Biosecurity and wine tourism

Biosecurity is a major issue for agricultural-based economies such as Australia and New Zealand. The paper provides a framework for biosecurity management strategies at the pre-border, border, and post-border stages of biosecurity threat. Issues of biosecurity are then examined in more detail with respect to the wine industry and wine tourism and one specific aspect of biosecurity control, the customs declaration form. A survey of wine tourists in New Zealand was conducted and it was noted that many of them did not recognise vineyards or wineries in the present descriptors used on the Australian and New Zealand customs declaration forms. Further questioning found that given the mobility of wine tourists that they posed significant biosecurity threats for wineries, many of which had no biosecurity strategy in place. The paper concludes that the utility of present customs declaration forms to the wine industry in New Zealand is questionable while also noting the need for biosecurity strategies to be adapted at a winery and vineyard level.