INFLUENCE OF THE WINE SECTOR ON TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Wine tourism is the priority form of tourism for a series of countries. It must be integrated and adapted to the tourist market necessities worldwide, to increase the number of tourists. Investigations carried out in the field of wine tourism should be integrated with those conducted globally. At the same time, it is necessary to integrate the two industries: wine and tourism. Wine production and tourism are essentially on opposite ends of the industrial spectrum, while the characteristics of each activity are different from a microeconomic perspective. On one end, wine production is a primary and partially secondary activity based on industry, characterised by being dependent on supply prices and by producing a standardised and homogeneous product, relying on capital increase to create wealth. At the other end of the industrial spectrum, tourism is a services industry characterised as a heterogeneous service determined by demand, by obtaining prices, maximising profit, and relying on profits to create wealth. Wine tourism may generate substantial earnings, thus contributing to the development of regions and making the labour market and the companies conducting their activities in this sector more dynamic. By allotting various funds, one may increase wine quality and readjust the supply of tourist services, thus determining an increase in location popularity and incomes, implicitly. This paper approaches the interaction between wine tourism and wine production. It is due to the fact that wine tourism development is in the charge of wine producers, most often small and medium enterprises. Hence, the increase in wine quality is one of the challenges for the interested parties in wine enterprise development. The article aims to determine the influence of the wine sector on the development of tourism in the world’s leading countries in wine production. In order to achieve the objective, the statistical data for the period 2016-2021 regarding the evolution of wine production in 22 countries with the highest volume of wine production were analyzed. Travel and tourism competitiveness index and International tourist arrivals were analyzed for the same 22 countries. The results of the research showed that the countries with the highest volume of wine production have the highest International tourism inbound receipts. The countries leading the world in wine production such as Italy, Spain, France, USA among the top 5 countries with the largest International tourist arrivals.