Wine tourism as it exists is fun, but it could be better.
Currently, most wine tourism activities consist of a tour of several wineries where tourists taste a variety of wines (usually free) and sometimes have a lunch on or off site. Some wineries host wine pairing dinners with music but, most wineries do not have the facilities for such events.
Many wineries offer live music on summer weekends but, food is limited to packaged meats, cheeses and crackers that you purchase on site. In most cases revenue is generated mainly from wine sales to customers.
So how do you add value (revenue) for the average winery. The answer is that you create an experience that makes connections with visitors on a physical, emotional, spiritual, social or intellectual level. Such experiences will differentiate you from your competition.
These experiences are bundled into a vacation package offering and marketed to the world. The revenue comes from the sale of these packages and it can be quite lucrative. The majority of today’s travelers are looking for unique experiences and are willing to pay big dollars participate in them. Sounds simple but, the fact is that the average winery does not have the resources to make this happen. They don’t have the time or money to do so, and in some cases they may not have the expertise.
So how do you take that next step into the experience economy? Collaboration is the key. Read the next post to learn more.
