Motivations of tourists in wine regions: the case of La Rioja, Spain

Abstract

Purpose This paper addresses the motivations of tourists who visit the region of La Rioja, Spain, which is well known for its internationally recognized, high-quality wines, yet remains understudied as a wine tourism destination. The paper aims to ascertain whether tourists are attracted to La Rioja because of its famous wines and wine-related activities or if other motivations exist. Design/methodology/approach The data were derived from 217 questionnaires regarding tourists’ motivations. A tourist survey was applied in La Rioja’s capital city, Logroño, and segmentation analysis was undertaken. The data were first grouped into five factors regarding motivations for one’s visit. These factors were then used to create two clusters: “wine tourists” and “other tourists”. Findings The results enabled us to detect different segments of tourists. The existence of two clusters suggests that tourists are motivated to visit the region for various reasons that are not necessarily wine-related. Thus, the region should be marketed to tourists beyond the theme of wine, as there is a demand for diverse experiences. Originality/value Using the push and pull theory, this study contributes to the literature on the profile of visitors to wine tourism destinations by identifying differences in terms of motivations and other personal characteristics between “wine tourists” and the “other tourists”. It also adds to the few existing studies on wine tourism segmentation in Spain through its focus on La Rioja, which is one of the most famous Spanish wine tourism destinations.

Pairing Co-Creation with Food and Wine Experiences—A Holistic Perspective of Tourist Experiences in Dão, a Portuguese Wine Region

“…This understanding justifies the adoption of a holistic perspective in food and wine experiences in wine regions, stimulated by collective, articulated action and corresponding governance entities, such as regional DMOs or wine route structures that integrate diverse kinds of wine-focused attractions and stakeholders. Such an approach may also promote territories' brand image, their attractiveness and their competitive advantage [1,32,65].…”

“…After the identification of (relatively few) supply agents of the Dão route who offered co-creative food and wine experiences (with visitors' active participation), contacts were established with three supply agents, who were prepared to participate in the study. The interviews were held via telephone (2) and online via the Zoom platform (1).…”

“…Wine and gastronomy are intrinsically related and can result in a distinctive and competitive tourism product. Vorobiova et al [1] (p. 355) state that wine "can be considered part of the broader category of food tourism" and, indeed, visitors increasingly search for food and wine experiences when travelling [2], which suggests the growing evidence of a tourist market trend. Costa [2] states that 600,000 visitors cited food and wine as a primary motivation, and 20 million cited it as a secondary motivation, for annual trips in Europe.…”

Attractiveness of wine region types: how less popular wine regions can attract wine tourists?

“…Many articles in wine tourism research focus on certain wine regions (Bruwer and Lesschaeve, 2012;Alebaki et al, 2015;Bruwer et al, 2018;Bruwer et al, 2017;Afonso et al, 2018;Vorobiova et al, 2020), but only a few examine a whole country (Molina et al, 2015) or use an international perspective (Brown and Getz, 2005;Getz and Brown, 2006;Scorrano et al, 2018;Santos et al, 2021). Many articles in the field of wine research focus on popular wine countries or regions (Bruwer et al, 2018;Afonso et al, 2018;Scorrano et al, 2018;Vorobiova et al, 2020), other studies deal with lesser-known wine countries or regions (Alebaki et al, 2015;Toncev et al, 2016). This study examines a country with all its wine regions, so the differences among them can be analysed.…”

The Interdependence Between Tourism and Innovation Activity in the Western Borderlands of Russia

“…Most of the popular tourist destinations have developed regional clusters of related activities that boost the development of catering, entertainment, wellness, crafts, cultural facilities, transportation, farming, education services and other complementary activities (Sigurardottir and Steinthorsson, 2018;Vorobiova et al, 2019;Mauri and Turci, 2018). This cross-sectoral "fertilization" inevitably increases economic resilience.…”