Wine tourism experiences: A collaborative approach to implementing customer-centric offerings

1 Introduction and Background

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism in Germany saw a historical collapse in 2020 and 2021. In addition to the economic losses, the travel behavior of German tourists temporarily changed towards longer domestic trips (DTV, 2021). Meanwhile, travel spending is back at a record high and demand is approaching pre-pandemic levels (DTV, 2023). Although Germans are increasingly traveling abroad again, they still spend 78.7 % of their short trips in the country and enjoy time in nature, but also typical food and drinks of the regions they visit (DTV, 2023).

Consequently, from the perspective of German tourism providers, one of the few positive impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic was that German tourists discovered new domestic destinations. To retain these tourists in the long term, the offers for tourists must be designed more attractively and with a focus on sustainability. Thus, it is important to develop innovative tourism concepts through collaborative approaches and support regions characterized by rural and nature-oriented tourism, as they will benefit from the trend towards spending time in nature and the trend towards more sustainable travel (Böhme et al., 2021; DTV, 2023). When guests visit rural regions, a popular activity for many is not merely spending time in nature, but also getting to know regional products, in particular experiencing typical dishes and drinks. Thus, such regional products can contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of a destination and building a distinctive image of the region in the minds of tourists (Dreyer et al., 2012). In this way, tourists can experience the destination in an authentic manner as they are provided with a cultural insight through the regional products and personal contact with people in the region.

Unfortunately, many providers in the tourism sector have so far acted without a clear idea of how to bring tourists into contact with regional products and create an appropriate tourism concept. Accordingly, many tourists do not know how to experience a region’s typical products (Dreyer et al., 2012).

An example is the German wine-growing regions, which attract tourists due to the scenic landscape, but also because of the diverse opportunities to experience the region’s wine culture. Tourism has become an important economic factor in the German wine-growing regions. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, more than €26 billion in gross sales were generated with tourism annually – but only €5 billion from wine tourists who visited a winery (Tafel & Szolnoki, 2020). Even though most wine-growing businesses are already active in wine tourism (Tafel & Szolnoki, 2021), many tourists do not yet use this offer and do not know what they can experience around a winery.

To promote wine tourism in the German wine-growing regions, it is therefore important to reduce inhibitions among tourists to visit wineries and offer sustainable experiences around the topic of wine in a customer-oriented manner. However, extant literature related to wine tourism in Germany highly focusses on its strategic meaning for wineries (e. g., Dressler & Paunovic, 2021; Koch et al., 2013), the overall economic impact of wine tourism (Tafel & Szolnoki, 2021), the relevance of different wine tourism offerings and respective implementation challenges (Tafel & Szolnoki, 2020b), or the identification of customer segments relevant for wine tourism (e. g., Szolnoki, 2018). A concrete analysis of how to promote wine tourism within a specific region by using a collaborative approach and incorporating a customer-centric perspective is still lacking, but called for. According to Santos et al. (2019, p. 720), “wine tourism has to be seen as a system centered on wine tourism experiences and activities […] [and] has to provide for the creation of unique and genuine tourism experiences, which must be more personalized and differentiated”. Regarding the consumer perspective, Madeira et al. (2019) studied WTEs from a motivational perspective and explored typical outcome variables (brand equity, satisfaction, image). Thanh and Kirova (2018) conducted a netnographic study on TripAdvisor reviews and found the entertainment and educational character of WTEs to be predominantly important. Even though all studies provide relevant aspects, a holistic approach to how wine tourism can be promoted within a wine-growing region is still lacking. Thus, the aim of our research is to investigate how networks of producers and tourism operators can drive the development of customer-centric wine tourism offerings and support the overall trend towards more sustainable domestic tourism.

The development of this concept mainly revolves around the design and joint promotion of wine tourism offers, which should be conceived as ‘customer experiences’ due to the given combination of product and service offering and the inherent event character. Based on the seminal article of Pine and Gilmore (1998), we define ‘experience’ as a touchpoint with a customer that “occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event” (p. 98). Accordingly, the paper uses the following definition of a wine tourism experience (WTE): A WTE is an offer with event character, which allows participants to get in touch with the product wine and get to know the wine culture of the respective wine-growing region, thus constituting a special, memorable, not-everyday event.

The #OpenDoorWein network of the Palatinate wine-growing region serves as an example for our study regarding the design and promotion of attractive WTEs. In 2020, Sarah Janson, co-owner of the Schloss Janson winery in Bockenheim, founded #OpenDoorWein. The main reason was the fact that wine tourism plays a much larger role in New World wine regions such as the United States or South Africa than in Germany (Dreyer, 2021). As an American who knows U.S. wine tourism from her own professional experience, Sarah Janson was particularly aware of this. In New World wine regions, tourists book ‘vineyard hopping’ events and participate in structured wine tastings for a fee. Thus, the idea behind #OpenDoorWein is based on the American concept of wine tourism and the network strives to establish ‘open wineries’ in a collaborative approach. The name #OpenDoorWein is derived from the term ‘cellar door’, which refers to sales and activities taking place at a winery. The study investigates how the New World wine tourism concept can be transferred to the German wine regions and which general recommendations can be derived to develop an adequate concept for the #OpenDoorWein network and in general for the tourism-related marketing of regional products.

2 Research design and methodology

The central objective of the research is the identification of success factors to optimize the tourism-related marketing of regional products. The study applied a case-study approach, using the wine region Palatinate and the organization #OpenDoorWein as an example.

First, a situation analysis was carried out and the U.S. concept of wine tourism was examined. A qualitative research approach was chosen due to its advantage for exploring multi-layered and complex phenomena (Mayerhofer, 2009). We conducted stakeholder workshops with wineries, tour guides, representatives of tourism organizations, and wine tourism experts. A total of n = 29 stakeholders participated in three workshops that were held in a face-to-face format from November 16–19, 2021. The workshops were supplemented by a discussion round held online via Zoom on November 23, 2021. Individual interviews were conducted with representatives of the region’s Destination Management Organization (DMO) and wine advertising agency as well as a wine tourism expert from the U.S. For all workshops and interviews, a pre-structured interview guide was used to conduct the workshops and interviews. Data were analyzed using recordings and content analysis methods. The answers were structured and sorted along the given topics from the interview guide. Factors that came up during the discussion were added accordingly.

Second, we investigated the expectations of potential wine tourists by conducting focus group discussions with tourists as part of a separate study of this research project. Results show that tourists are interested in WTEs, tend to have a rather high willingness to pay for these events, and have target-group specific requirements regarding WTEs (Ehm & Dumler, 2022). We used these results to validate results from the stakeholder workshops and develop the #OpenDoorWein concept.

Subsequently, the results from the qualitative research were validated using a quantitative online survey using SosciSurvey (https://www.soscisurvey.de/). After a pretest, a total of 516 Palatinate wineries and winegrowers’ cooperatives were invited to participate in the online survey from December 22, 2021 to January 13, 2022. In the end, 108 wineries participated, resulting in a response rate of 20.9 %. This can be classified as very satisfactory. The analyses were carried out using SPSS and Excel.

Finally, a concept for the #OpenDoorWein network was developed and learnings for the tourism-related marketing of regional products in general were derived based on two expert interviews with tourism professors conducted via Zoom on January 26, 2022.

3 Results

3.1 Situation analysis

During the workshops and expert interviews, everyone agreed that the Palatinate as a region is strong in terms of tourism and comparatively well-off compared to other German wine-growing regions. However, the strong regional differences have been mentioned as a weakness. Away from the wine route ‘Deutsche Weinstraße’ and the well-known tourist hotspots, it is significantly more difficult for wineries to attract tourists. In addition, many wineries act unprofessionally, e. g., have inconvenient and irregular opening hours for tourists or do not offer online booking options. Accordingly, it was also confirmed that wine tourism in the Palatinate is not yet at the same level as in other international wine tourism benchmark regions. Nevertheless, workshop participants were optimistic that there is an opportunity to develop the region into a wine tourism ‘hotspot’. As a major risk, it was noted that it would be difficult to implement fees for something that has often been free of charge in the past. Many tourists visiting the region are used to tasting wine free of charge and could be upset if fees are charged. Thus, a clear distinction should be drawn between free tastings in the context of direct sales and WTEs.

Then, we discussed the perceived expectations of tourists regarding WTEs from a ‘supply side’ perspective, taking into account all phases along the customer journey (Figure 1).

Figure 1:

Customer journey with four process stages

Source: Own illustration, image source for icons: pixabay.com

Information search and planning. The online availability of up-to-date information plays a central role when marketing WTEs. Participants particularly emphasized the high relevance of Google.

Booking phase. Everyone agreed that tourists want to book WTEs online.

On Site. When designing WTEs, differentiation according to target groups is more important than ever. In addition, qualified and personal support during the event also plays a decisive role. The following statement of a workshop participant summarizes this quite well:

“The lifestyle and philosophy of the winery and the love for wine should be conveyed to the guests.”

After stay. Wineries should encourage follow-up purchases after the experience, e. g., through special deals. Careful contact management was also frequently mentioned. Many wineries agreed that this could be done by offering a newsletter.

Finally, a discussion about wine tourism networks and the #OpenDoorWein initiative brought the following results: The majority of the workshop participants agreed that a new wine tourism network makes sense in order to strengthen wine tourism in the region. The workshop participants saw an essential task of a wine tourism network in the promotion of cooperations among different actors and organizations. From the point of view of the workshop participants, the definition of quality standards plays a major role. However, these standards should not be set too high or rigid so that they do not represent a hurdle to entry into the network. Opinions differed on the form of organization and financing.

3.3 Concept development for the #OpenDoorWein initiative

The basic idea of #OpenDoorWein constitutes the starting point for concept development: #OpenDoorWein wineries are open to guests and offer WTEs. The final concept comprises six areas (Figure 2).

Figure 2:

Concept dimensions #OpenDoorWein

Source: Own illustration

Offer design. Based on our findings, the following recommendations can be derived and used to optimize WTE design:

• There is no ‘one size fits all’ WTE: Younger and older target groups differ in their expectations regarding WTEs. The younger ones (age below 40) prefer more active events that may take place outdoors, such as a walk through the vineyards. While older target groups (age above 40), prefer WTEs with a culinary focus (Ehm & Dumler, 2022). Accordingly, wineries should design WTEs with a clear target group in mind to create a truly customer-centric offering.

• Online availability of information is crucial. All relevant information about a WTE must be available online.

• All WTEs should be bookable online and by telephone, as well as spontaneously on site. Booking options through popular online booking platforms and apps are important to provide easy access. Online advertising can help to reach tourists.

• When staying on site, in addition to the wine tasting itself, a familiar, open, and cordial atmosphere is crucial. It is not the reputation of the winemaker that is central to the wine experience, but rather their authenticity as well as enthusiasm and competence around the subject of wine.

• A group size of 10–15 people makes it possible to generate sufficient revenue with the WTE while at the same time being able to build a personal atmosphere.

• WTEs should only be offered for a fee and pricing should make it possible to generate profits with the WTE.

• WTEs should be offered on a regular basis.

• To convert tourists into customers after a WTE, it is important to make direct purchases as easy and as attractive as possible, e. g., by offering discounts, special deals, or a delivery free of shipping costs. Moreover, the offer to stay in contact, e. g., via a newsletter, is important as well, and wineries should specifically ask their customers to write online reviews about their experience (Google, TripAdvisor, etc.).

• Wineries need to clarify legal circumstances that may limit what type of WTE can be offered.

Figure 3:

Recommendations for the design of WTEs

Source: Own illustration, image source for icons: pixabay.com and Microsoft Powerpoint

Networking and cooperation. Cooperation between members should be promoted through regular network meetings and be used to establish additional offers. Cooperations with other tourism stakeholders should also be established to create interesting WTEs with a culinary or cultural focus.

Quality criteria and minimum requirements. To establish #OpenDoorWein as a label for WTEs, binding standards must be defined while keeping the right level of flexibility to ensure for authentic offers of every winery participating in the network. It is recommended that the following standards be met: #OpenDoorWein members have regular opening hours and/or regularly offer WTEs. A fee is always required.

Institutionalization. Only with institutionalization and the availability of financial resources can joint marketing and communication measures be approached in a structured manner. The setup of an independent organization, e. g., in the form of a registered association, is recommended.

Brand and communication concept. A central task for the network is the development of the #OpenDoorWein label into a brand for WTEs. For this purpose, a brand and communication concept has to be developed. From our results, we can see that focusing on online channels, social media, and online booking options is of particular importance to promote WTEs successfully.

Networking and integration into tourism structures. Networking with tourism organizations is crucial for success. Thus, setting up a regular exchange with tourism organizations and DMOs is necessary.

4 Discussion and Conclusion

Wine tourism is growing in importance and benefits from the high number of short trips that Germans like to spend within their own country and a growing interest in regional products (DTV, 2023). Against this background, this study examines how the potential of regional products such as wine can be better exploited through a collaborative and customer-centric approach to support the trend towards more sustainable domestic tourism.

Following a case-study research approach, we generate first insights and show that offering WTEs goes far beyond just offering regular wine tastings. Our findings can guide wineries in establishing customer-oriented WTEs and collaborating with other wineries and stakeholders in a region via joint initiatives. Joint marketing seems a particularly promising way to increase awareness. Key success factors to promote WTEs are online information and booking options.

As the wine tourism potential of the Palatinate region is not being fully exploited, the establishment of a wine tourism network is seen to be important. Among other things, an adequate organizational structure must be created and binding standards must be established. For this purpose, it is important to follow the US-American concept and offer WTEs exclusively for a fee, but not neglect important aspects such as authenticity and coziness important to German tourists.

A rollout of the concept to other wine-growing regions seems possible and reasonable.