tourism on the national level is also complicated by the size of the wine tourism area in France. There are a 473 French AOCS, (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, equivalent to a Spanish Denomination of Origin), a logical division for the agricultural sector, but a dysfunctional one for the commercial and tourist sectors. This is the reason for a proposal4 on the need to find a balance using ATOUT5 classification of 17 wine growing regions in France. The large number of institutions and the relative paucity of state level wine businesses may be the result of the strategic plan being promoted by the public sector, specifically the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Spain has ACEVIN, the Spanish Association of Wine Cities (ACEVIN stand for Asociación Española de Ciudades del Vino) which is comprised of governmental councils, associations, municipalities and some wine tourism route management companies. Promoting collaborative research among members, and working together with its European counterpart are two of the objectives of the group.

In Argentina, wine tourism is being promoted by the business community by Bodegas Argentinas (Argentinean wineries), a business association which includes most of the wineries in the country, about 240. Although the association for wine growers is the Argentine Winemakers Corporation (Corporación Vitivinícola Argentina), wine tourism management is done by Bodegas Argentinas, which has a strategic plan. In Australia, the wine growers also promote the wine tourism industry via the Winemakers' Federation of Australia. Again, the private sector has taken on the responsibility for conducting studies to plan product development until 2020 with the support of a consultancy. Even today in Spain there is no a strategic plan for wine tourism on the state level. However, there is the Rutas del Vino project, an ACEVIN initiative which includes some 20 wine routes, each belonging to a DO. Argentina has a similar product with a multi-sector structure (including travel agencies, educational institutions and operators, as well as wineries and accommodation providers) called Caminos del Vino de Argentina (Wine Routes of Argentina). The project has 16 routes which pass through eight different provinces, and it employs the philosophy of a product club. This project, once again, is led by the business community. France, meanwhile, also has a club, in this case consisting of two regional and one state level public institutions. France, however, has not defined a state-level wine route, but there are 9 routes which pass through some of the 17 French wine-growing regions. Looking at these different cases, it appears that the business sector has taken on the leading role in wine tourism management in new world tourist destinations, while public ins-titutions are the key players in Europe.

POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

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“Caminos del Vino de Argentina (Wine Routes of Argentina) includes 16 roads which pass through eight different provinces, and follows the philosophy of a product club, another idea backed by business interests”

Sources: 5 ATOUT France is the French tourist development agency.

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SEGON TRIMESTRE 2010-Nº1 TENDÈNCIES 9TALK OF THE TOWN

NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS

Recently the 4th European Wine of European Wine Day Tourism was held, an event promoted by the European association RECEVIN and put on by three of the nine member countries of the association (Spain, Italy and Portugal), i.e. the countries with the most members. The national wine tourism associations ACEVIN, Città del Vino and AMPV were the proponents of the event, although many participating RECEVIN member municipalities played pivotal roles in making the day a reality. The importance the event has taken on in France is noteworthy, where a promotional campaign was created independently of RECEVIN with the publisher Comus&Bacchus. The event had the official sponsorship of the French Secretary of State for European Affairs and the French National Association of Elected Wine Representatives and Wine (Association Nationale des Élus de la Vigne et du Vin). In addition to activities directly linked to the world of wine (wine tasting, open house days at wineries. etc.) the three participating European countries have sponsored other activities related to fine dining, culture and entertainment, as well as photography competitions, film festivals, concerts and street entertainment. Of all the objectives of the event, the most important is building relationships between the territory and the wine and bringing all of the stakeholders together to work cohesively. Although this year’s event saw a slight decline in activity, the event has grown since the first the year it was held in 2009. At that time there were 33 participating cities, by 2011 there were already 60 participating cities. Apparently this type of event is only held in Europe. According to the global wine tourism association Great Wine Capitals no other similar event is held anywhere in the world,although there are other activities such as the International Wine Tasting Festival and the International Best of Wine Tourism Awards. However, the distribution of the locations of new wine tourism destinations and the recent emergence of wine tourism in these regions may lead to the future creation of a global day of wine tourism.

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Tourism and Leisure Science and Technology Park of the Rovira i Virgili University Vila-seca Campus, +34 977 394 871 info@pct-turisme.cat

Wine tourism products and services offered in Italy The Italian national association of wine cities, Città del Vino, in conjunction with the wine tourism observatory (Osservatorio sul Turismo del Vino) has just published a list ranking Italian wine growing regions based on the products and services offered in each. The report provides a file for each region which includes wine production and the number of quality restaurants, as well as other wine tourism data. If you would like to know more about this, please follow the link below. La Nuova Mappa dell’offerta

Ranking of wine tourism hotels

Trivago, a price comparison site, has produced a ranking of the top ten hotels for wine tourism in Spain based on the opinions of visitors to the website and other online reviews. The Basque Country and La Rioja are two of the autonomous communities with the most hotels in the ranking. Representing Catalonia, there is one establishment in the ranking in Baix Penedès (Tarragona). If you would like to learn more about these hotel, please follow the link below. Trivago’s top ten wine hotels

Hong Kong sommeliers visit the Priorat This September, 15 expert sommeliers from Hong Kong visited the wine-growing region Priorat, as part of a trip through Spain organised by the business Wine Events. In the Priorat they were able to taste wines from 30 different wineries and get to know the main features of the county. Read the VadeVi news item.

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