Wine tourism: Chilean wine regions and routes

Wine tourism is an important activity in several wine-producing countries. Yet the roles wine tourism plays within winery strategies remain unclear. This exploratory study investigates and differentiates the roles wine tourism plays within winery strategies in Chile. A generic literature review suggests that many questions remain unanswered within the wine tourism debate, substantial differences exist from country to country, and little of what researchers have uncovered seems to apply to Chile. The paper uses empirical data to systematically examine the various wine regions and routes in Chile, highlighting heterogeneities in demand and supply. One can classify winery business models into two broad strategies. The first is wineries that see wine tourism as a link in a long-distance, possibly inter-continental relationship marketing (RM) chain. The second is wineries that see wine tourism as their best hope of survival. The paper considers the implications of each strategy, both to Chile and to other wine-producing countries.

► Wine exports and wine tourism are very different propositions. ► Successful wine exports do not guarantee success in wine tourism. ► In Chile, wine tourism makes sense only as long-distance relationship marketing. ► If I pay US$100 for a bottle, I expect good facilities when I visit the winery. ► If wine production and exports are failing, wine tourism is not the answer.