Wine and culinary tourism: Preferences of experiential consumers

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Faculty of Economics and Management, 39100 Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

Abstract

We explore the key components of consumer demand for the development of a successful wine and culinary tourism segment. In particular, we investigate the demand preferences that are important to consumers interested in a wine and culinary related hotel stay in South Tyrol. Conceptually, we utilize the 4E-Model of experiential consumption by Pine & Gilmore [1, 2] and propose that the four realms of an experience (i.e., entertainment, education, escapist, and aesthetic relate to the principal components of consumer preferences. We survey potential tourists to gain a better understanding of their demand preferences for culinary and wine related hotel stays. Using an exploratory factor analysis, we identify the principal components of consumer demand preferences. The most preferred demand feature of a culinary wine experience relates to informative entertainment. The second feature relates to social-cultural activities that are educating. The third are escapist wine and food-specific activities and the forth relates to the aesthetics of accommodation traits and style in the culinary and wine domain. Moreover, we study the current supply attributes of wine and culinary related hotel offer in South Tyrol and their pricing using a hedonic model. Attributes that provide an entertainment experience form the basis of any offer in the wine and culinary domain. Attributes that provide an educational experience are highly relevant and add will a significant price premium. Matching demand preferences and supply conditions is crucial in developing a successful culinary and wine related tourism segment.