2023/08/02 by Liberato, Dália, Sousa, Bruno, Paíga, Hugo +1
#Douro Demarcated Region #Experience Tourism #FOS: Economics and business #Tourism #Wine Tourism
paper · doi:10.34630/e-rei.vi11.5333
Wine Tourism is a market segment closely linked to rural destinations, where people can take advantage of the difference and authenticity of their local products to promote tourism activity, thus stimulating the demand for a particular region. This supply has experienced a very significant increase in Portugal and worldwide over the last few years, except for the last two due to the pandemic. It is a segment of the tourism market currently relevant and has great potential for growth in the medium and long term. This research aims to be a contribution to deepen the knowledge about it and/or to open research horizons in this area of wine tourism, especially in the Demarcated Douro region, Municipality of São João da Pesqueira, as well as to identify a better knowledge of the sector, particularly in the area of demand, in order to enable product development and also to identify the motivations in the choice of tourist destination. It focuses on the analysis of wine tourism with a huge preponderance in the Douro Demarcated Region, particularly in the Municipality of São João da Pesqueira. The general objective of the research is to understand the importance of wine tourism in promoting the destination São João da Pesqueira. Therefore, as specific objectives, the study aims to identify tourist preferences, the motivations in choosing a tourist destination, identify a better knowledge of the sector, particularly in the area of demand, to enable product development, identify and enhance the wine tourism perspective and identify the impact of wine tourism on regional and local development. In the main conclusions, it is possible to highlight the destination's strengths, unique characteristics, the landscape, the product (wine), the history and diversity of wine producers, new attractions, proximity, infrastructure, climate, tourism life cycle, and visitor dynamics, considering whether it is the first visit or not. Regarding the influence of wine tourism in the territory, it is fundamental and assumes a crucial role in the region, in a transversal way, since it is related to other activities, in which it assumes a role of dissemination throughout the world; it is a sector in full expansion attracting many tourists to the region and by anchoring the labor force within the territory, because it also provides business activity to those who live there. Additionally, wine tourism can be a lever in the sustainable co-creation of new tourism experiences, of innovative ideas to be implemented in the territory in the future, which coincide with some ideas already existing in other regions and countries. Considering the future of the wine tourism sector, the strategies include the valorization of the destination, through the differentiation for the quality and innovation of new proposals, as for the creation of tourism routes, or new hotels involved with the landscape, by the wine diversity, by its history. The regions must enhance their brand image, taking advantage of wine tourism, the characteristics of its wine, along with its gastronomy, their endogenous resources, and in this sense provide unique experiences, to disseminate and promote tourism in the region and in turn the economic impact.