Wine tourism in Australia: emergence, development and critical issues

Abstract

Wine tourism has emerged as a strong and growing area of special interest tourism in Australia, and as such it has become an increasingly significant component of the Australian regional tourism product. The Australian Wine Foundation (1996) estimates total Australian wine tourism figures to be in the order of 5.3 million visits per annum, worth $428 million in 1995 and which is expected to grow substantially to around $1100 million by 2025. As a consequence, Australia’s Federal and State Governments and regional communities (including regional associations) are recognising the benefits of promoting their wine districts as tourism attractions in their own right.
While the destinational appeal of wine regions and the concept of wine tourism is generally acknowledged, research concerning wine tourism development, marketing and impacts is lacking. Therefore, this thesis examines the nature and potential of wine tourism in Australia, and documents its historical development and current status. The activities and initiatives of a number of agencies involved in wine tourism development and marketing are also critically examined, and significant wine tourism developmental issues are investigated through a case study of the Canberra District, an emerging Australian wine region.
A number of developmental similarities between rural tourism and wine tourism are noted, including: a lack of tourism and marketing awareness and knowledge by practitioners, and a lack of industry integration and cohesion. These issues are compounded by the infancy of wine tourism and the dominant product focus of wine makers and the Australian wine industry, resulting in the absence of effective inter sectoral linkages. While a number of tourism agencies and wine industry associations are pursuing wine tourism development initiatives, the success and sustainability of these activities is dependent upon addressing various developmental issues.

Date of Award	1997
Original language	English
Supervisor	John Jenkins (Supervisor) & Michael Hall (Supervisor)