Aspects of selecting touristic destinations in Hungarian wine tourism

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

The paper examines the traveling habits of Hungarian wine tourists, their expectations and preferences towards wine regions and wineries.

METHODOLOGY

After reviewing the relevant literature on the topic, we analysed the willingness and preferences of wine tourists upon the data of the Great Wine Test 2018. We used the answers of 8552 respondents of the online questionnaire. Upon travelling frequency, we analysed three groups in detail: frequent travellers, who take part in a wine tour at least once a year, occasional travellers, who travel less frequently, and interested travellers, who has never been on a wine tour but are open to take part someday.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

Respondents showed high interest towards wine tourism. But differences can be found between the groups regarding the selection of wine regions and wineries. Frequent travellers are more open to less known wine regions than other travellers. They have higher expectations towards a winery, the winery experience (such as the milieu, services, dining) is more important. Occasional and interested travellers would rather visit the well-known wine regions, and their decision is influenced more by the sights and programs of the area.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The research showed that the location (milieu, guest area, additional services, etc.), dining opportunities, presence of the winemaker determine the selection of a winery, so wine tourists look for a complex experience. Therefore, wineries should develop a service package. It can be beneficial to cooperate with other market actors (e.g. in the case of dining and accommodation) and offer these services to prospective travellers. Destinations should take it into consideration that most travellers (three quarters of our sample) would spend one weekend, 2-3 days on a wine tour, therefore a set of programs should be offered for them. Since the sights and program opportunities as important as the publicity and the wineries of the wine region, these aspects should be developed and synchronised.

Acknowledgements: The Great Wine Test in 2018 was supported by Winelovers, Hungarian Tourism Agency, Vinoport, Borászportál, and Borkollégium.