Department of Agricultural Economics

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Browsing Department of Agricultural Economics by browse.metadata.advisor "Alant, Karin"

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    Wellington as a developing South African wine tourism destination
    (2014-12) Goosen, Wilhelmina; Vink, Nick; Alant, Karin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Agricultural Economics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The focus of this thesis is the Wellington Wine District as a developing South African wine tourism destination. It is a newly designated wine district (March 2012) and an exploratory research study was undertaken to determine what the Brand ‘DNA’ of the Wellington Wine District is and then to propose appropriate marketing strategies for the developing wine tourism destination. The research process focussed on two types of wine tourism behaviour, namely festival-goers at the Wellington Wine Harvest Festival and the visitors to selected Wellington Wine Route members’ cellar doors. Surveys were executed by means of interviews and self-administration of structured questionnaires. Results were analysed in terms of two categories: first time visitors (FTV) and repeat visitors (RV). The findings revealed that at the Wellington Wine Harvest Festival visitors came in groups of 2 to 4, they heard about the festival from friends, the RV were high (93%), the visitors brought their young children along and the main reason for attending the festival was because both FTV and RV enjoy drinking wine. The findings of the cellar door survey showed that a high percentage (93%) of visitors were repeat visitors; that most visitors live within a radius of 100km of the wine district; that visitors are younger people without children; and that word-of-mouth references and ‘enjoy a tasting experience’ were the main reasons to visit the cellar door. These visitors overall have a good (self-assigned) wine knowledge. The proposed marketing strategies are based on the 7 Brand ‘DNA’ elements which could be determined from the results: 1. Scenery that includes the nature (fynbos), the mountains and the beautiful vineyards. 2. The Wellington Wine District is seen as rural and off the beaten track. 3. The environment is untouched and unspoiled. 4. Wellington inhabitants are welcoming, friendly, decent and warm. 5. Wine quality is good, wine is affordable and there is a wide variety available. 6. Red wine is seen as excellent wine with great quality. 7. All year round, the weather in Wellington is acceptable. Marketing strategy proposals take into account the obvious importance of the winescape and its preservation, the age group of visitors as the target market, the different consumer needs in terms of a festival and cellar door visitation, as well as the fact that friends and family and word-of-mouth are the primary sources of information. This study contributes to the knowledge pool of information on wine tourist behaviour in South Africa. It has broadened the field of information on the wine marketing strategies that a developing wine district can implement based on the destination Brand ‘DNA’. The research findings are limited in that the study was exploratory in nature and undertaken in the low season. It is recommended that the research study be repeated in the future as the wine district grows as a destination. Greater understanding of the specific leisure needs and expectations of the visitors is required.