Wine tourism experience and consumer behaviour: the case of Sicily

Transcription

1 Wine tourism experience and consumer behaviour: the case of Sicily Vincenzo ASERO, Sebastiano PATTI University of CATANIA Vincenzo ASERO University of Catania Faculty of Political Science DAPPSI Via Vittorio Emanuele, Catania vasero@unict.it Sebastiano PATTI University of Catania spatti@unict.it 1

2 Wine tourism experience and consumer behaviour: the case of Sicily Abstract The wine tourist behaviour-based research is essential to the development of wine tourism and to help wine producers to manage wine tourist demand. Wine tourism has increased substantially in the last decade throughout the whole Italian peninsula. Sicily, which represents an area becoming ever more a centre of attraction concerning wine tourism, so far lacks research regarding winery visits and wine tourists in general. This paper focuses on the wine tourism experience and consumer behaviour, aiming to explore attitudes and characteristics of wine tourists in Sicily. To better understand the wine tourism phenomenon a survey has been carried out in 16 member wineries of the Movimento Turismo del Vino, using a self-administered questionnaire. This research is exploratory and the results are very similar to those observed in other surveys. Hence, the Sicilian wine tourists are likely to correspondent to the wine tourist s profile defined on the basis of similar researches. Key words: Wine tourism demand, Consumer behaviour, Wine tourism in Sicily Introduction Wine tourism and winery visits are becoming increasingly significant components in the international scenario of both the wine and the tourism industries, as testified by research studies concerning different Countries (Hall et al., 2000) focused on the relationship between wine and tourism. According to Hall and Macionis (1998), wine tourism regards seeking out and visiting vineyards, wineries, wine festivals and wine events for which wine tasting and the attributes of the wine region 2

3 are the prime motivating factors for visitors. Wine tourism represents a journey for the purpose of experiencing wineries, wine regions, and their links to a lifestyle, encompassing both service provision and destination marketing (Western Australian Wine Tourism Strategy, 2000). Furthermore, Charters and Ali-Knight (2002) describe wine tourism as an experience provided through winery tours, events and festivals, cultural heritage, dining, hospitality, education, wine testing and cellar door sales. Mitchell (cited in Galloway et al., 2008) distinguishes between wine tourism and winery visits, identifying the latter as the main component of the wine tourism experience. Wine tourism is a complex system because it involves many different sectors such as agriculture, industry and services as well as transport, a natural and cultural environment. Wine tourism is organized mainly through itineraries that link wine and winery production facilities and natural and cultural resources. Material and immaterial cultural goods contribute to lay out wine itineraries that find in the wine and food routes the main means to promote territories and local communities. The same formula has largely been developed in different Countries, for instance in South Africa (Bruwer, 2003; Rogerson, 2007), Israel (Jaffe & Pasternak, 2004), Australia (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002), Europe (Hall et al., 2000), including Italy (Antonioli Corigliano, 2000; Asero & Patti, 2009). In the last years, wine tourism in Italy as well as in Sicily has been increasing substantially. Thus the study of the wine tourist demand, understanding tourist preferences and behaviour (Getz & Brown, 2006) is essential for the organization of the wine tourism supply, and considerably more important if wine producers are to maximise wine tourism potential in the area. Therefore, it is clear that there is a need to better understand the characteristics and motives of wine-tourists (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002). Research on wine tourism has expanded rapidly since the early 1990s, however, the prevalent countries for research are Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA (Mitchell and Hall, 2006), while there have been fewer studies for what concerns European Countries, including Italy. In Italy, there has been little research carried out regarding the nature of the wine tourist's behaviour and 3

4 motivation. A classification of wine tourists, adopted by the Movimento Turismo del Vino, was proposed by Antonioli Corigliano (1996) as well as studies on the demand-side have been conducted by CENSIS and Città del Vino, solely related to North and Central Italy. Research concerning wine tourism demand in Southern Italy and particularly in Sicily is still lacking. The purpose of this study is to focus on the wine tourism phenomenon in Sicily in order to define a wine tourist profile. This research survey was carried out in some Sicilian wineries, members of the Movimento Turismo del Vino, considered to be representative for quality wine production, wine tourism and trade. The present research is an additional contribution to the research literature that explores the wine tourism experience and the wine tourist's behaviour in Sicily, during a visit to a winery. The remainder of this paper is set out as follows: after this introduction, a literature review on the wine tourist is presented. The next paragraph describes the Sicilian scenario and the methodology used for the survey. After that the results are discussed and the final conclusions are drawn in the last paragraph. Literature review: the wine tourist Several definitions of the wine tourist have been proposed in order to consider the complexity of the behaviour and motivations of individuals who value wines as a reason for their travels. A wine tourist is a person who preferably travels to visit wine-related destinations as well as territories of tourist attractiveness. Although it is clear that the wine tourist demand is related to wine as well as to a wine producing region, it is difficult to define a unique profile of the wine tourist. Hall et al. (2000) noted that the wine tourist is a not conventional consumer, whose behaviour can vary from different regions and cultures or from one winery cellar door to the next. This is not surprising as there is no single and stereotypical wine tourist (Ali-Knight & Charters, 2001; Bruwer et al., 2001; Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Mitchell & Hall, 2001a; Mitchell & Hall, 2006) while there are so many different reasons on which the wine tourist s behaviour is based. In accordance with the 4

5 literature, the wine tourist s behaviour can differ with respect to age, gender, income and education (Galloway et al., 2008) but also with respect to variables such as vitality (Schiffamn & Kanuk, 1987), wine-related attitudes and lifestyle (Antonioli Corigliano, 1996; Bruwer et al., 2001) and the tourist s wine involvement (d Hauteville, 2003). Charters and Ali-Knight (2002) observed that the degree to which wine tourists are involved in wine-related activities can change because of regional and cultural differences, which affect the target market and their participation at wineries themselves. Motivational aspects, which include a specific interest in wine and wine-related phenomena or other likely reasons, are considered as key factors in understanding wine tourist s behaviour. Similarity, motivations can explain the choice of a winery, these may represent the sole purpose of a visit to a destination depending on the reputation of wineries (Galloway et al., 2008). In particular, some literature distinguishes between a specialist winery tourist and a generalist visitor (Johnson, 1998, cited in Galloway et al., 2008). Hall et al. (2000, p. 6) stating that motivations, perceptions, previous experiences and expectations are the basis of the wine tourist demand. According to Alant and Bruwer (2004), Charters and Ali-Knight (2002) and Hall et al. (2000), the primary driving motivations of the wine tourist are to taste and to buy wine. However, other secondary motivations have to be considered, such as: socializing, learning about the wine and the wineries, being entertained, travelling in a rural winescape and of course relaxation to round off the experience as suggested in Carlsen (2004), Carmichael (2005) and Getz & Brown (2006). The intense social context of the wine tourist's behaviour has been also confirmed in studies showing that people who engage in this activity tend to be almost always accompanied by others (Bruwer, 2003; Carmichael, 2005; Hall et al., 2000). An important motivating factor in the consumption of wine tourism is the winescape (Bruwer, 2003; Carmichael, 2005) that Peters (1997, p. 4) defines as the attributes of a grape wine region, which is characterized by the presence of vineyards, the winemaking activity and the wineries (Telfer, 2000). The winescape and its components make it possible for the wine tourists to indulge 5

6 in hedonic experiences (Bruwer & Alant, 2009), as they influence the wine tourist s physical, social and cultural dimensions (Douglas et al., 2001). This suggestion implies a tourist s sense of place that is both physical and aesthetic in nature (Charters, 2006a). The physical dimension is also recalled in the concept of servicescape (Bitner, 1992; Newman, 2007), which is referred to the services offered by wineries and affecting the tourist's experience (O Neill & Charters, 2000). It includes the physical setting of external and internal services in wineries that affect a positive winery visit experience (Hall & Mitchell, 2008; McDonnell & Hall, 2008). Moreover, servicescape is considered to have a positive effect in increasing the sales at the cellar-door and the post-visit consumer behavior (Mitchell & Hall, 2004, 2006). Furthermore, the wine tourist's behaviour can be affected by emotional and experiential aspects of consumption (Goossens, 2000). Sensation seeking allows to identify differences between people regarding a variety of attitudes and the implications towards wine tourists behaviour (Galloway et al., 2008). According to Mitchell & Hall (2001b) sensation seeking may be related to various characteristics of the wine tourist's behaviour at wineries. Galloway et al. (2008) observed that higher sensation seekers have more propensity to visit wineries and therefore have a higher monthly expenditure and purchase more bottles of wine per month. From another perspective, Mitchell and Hall (2001c) explore winery visitors lifestyles, a dimension that includes wine interest, wine club participation, wine cellaring behaviour and wine knowledge. The same authors highlight the seasonal nature of wine tourism. The cause being the interaction between the seasonal patterns of the wine tourism demand with the inherent seasonality of vineyard work that may not always coincide with wine tourism supply (Mitchell & Hall, 2003). The essence of the wine tourism experience is visiting the cellars (Cambourne, 1998), wineries and vineyards to taste wine (O Neill et al., 2001), in addition some authors (Hall & Macionis, 1998; Hall et al., 2000; Maddern & Golledge, 1996, Williams, 2001) consider attending wine shows and festivals, visiting other attractions and recreation as motivating factors for wine tourists to experience the characteristics of wine regions. The experience of a visit to the winery plays an 6

7 important role in creating a positive link between the wine tourist and the wine product (Bruwer & Alant, 2009). Thus, understanding the pattern of wine consumption allows wineries and the wine business to target their market (Mitchell & Hall, 2001c). Mitchell et al. (2000) have however noted the fragmentary picture of wine lifestyles, purchasing behaviour and wine interests of wine tourists. Because of the importance of understanding the profile of the wine tourist, many researchers have focused their effort on wine tourist segmentation. Much has been written about differences among visitors to define the wine tourist's profile determining the out-and-out market segments with respect to demographics (Dodd & Bigotte, 1997; Mitchell & Hall, 2001d), motivation (Alant & Bruwer, 2004; Bruwer, 2003; Carlsen, 2004; Carlsen et al., 1998; Carmichael, 2005; Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Dodd, 1995; Douglas et al., 2001; Galloway et al., 2008; George & Mekoth, 2004; Getz & Brown, 2006; Goossens, 2000; Hall, 1996; Hall et al., 2000; McKercher & Wong, 2004; Mitchell & Hall, 2001a; Mitchell et al, 2000; O Neill & Charters, 2000; Ravenscroft & van Westering, 2001; Todd, 2001; Williams & Dossa, 2003; Yuan et al., 2005), interest in wine (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Hall, 1996), wine knowledge (Madden & Golledge, 1996; Mitchell & Hall, 2001b, 2001d), and lifestyle (Antonioli Corigliano, 1996; Hall, 1996; Mitchell & Hall, 2001c). According to Charters and Ali-Knight (2002), there is a sequential link between the tourists interest in wine and their motivation in wine tourism, more so for the specialist wine tourists (Johnson, 1998, cited in Galloway et al., 2008), the wine lover and Conoisseurs (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Hall & Macionis, 1998). Moreover, wine can affect the purchasing behaviour but should not be considered the sole purpose of the winery experience, in the case of the wine interested tourist (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Hall & Macionis, 1998). Nevertheless, the wineries can represent just another attraction as suggested by Hall and Macionis (1998). The wine tourist could be moderately interested in wine but not familiar with winemaking. He could be also a curious or wine novice or simply a hanger on, who just goes to the winery without evident interest in wine (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002). From another perspective, Antonioli Corigliano (1996) states that lifestyle is an important characteristic that eventually distinguishes the above mentioned different 7

8 types of wine tourists. Classified more precisely as the professional Italian wine tourist, who knows about wine and the wine world; the impassioned neophyte, who likes wines and also enjoys exploring the countryside; the hanger-on, who knows something about wine because it is a mark of distinction; and the drinker, who visits wineries as part of a group on Sundays. In order to understand the nature of wine tourism and the wine tourist in Sicily some dominant themes on the demand side have been considered, these being the profile segmentation, the behaviour of the winery visitor and the nature of the visitor experience. Sicilian scenario and research method Wine tourism is not merely an aspect of the wine industry but also of the tourism industry (Charters, 2006b, p. 212). According to Carlsen (2004) wine tourism encompasses three different productive sectors: grape growing (primary sector), winemaking (secondary sector) and tourism sector. It is clear that wine tourism can play a significant role in regional development, business growth and tourism investment (Hall et al., 2000). The presence of wineries and vineyards and the increasing development of the wine business in Sicily s wine areas provide the link between wine and tourism. Wine tourism has the potential to provide a strong competitive advantage for Sicily with a grape and wine industry that generate profitable business for wineries, other wine-related products for hospitality and tourist services (Getz, 1998). The Sicilian wine scenario according to the IVV (Istituto della Vite e del Vino) numbers 473 wineries and 12 Wine and food routes. There are also 29 quality wine labels (1 DOCG, 22 DOC, and 6 Igt), 28 cities of wine, 1 entrepreneurial association, 5 consortia of wineries and 3 wine expert associations. 16 Sicilian wineries out of the 31 members wineries of the Movimento Turismo del Vino of Sicily took part in this research study. As wine tourism and the wine tourists experiences were the primary focus of this study, it has been considered that wine tourism, as stated by Charters (2006b, p. 213) can be provided for in a number of ways. These include restaurants, hospitality 8

9 accommodation, winery tours, wine tasting and cellar door sales, speciality food tasting and events. For this reason the wineries involved in the survey have been selected among those that have the fore stated characteristics. The survey took place during Cantine aperte in May This event considered the most important activity throughout Italy concerning the wine tourism phenomenon and organised by the MTV. The survey was conducted using a self-administrated questionnaire completed by respondents at each of the wineries involved, handed out to visitors on their arrival to complete and return before leaving. This method was chosen purposely to capture the visitor's interest in the survey. Therefore, it was preferable to use closed questions since they are quick to answer and easy to analyse (Finn et al., 2000) as well as in the case of respondent-completed questionnaires they offer response rates higher than open ended questions (Veal, 1997). Likert scales were used to assess motivations. Many of the questions in the survey were adapted following the relevant literature. The questionnaire used was set out to gather data regarding wine tourists demographics and socioeconomic characteristics as well as to explore wine tourists behaviour, motivations, wine interest and information sources. Additional questions were included to explore purchasing behaviour. The questions have been written according to the following criteria: relevant, clear, brief, inoffensive, unbiased and specific (Witt & Moutinho, 1995). Data were analysed as a whole, frequencies were produced, valid percentages noted, results were cross-tabulated and Chi-square was used to test the independence between variables. A total of 397 completed questionnaires were returned. The data were entered and manipulated in the SPSS statistical software programme. No sophisticated statistical analysis was attempted, as it was essentially an exploratory research. One limitation of the survey was that it had been conducted only over one weekend so this did not reflect the whole wine tourist market demand. In the paragraphs that follow, the study results are exposed and specific findings highlighted. Results 9

10 Profile of the respondents The demographic characteristic of the respondents are outlined in Table 1. Tab. 1 PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS Respondents comprised 59.7% males and 40.3% females. More than half (53.2%) were in and age bracket, the rest were split in quite the same percentage among the other age groups. Although this age profile has already been observed in similar researchers, Charters & O Neill (2000) noted that the average age may vary from wine region to wine region. The majority had received a higher education: about 52% possessed a university degree, of which 11.9% were postgraduate; another 43% had completed higher education. Respondents were asked to specify their professional status, for which were provided thirteen response categories. Answers were then recoded into three categories on the basis of the expected income bracket (low, moderate, high) in relation to a professional occupation. This classification shows that more than 80% of respondents were expected to be in a moderate (51.1%) to high (31.6%) income bracket, while only 17.4% were in a low bracket. Around 90% were Sicilian residents, which indicates that a substantial proportion of respondents are domestic visitors, often local, coming from within or in close proximity to the region where the wineries are located. These demographic and socio-economic characteristics generally reflect the profile of wine visitors as emerged from other studies ((Dodd, 1995; Galloway et al., 2008; Getz & Brown, 2006; Mitchell & Hall, 2001a). Visitation manner and frequency The social nature of wine tourism is underlined by the high incidence of respondents in groups. They were accompanied by their family (23,8%) or partner (23.3%) or friends (39%). Only 2.6% of all respondents were unaccompanied. Notably almost 95% of respondents had already visited a winery (Table 2). Sicily was the Italian region most frequently mentioned (64.7%), followed by other Italian regions and other wine producing Countries, the remaining 19.5% declared they had visited places at three geographical levels (Sicily and/or other Italian regions and/or other 10

11 Countries). In addition, respondents were asked to indicate the frequency of their winery visits per year. The results in Table 2 show that, in average, a high percentage (46.2%) of respondents made a visit to a winery more than once a year and only 11.5% at least once in a month. Also observed was the relationship between the frequency of visits and the gender of respondents. The Chi-square test was significant at level of p<0.05. The result indicates that among those visiting a winery at least once a year the female percentage (39.2%) is higher than the male percentage (18.5%). The reverse pattern exists among those visiting a winery at least once a month, where the males (15.3%) exceeded the females (5.6%). This could suggest that males are more interested in winery visiting experiences than females. The value of Cramer s V coefficient (0.252) is also statistically significant. Motivations of wine tourists Wine tourist s motivations were investigated considering three different dimensions, respectively referring to visit a winery, to visit a wine region and to the experiences and emotions associated with the visit. A list of features for each dimension was provided to respondents and they were asked to indicate the importance of each on a 5-point Likert-type scale. These features include a number of items from different studies on wine tourism (Galloway et al., 2008; Getz & Brown, 2006; Getz et al., 1999). The distribution of replies, the means out of five and the standard deviation are shown in the Table 3. In order to examine the relationship between these features and the six segments of wine tourists considered in this study, as explained below, the first two items with the higher score for each dimension were then dichotomized and recoded as important and not important, the neutral point was assigned the not important value. These results are presented in the Table 5. Tab. 3 FEATURES RELATING TO A VISIT Furthermore, in order to understand the incidence of tourism motivations compared with the interest in wine (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002), respondents were asked to indicate the main reason of their 11

12 visit to a wine region. More than 60% indicated as a motivational reason To visit wineries as well as discovering the surrounding tourist attractions, about 30% To visit only wineries, while 10% were Mainly interest in tourist attractions, dedicating a very short time to visiting wineries. It is interesting to observe that among those who prefer visiting only wineries the percentage of males is higher compared to females, whose percentage, instead, is higher among those who were mainly interested in the tourist attractions of a wine region. The relationship between the two variables was statistically significant at level of p<0.05 but weak since Cramer s V coefficient value was In line with these findings, Galloway et al. (2008) observed that males are higher sensation seekers than females in regard to wine tourism. Similarly, Mitchell and Hall (2001c), studying wine lifestyle in New Zealand using different indicators of wine interest (wine club participation, wine cellar behaviour, place of purchase and wine knowledge), found significant gender difference that seems to confirm that males are more interested in wine compared to females. In addition, respondents were also asked to indicate the importance of different tools in their decision to visit a winery (Table 4), using a 5-point Likert-type scale. The highest value has been attributed to word-of-mouth, confirming the result of similar studies (Bruwer & Alant, 2009; Bruwer & Reilly, 2006). Worthy of note is the moderate influence of prices. This finding might be related to the interest in wine of the respondents and their profile concerning the expected income bracket. At the same time, it shows that the wine tourism demand is likely to be less sensitive to price. Tab. 4 TOOLS INFLUENCING THE DECISION TO WINERY VISIT The wine tourist segments One of the possible methods of segmenting wine tourists is their classification on the basis of their interest in wine (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002). Following this approach, respondents were asked to self-classify choosing only one of the six categories provided in the questionnaire: No specific knowledge of wine, Occasional wine drinkers, Wine novices, Trendy, Wine lovers and Wine experts. Classification of categories were set out with respect to wine consumption in 12

13 general and defined on the basis of the segments suggested in the studies of Hall (1996) and Charters and Ali-Knight (2002), where wine tourists are classified on the basis of both their interest in wine and their knowledge about it. The segmentation on the bases of lifestyle, adopted in Italy by Movimento Turismo del Vino and CENSIS researchers, was also taken into consideration. The results of the survey identify the six respondent segments as follow: No specific knowledge of wine (4.5%), Occasional wine drinkers (29.3%), Wine novices (11.2%), Trendy (2.4%), Wine lovers (46%) and Wine experts (6.6%). As previously stated, a series of cross-tabulations between the six segments and the importance of some features showed in Table 3 were then run in order to identify differences between wine tourists and examine wine-related attitudes of various groups (Table 5). Tab. 5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FEATURES WITH THE HIGHER SCORE AND THE SIX SEGMENTS OF WINE TOURISTS It was found that Wine reputation and Wine tasting/tasting courses were mostly considered as not important by the segments No specific knowledge of wine, Occasional wine drinkers and Wine novices, compared with the others for which these features were mainly important. However, for 68% of all Wine experts Wine tasting/tasting courses were not important motivations for visiting a winery. One reason for this might be that such individuals have in many different occasions wine-related experiences, maybe as they are members of some wine club (Mitchell & Hall, 2001c). Respondents prevalent interest in wine is likely to be also shown by the fact that all segments, excepting the Trendy, considered the naturalistic and cultural environment features of a wine region as not important. As for the item reputation of the wine region, it must be noted that 64.3% of the Wine novice segment considers the wine's region reputation as important, while the 76.5% of No specific knowledge of wine segment and 55.6% of Trendy consider it to be not important. The relationship between segments and the possibility to improve knowledge of wine as part of a winery visit experience seems to confirm, as in Charters and Ali-Knight (2002), 13

14 that Wine lovers and Wine experts are more interested in wine compared to the other segments, as these two segments consider this opportunity as important. It is not important for the other segments, since their interest in wine is likely to be lower. In addition, it is notable that relaxation as a component of a winery visit experience has been considered not important by all segments, excluding the Occasional wine drinkers. Finally, in percentage within each segment, it has been observed that only Wine experts have been indicated To visit only wineries as the main reason for visiting wine regions, while in other segments it was To visit wineries as well as discovering the surrounding tourist attractions. Furthermore, 57% of individuals with No specific knowledge of wine declared to visit a winery less than once a year, while 59.2% of Wine lovers and 56.3% of Wine experts visit more than once a year. The highest percentage of respondents who made a visit more than once a month was Wine experts. These findings could suggest that the level of interest in wine is the best predictor of wine tourist s motivation in visiting wineries, as stated by Charters and Ali-Knight (2002), and that wine tourist s interest in wine is positively related to their frequency of visitation to wineries. Wine spending behaviour Although wine spending behaviour needs further investigation to be better understood, it is interesting to notice some findings as result of this research. Table 6 shows the data concerning the average number of wine bottles purchased per month and the monthly average amount spent on wine. Tab. 6 MONTHLY WINE EXPENDITURE The relationship between the two variables was statistically significant at level of p<0.05 and enough positive since the Sperman s V coefficient value was That appears to be confirmed by the fact that about 97% of those who declared to spend a monthly average amount of up to 25 Euros, purchases in average up to five bottle of wine per month, while about 48% of who spends in average more than 100 Euros per month purchases more than eleven bottles. Also observed 14

15 was the difference between male and female behaviour. In fact, in average, men spend much more money per month to buy wine and purchase more bottles compared to women. Finally, it was found that the decision-making process to purchase wine by more than 75% of respondents is generally influenced by the acquaintance with wine producer. However, it is interesting to notice that for 28% of Wine lovers and 39% of Wine experts acquaintance with wine producer is not influencing. Furthermore, most of respondents declared to be also spurred in the decision-making process when visiting wineries, in different ways. In fact, only 5.2% of respondents are absolutely not affected by visit to wineries in wine purchasing, while about 35% partially. Conclusion Wine tourism growth in many Italian regions highlights the need of research that can help wine producers to manage wine tourist demand. This becomes increasingly important if wine producers wish to benefit from wine tourism as a potential market. Wineries are the core attraction (Getz, 2000), but they cannot be left alone since they tend to be involved in two different markets, the wine market and the tourism market. It implies a proper understanding of the symbiosis between wine consumer and wine tourist behaviour. This could assist wine producers in organizing wine tourism supply, maximizing the winery visitation experience (Carlsen & Charters, 2006). This study represents a further step in the wine tourism research in South Italy and specifically in Sicily. The findings go some way towards addressing the scarcity of information about wine tourism behaviour in Italy that could be further investigated through future researches. The result of this research offers opportunities for improving management strategies of wineries involved in wine tourism in Sicily, defining a wine tourist profile. Crucially, it shows that Sicilian wine tourists are likely to be correspondent to the typical wine tourist s profile defined by the literature on the basis of similar researches. They are likely to be between and years of age, well educated and within a moderate to high income bracket, on the basis of their professional status. The high 15

16 incidence of respondents in group sharing their experience first of all with friends and then with family reveals a preference for social interactions of wine tourist. This increases the social motivation for wine consumption (Demossier, 2005). The research shows that wine tourist s behaviour depends on different motivations. In fact, respondents seem to be more affected by wine and wine region reputations, using this opportunity to relax and to improve knowledge of wine, however they are likely to be also interested in the naturalistic and cultural environment of the place visited. On the other hand, as observed by Charters and Ali-Knight (2002), it is most likely that a wine tourist enjoys a wine region alongside other tourism benefits. The interest in wine of respondents is a key component of their motivation in making a visit. It confirms the importance of Wine lovers segment also for wine tourism in Sicily. In addition, it has been also noted that, for most of the respondents, the motivational reason for visiting a wine area was To visit wineries as well as discovering the surrounding tourist attractions. This suggests that respondents were likely to be mostly wine tourists interested in both wine and wine tourism related phenomena. Some differences between male and female wine-related motivations and behaviours have been also highlighted. In general, males are likely to be more interested in a wine experience than females. A limitation is that the survey has covered only visitors to wineries, not wine consumers in general, ignoring the link between wine consumption and wine tourism. In addition as in other researches focused on the same issue (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Getz & Brown, 2006), the sample size was not drawn randomly, so the results cannot be generalize to any specific population. Probably, further researches will be necessary to understand the wine consumer and other specialist interests such as gastronomy, to advance knowledge of wine and food tourism. This study offers some insights relevant to the analysis of wine tourism market in Sicily and indicates the direction of the recent research that explores motivations and wine tourist s behaviour in a theoretical context. The results offer Sicilian wineries useful information in a period of strong growth of wine tourism in Italy. Finally, this study suggests that the involvement in wine and the 16

17 variables for visitation motivation in the market segmentation can be used by wineries to market their wine tourism offer more effectively. 17

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26 Tab. 1 - PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS (N = 397) AGE 18-29: 66 (17.0%) 30-39: 117 (30.1%) 40-49: 90 (23.1%) 50-59: 67 (17.2%) 60 and older: 49 (12.6%) GENDER Male 59.7% Female 40.3% EXPECTED IN- COME BRACK- ET High 31.6% Moderate 51.1% Low 17.4% EDUCATION Secondary school 5.3% High school 43.0% University/Post graduate 51.6% 26

27 Tab. 2 - PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF WINERY VISIT ALREADY VISITED A WINERY (N = 397) Yes 94.7% No 5.3% AVERAGE WINERY VISITS PER YEAR (N = 314) Once a year 26.8% More than once a year 46.2% Once a month 11.5% More than once a month 11.5% Other 4.1% GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF WINERIES PREVIOUSLY VIS- ITED (N = 278) Sicily 64.7% Other Italian Regions 12.9% Other Countries 2.92% Sicily and other Italian Regions 11.9% Sicily and other Countries 2.5% Sicily and other Italian Regions and other Countries 4.0% Other Italian Regions and Other Countries 1.1% 27

28 Tab. 3 FEATURES RELATING TO A VISIT RELATED TO A WINERY Means Std. Deviation Wine reputation 3,90 1,078 Wine tasting / tasting courses 3,70 1,038 In house restaurant and tasting of typical products 3,45 0,977 Tasting and restaurant prices 3,15 1,012 Entertainment events 3,10 1,005 Acquaintance with owners 3,00 1,145 Overnight stay possibility 2,76 0,971 Child friendly 2,71 0,971 RELATED TO A WINE REGION Means Std. Deviation Reputation of the wine region 3,89 1,083 Naturalistic and cultural environment 3,64 1,019 Accommodation facilities 3,11 0,911 Easy accessibility and Transport facilities 2,97 0,757 EXPERIENCES AND EMOTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH A VISIT Means Std. Deviation Relaxation 3,78 1,081 Improve knowledge of wine 3,78 0,984 Novel /new experiences 3,53 0,917 Sharing experiences with other people 3,43 0,928 Participation of cultural and recreational activities 3,30 0,855 Note: Responses were given on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Not at all important) to 5 (Very important) 28

29 Tab. 4 TOOLS INFLUENCING THE DECISION TO WINERY VISIT Means Std. Deviation Word-of-mouth 3,79 1,113 Reputation of winery/wine 3,75 1,029 Internet 3,51 1,116 Events 3,38 0,966 Brochures 3,33 0,957 Wine region guides 3,23 0,909 Prices 3,16 0,920 Mass media 3,13 1,007 Note: Responses were given on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Not at all important) to 5 (Very important) 29

30 30

31 Tab. 5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FEATURES WITH THE HIGHER SCORE AND THE SIX SEGMENTS OF WINE TOURISTS (N = 376) Wine Reputation Wine tasting /Tasting courses Reputation of the wine region Naturalistic and cultural environment Relaxation Improve ones knowledge of wine Important Not Important Important Not Important Important Not Important Important Not Important Important Not Important Important No specific knowledge of wine 23.5% 76.5% 35.3% 64.7% 23.5% 76.5% 41.2% 58.8% 47.1% 52.9% 41.2% 58.8% Occasional drinker 45.5% 54.5% 35.5% 64.5% 51.8% 48.2% 30.9% 69.1% 51.8% 48.2% 29.1% 70.9% Wine novice 38.1% 61.9% 35.7% 64.3% 64.3% 35.7% 47.6% 52.4% 35.7% 64.3% 31.0% 69.0% Trendy 66.7% 33.3% 55.6% 44.4% 44.4% 55.6% 55.6% 44.4% 44.4% 55.6% 33.3% 66.7% Wine lover 60.7% 39.3% 51.4% 48.6% 50.3% 49.7% 42.8% 57.2% 42.2% 57.8% 56.1% 43.9% Wine expert 60.0% 40.0% 32.0% 68.0% 48.0% 52.0% 32.0% 60.0% 24.0% 76.0% 72.0% 28.0% Total 52.1% 47.9% 43.1% 56.9% 50.8% 49.2% 39.4% 60.6% 43.4% 56.6% 45.2% 54.8% Not Important 31

32 Tab. 6 - MONTHLY WINE EXPENDITURE MONTHLY AVERAGE SPEND ON WINE (N = 237) up to 25,00 Euros 29.5% 26,00-50,00 Euros 40.5% 51,00-100,00 Euros 19.0% over 101,00 Euros 11.0% (Mean = 60 Euros; Median = 50 Euros) AVERAGE BOTTLES OF WINE PURCHASED PER MONTH (N = 227) up to 5 bottles 55,0% 6-10 bottles 31,0% over 11 bottles 14,0% (Mean = 6,9; Median = 5) 32