Stellenbosch Wine Route wineries: Management’s perspective on the advantages and key success factors of wine tourism

Abstract

The South African wine tourism industry is currently regarded as one of the best developed in the world. However, the Western Cape still earns approximately 70% less per tourist than its rival, Napa Valley in California. Research has shown that South African wineries are not organised to derive the maximum benefit from wine tourism. An exploratory study conducted in 2009 and 2010 investigated wineries’ perceptions of wine tourism in the Stellenbosch region and identified some factors they deemed necessary for the development of a successful winery. This article presents the findings of the 2009– 2010 study. These findings confirmed international research results that demonstrate that some aspects of wine tourism are perceived to be advantageous to the winery, such as the ability to create brand awareness and opportunities to spend time with consumers, which were deemed the principal advantages of wine tourism. Certain tourism-related services and facilities are perceived to contribute to the development of a successful winery. It is recommended that wineries should capitalise on the opportunities presented by wine tourism to increase their income and develop the winery successfully.

Key words: wineries, wine tourism, Stellenbosch Wine Route, key success factors, advantages and disadvantages