Ruhet Genç
Abstract:
“Wine is as old as the thirst of man, not the physical thirst which man can so easily slake with water, as his horse and his dog do, but the heaven-sent thirst for what will still our fears – that our mind be at peace; and stir our sense and sensibility – that we shall not ignore nor abuse God’s good gifts – wine not the least of them” (Simon et al., 1969). Wine tourism along with gastronomic tourism can give an ideal opportunity for tourism stakeholders to create unusual, essential tourism experiences. Wine and gastronomy tourism decrease the effects of an economic and social monoculture that results when tourism drive out other economic and social activities. The marriage between these two and nearby attractions also creates destinations. Tourism researchers have proved that gastronomy and wine are a critical and substantial part of any holiday, one that may even represent one third of tourist expenditure (Telfer & Wall, 2000). Some academicians, having in mind sustainability and quality, might prefer to use culinary tourism or oenogastronomic tourism by including wine as one of the main substances. Even though the significance of food and wine can be understood in these terms, the value- added characteristic of wine is missing and cannot be detected in this terminology. Nevertheless, it is extremely significant to consider sustainability and quality in the transformation of wine and gastronomic products into tourism products. Our research question is “which comes first; sustainable wine production or sustainable tourism?” Regardless of the answer, we are able to illuminate the importance of wine and gastronomy production for tourism in general and evaluate the benefits for stakeholders from these activities. Once a destination has established the meaning and appearance of its wine and gastronomic richness for potential tourists, it should be imperative to develop strategies that will focus on gastronomy and wine to market them as tourist products.
Keywords: Value-added winetourism, wine, destination, cultural and rural tourism