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435
TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448 UDC: 338.48-6:641/642(497.4)
Abstract
Introduction
Igor Jurinčič, PhD, Faculty of Tourism Studies Portorož Turistica, Portorož, Slovenia
Email: igor.jurincic@turistica.si
Štefan Bojnec, PhD, Faculty of Management, Koper, Slovenia
Email: stefan.bojnec@fm-kp.si
Igor Jurinčič and Štefan Bojnec
Wine tourism development:
e case of the wine district
in Slovenia
e focus of the analyses is on the determinants in the life-cycle of wine tourist product
development and the growth of the wineries entrepreneurship in the Goriška Brda wine
district situated on the Slovenian border with Italy. is is one of the fastest growing wine
tourism districts in Slovenia. e analysis was based on the in-depth survey of 20 most ac-
tive family wineries. Almost one-third of them started with wine production before 1991,
around half of the wineries inherited the winery from the parents, often husband and wife
are full-time self-employed in the winery, and they gain some support from other family
members, and sometimes also from non-family members. e importance and growth of
wine tourism is quanti ed by the number of wineries that are open for visits with guided
tours and sale of wine in the winery, employment specialization into the wine tourism,
specialized tourist products such as local traditional food and accommodation, the increa-
sing importance of the marketing communication tools and promotion methods for visits of
the winery, and the increasing revenues from the wine tourism. Relatively high wine prices
provide survival opportunities also for smaller wineries, which have made several innova-
tions by the shifts in the growing types of grapes from traditional towards grapes for high
quality wine, and improvements in wine making, but the main innovations are in the
wineries entrepreneurial e orts for wine sales in the winery and through activities that are
related to the wine tourism.
Keywords:
wine; wineries; wine tourism; entrepreneurship; marketing; Goriška Brda; Slovenia
Wine tourism development in the Goriška Brda wine district in Slovenia is analyzed
and compared with similar research on determinants for life-cycle of wine tourist
product and growth of wine tourist providers in world class tourism and wine tourism
destinations (Macionis, 1996; Hall, & Macionis, 1998; Getz, & Brown, 2006; Bojnec,
Jurinčič, & Tomljenović, 2006, 2007; Markočič and Prinčič, 2008). Macionis (1996)
introduced life-cycle model of wine tourism product for Australia. In Slovenia, similar
stages of development of wine tourist product have been observed. e high quality
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
of wine production is an important element for initial, an introductory stage in wine
tourism development (Jurinčič, & Bojnec, 2006; Bojnec, & Jurinčič, 2006a, 2006b).
In the second stage of development a part of wine production is sold in a bottled form
alongside introduction of additional o ers, which lead to a shift from traditional wine-
ry into an open winery with wine sales. In the third stage, wine quality is improved
and thus growth of the winery follow, which requires progress in marketing. is is
accompanied with investments into tourism accommodation facilities in the winery
which, in addition, requires additional employment of other members of households
for tourism related activities. Finally, in the fourth, mature, stage of wine tourism de-
velopment, tourist activities become the main source of incomes for the winery, which
requires establishment of a family or similar run rm, which is engaged in tourism
and wine marketing to domestic and international markets. At the same time, wine
tourism product supply is becoming more specialized by targeting di erent segments
of wine tourists such as lovers of culture, families, active tourists, cycling, lovers of
nature, and similar. e wine tourism product supply is well integrated into a tourism
product supply of the tourism destination. is means that from the initial wine farm
it becomes one of the important players and innovators of wine tourism product sup-
ply in the tourism destination.
is life-cycle of the wine tourism product and growth of wine tourism providers
are analyzed in the case of the Goriška Brda wine tourist district in Slovenia. e
importance and growth of wine tourism is quanti ed by the number of wineries and
employees in the wine tourism, the number and diversi cation of the recognized and
specialized tourist products in association with the wine tourism supply (e.g. wellness,
ecological, and similar tourism), the signi cance of wine sales in the wineries and wine
exports, the use of di erent marketing tools and the role of the wine consortiums.
Wine, tourism and related experiences in several tourism destinations have become
integrated into local wineries' business and marketing concepts (Hall, & Macionis,
1998; Getz, & Brown, 2006; Alonso, 2009). Tomljenović (2006) and Tomljenović and
Getz (2009) developed a common approach for the life-cycle stages in wine tourism
development within di erent traditional, cultural, and other circumstances facilitating
the relationship between the wine product and tourist experience for successful deve-
lopment of a wine tourism market. e base point for the wine tourism development
is the high quality of wine production, which is recognized by the awards gained at
domestic and international wine competitions. is encouraged wine sale in the wine-
ry. At the initial stage this is still no bottled wine. With the wine sale the winery estab-
lishes personal contacts with the buyers and tourists who have visited the winery. At
this stage, there is still not established cooperation between wine suppliers due to tou-
rism, but membership in the association of grape growers and wine producers due to
exchanges of knowledge and experiences about viticulture and wine producing is be-
coming more numerous (Jurinčič, & Bojnec, 2006; Jurinčič, Bojnec, & Tomljenović,
2006; Bojnec, Jurinčič, & Tomljenović, 2006, 2007).
Life-cycle
in wine tourism
development
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
In the next stage, a part of wine production has been bottled and there is emergence
of rst supplementary activities with transformation from the basic, traditional wine
farm into the farm open for visitors or into the wine shop (e.g. Hegarty, & Ruddy,
2004). At least one person on the farm is put in charge of receiving visitors. At the
destination level, wine routes are formed, with signage and basic promotion materials,
marking more intensive entry of wineries on the market of the tourism destination
(Brunori, & Rossi, 2000; Bruwer, 2003).
In the third stage, there is a growth in quantity and quality of wine production, which
requires an intensive marketing. e better wine growers start with mutual cooperati-
on within a wine consortium or any other similar association of wine producers to
improve/maintain the quality and achieve more successful marketing with an aim to
enter into the foreign markets. e wine tourism product supply achieves a recognisa-
ble quality level at home or in local food production. is development stage is accom-
panied with the construction of accommodation capacities at the winery. All these activi-
ties require additional e orts from other households' members.
In the maturity stage of wine tourism development the tourist-related activities beco-
me, by the revenues and incomes, more important than the initially basic wine pro-
duction. is requires setting up of an enterprise for tourism and wine marketing also
for the foreign markets. At least one employee in the enterprise is engaged exclusively
with the tourist activities and/or wine marketing. is is associated with investments
into upgrading of accommodation capacities and wine tourism product supply to
achieve higher quality of services and products supplied. e introduction of new
supply is aimed towards speci c segments of wine tourists (lovers of culture, families,
active tourists, cycling, lovers of nature, and similar; see also Carlsen, Getz, & Ali-
Knight, 2001). e supply of wine tourism becomes integrated into the supply of the
tourism destination, where the winery becomes an indispensable co-creator of the wine
tourism product supply of the tourism destination.
As it is illustrated in Figure 1, public administration, experts, and advisory services can
play an important role in the life-cycle of the wine tourism development. Moreover,
Table 1 synthesises a hypothetical wine tourism destination life-cycle in four di erent
development stages and their characteristics. ese provides theoretical basis for our
empirical investigation in the case of the wine district of Goriška Brda in Slovenia.
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
Figure 1
LIFE CYCLE OF WINE TOURISM AND THE ROLE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND EXPERTS
Source: Bojnec, Jurinčič and Tomljenović (2007)
Table 1
HYPOTHETICAL WINE TOURISM DESTINATION LIFE CYCLE
Four stages and
characteristics
1:
Incipient wine
tourism
2:
Developing
3:
Maturity
4:
Declining
SCALE OF WINE
TOURISM
Wineries were
mostly established
without regard
for tourism;
Very few
wine tourists
High levels
of wine tourism
development and
competition
Decline in volume
of visitors;
Some wineries
might become
unprofitable and
disappear
Growth in wine
tourist volume;
New wineries
designed for tourism;
"Landmark" wineries
established
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
For the purpose of this study, the population was de ned as all wineries that meet the
criteria of private ownership and family entrepreneurial tradition. is criterion was
used due to the relatively small number of wineries which were included into our re-
search. As the method of data collection face-to-face interview was used, based on the
structured questionnaire which included set of closed and open ended questions. ese
questions were related to the history of the winery and the winery entrepreneurial and
marketing activities, employment and opening of the winery, current and expected de-
velopment of wine tourism product supply.
e study was conduced in the wine region of Goriška brda. Slovenia has been tradi-
tionally divided into three wine regions: Podravska, Posavska and Primorska wine
region. e Goriška Brda wine district is situated on the border with Italy, in the Pri-
morska wine region (Figure 2). In the wine district of Goriška Brda the wine tourism
is among the fastest growing and among the most developed within, both, the Primor-
ska wine region and in Slovenia. e wine route of Goriška Brda, which represented
the initial stage in wine tourism development, is made up of around 100 wine tourism
product suppliers. Moreover, in the Goriška Brda wine district 920 grape producers
are registered. ey cultivate around 1,816 hectares (ha) of vineyards. e average size
of vineyards per farm is 1.97 ha, which is for more than 1.2 ha greater than that of the
Slovenian average (0.7 ha).
Table 1 CONTINUED
IMPORTANCE OF
WINE TOURISM TO
WINERIES
Tourism is strictly a
sideline to most;
Many are not
involved
A mix of tourist-
oriented and export-
oriented wineries
Almost all wineries
are involved;
Some are heavily
dependent on cellar
door sales
Declining cellar-door
and other retail sales;
Higher dependence
on other distribution
modes
Source: Tomljenoviþ and Getz (2009)
Four stages and
characteristics
STRATEGIES
Encourage
and aid
entrepreneurship;
Attract
investment;
Set a vision
Branding
of the wine tourism
destination;
Focus on high-yield
wine tourists;
Integrate wine
and other policy
domains
Focus on
sustainability;
Possibly
demarcating
to reduce
mass tourism
Repositioning is
needed;
Create new selling
proposition
(uniqueness
stressed);
Quality of wines
stressed
2:
Developing
3:
Maturity
IMPORTANCE OF
WINE TOURISM TO
THE REGION
Employment and
economic impact of
wine tourism is
recognized and might
be the dominant
activity
Declining economic
importance of wine
tourism might be
seen as a regional
crisis
1:
Incipient wine
tourism
4:
Declining
Perceived to be
minor;
Some visionaries see
the potential
Recognition of
potential, based on
visible trends;
General desire
to grow wine
tourism
Methodology
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
Figure 2
WINE REGIONS IN SLOVENIA AND LOCATION OF
THE WINE DISTRICT OF GORIŠKA BRDA
e survey was conducted with 20 most active private wine producers in the Goriška
wine district in 2007. By gender, among the respondents there were 60% male and
40% female. By age, 45% of the respondents were between 20 and 40 years, while
55% between 41 and 60 years. e great majority of them (90% of the respondents)
have lived in the Primorska region since they were born. e other 10% have immi-
grated into the Primorska region since seven and seventeen years ago, respectively.
ENTREPRENEURIAL TRADITION
Not many private wineries in Slovenia have a long entrepreneurial tradition and this is
re ected also in the wineries surveyed (Table 2). During the socialist period, wine was
produced mostly by cooperative, with majority of private wine growers selling grapes
to their cooperative. e re-emerging development of private wineries has occurred since
the Slovenian independence in 1991 that also marked the transition from the socialist
system into market economy. Among the fastest growing and advanced have been the
private wineries in Goriška Brda wine district, where the wineries have a signi cant
part of their vineyards on the other side of the border in Italy. Due to the relations
Results and
discussion
Source: Krušič et al 1996
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
with relatives and relatively open cross-border regime between Slovenia and Italy, there
has also been rapid and wide transfer of technology and market innovations from the
neighbouring very developed wine district Collio in Italy. is is the reason that between
the private wineries surveyed there are 30% with the longer tradition and they repre-
sent the core of the private family wineries with the higher degree of development of
wine tourism in Goriška Brda wine district and in Slovenia.
Table 2
WHEN THE WINERY WAS ESTABLISHED
Period Number of wineries %
1700 – 1750 1 5
1751 – 1800 1 5
1801 – 1850 2 10
1851 – 1900 / /
1901 – 1950 2 10
1951 – 2000 14 70
Total 20 100
Regarding the ownership of the winery, our respondents are the single owners in three
wineries (15%), while the remaining 17 wineries (85%) are on family ownership. e
family ownership is often inherited from the generation to the generation or from
the parents (11 wineries or 55%). In some cases the land was inherited, but later the
current owners developed the winery. e most frequent reason for the decision to
venture into winery establishment was the opportunity for self-employment. In several
cases the young family members are working in the winery, while their parents and
other family members are giving an additional support. erefore, it seems that the
most wineries evolved from wine-growing farm to which winery was added. With the
recognition of wine tourism potential, wine tasting and wine sale was also added and,
nally, accommodation facilities were developed to facilitate overnight stay of visitors.
SIZE AND EMPLOYMENT
e most frequent size of the wineries in terms of annual wine production is between
thirty and fty thousands litres of wine (45%) (Table 3). All the respondent wineries
are included into the network of the wine routes. ey are also the members of the
wine consortium. e largest wine producers with more than fty thousands litres of
wine annually are those with the longest tradition. ey are present and recognized
on the international wine markets where they are selling independently under their
own brand name. ey are also o ering accommodation at the farm/winery. Among
the most known private family wineries in the Goriška Brda wine district are Movia,
Čarga, Ščurek, Simčič, Kabaj Morel and Reya.
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Most often up to two family members are full-time employed in the winery (40%),
more rarely three (15%) or four family members (5%). Most often this is a husband
and wife team. ey gain some support from children (45%) and parents (40%).
Among others (5%) are most frequently relatives, which provide help when it is neces-
sary or when there is the pick of work at the farm. ey are rarely additionally emplo-
yed, but only provide an occasional help.
VISITORS OF THE WINERY
Almost 80% of the wineries in the sample are opened for visitors, which imply that
several wineries in the Goriška Brda wine district are engaged in the wine tourism at
leastas a supplementary activity. e rst stage of the wine tourism development repre-
sents the introduction into the wine route network, which requires minimal conditi-
ons – certain quality of wine and tidy winery. e most rapid development of wineries
opening their doors for visitors has started since 1991, more speci cally, during the
period 1991-2000 (for about 45% of the wineries in the sample) (Table 4). is was
the period followed by the Slovenian independence and the introduction of the market
economy with the private initiatives.
Table 3
QUANTITY OF WINE PRODUCTION IN 2006
Wine production (in l) Number of wineries %
Less than 10.000 1 5
10.001 – 30.000 6 30
30.001 – 50.000 9 45
50.001 – 70.000 2 10
70.001 – 90.000 1 5
90.001 and more 1 5
Total 20 100
Table 4
WHEN THE WINERY WAS OPENED FOR THE VISITORS?
Period Number of wineries %
Before 1980 1 5
1981 – 1990 3 15
1991 – 2000 9 45
2001 – 2007 2 10
Data not available 5 25
Total 20 100
It is interesting to note that the wineries are keeping an o cial record on the number
of winery visitors. About three-quarters of the wineries stated that they are managing
an o cial statistics about the visitors of their wine cellar. At the same time, the wine-
ries are reluctant to make this record public, being worried that the evidence might
be used, particularly by the tax agents, against them. ey are particularly concerned
about possible tax increases for the wineries, which are likely to reduce their pro tabil-
ity, competitiveness and opportunities for survival.
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TOURISM ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER I. Jurinčič and Š. Bojnec
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e number of visitors per winery is relatively small – most wineries report 500 visitors
annually (Table 5). It might be due to the fact that, during the last years, few wine-
ries have introduced additional products and services. However, over the next years, it
would be possible to expect an increase in the number of visitors due to the changing
preferences by consumers and, particularly, improvements in the wine tourism pro-
duct supply. In that respect, several farms also intend to invest into farm tourism and,
particularly, into the wine tourism development in the wine district of Goriška Brda.
Several of them are investing into tourism accommodation.
Most of the visitors in the wineries are from the Slovenia and from the neighbouring
countries (Italy and Croatia). However, in spite of wineries claiming to keep an o cial
record on visitor statistics, when it comes to determining visitor origin, they are either
uninformed or unwilling to provide answer, as the most frequently on this question
there was either no response or they were not willing to respond.
WINE PRODUCT SUPPLY IN THE WINERY
At the same time, it is worth mentioning that the average expenditures per visitor in
the winery by products are the following: for purchase of none bottled wine 7.5 euros,
for purchase of bottled wine 10 euros, for payments of wine testing 5 euros, and for
food / meals 10 euros.
e second stage of wine tourism development is also characterised by the deepening
of wine tourism product supply in the winery. In that sense, the wineries are o ering
supply of additional products or services. e single most frequent is still that the wi-
neries promote own tourism activities and supply in wine trade promotion publicati-
ons (35%), a bit less than one-third (30%) organize private parties, and around 20%
have restaurants or sell local produced food products. e remaining 15% of the sur-
veyed wineries o er other services.
e variations in the degree of integration of the wineries into wine tourism product
supply are seen from the evidence on the number of days in the week when the wine-
ries are open for visitors. More than a half of the wineries (55%) are opened each day
in the week, while 25% are opened only for certain days. Moreover, 15% wineries are
opened two days mostly on weekend. ree days for the extended weekend (on Mon-
day shops are closed in the neighbouring Italy) are opened 5% of the wineries, and a
similar percent (5%) are opened ve days in the week.
Table 5
NUMBER OF VISITORS PER VINERY
Number of visitors per vinery Number of wineries %
0 – 500 7 35
501 – 1000 2 10
1001 – 2000 2 10
No response 5 25
Not willing to respond 4 20
Total 20 100
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SERVICES TO VISITORS AND MARKETING OF TOURIST PRODUCTS
e ability of winery do dedicate a person to handle visitors can explain the level of
tourism business development in the winery. About 65% of the owners of the wineries
are of the opinion that visitors should announce their arrival in advance. Only 15%
wineries are of the opinion that somebody always has to be available to service visitors.
It might happen that during the pick of the seasonal work the owners of the winery are
not in position to allocate the time for possible visitors. is can be a reason that tour-
ist will leave the winery with mixed or even bad experiences. is disappointment can
happen from time to time. is shortcoming is an additional challenge for the winer-
ies to devote more opening time and e orts toward the availability to be present in
the winery for visitors. If the winery owners decide to get involved with visitors, they
should be aware that when the visitors arrive it is necessary to devote time to them,
while other activities on the farm should be put on hold temporarily. is is also an
investment into customer relations building in the future.
e guided tours of the winery are o ered by 40% of the wineries. e reason that
others are not involved is in a shortage of people employed by winery and, therefore,
the lack of time available for hosting visitors. If somebody works in the vineyards he/
she cannot be, at the same time, at the farm or in the winery.
In the Goriška Brda wine district, a highest number visitor is recorded in the autumn.
Several of them visit the Goriška Brda wine district during the harvest and, even more
frequently, on the St. Martin's day. During the summer in the Goriška Brda wine dis-
trict there are rather high temperatures and due to the hot weather conditions, there
is a bit less visitors than during the autumn months. During the spring, the peak of
tourist arrivals is recorded in June due to the cherry season and, in particularly, on the
traditional cherry date on the rst weekend in June when cherry festival is organised in
the hills of Goriška Brda. e least tourist arrivals are during the winter months.
Signposting along wine routes and other major roads is rated as the most frequent pro-
motional activity by 60% of wineries surveyed. e winery signposts are erected at the
most visible places, usually in front of the wineries, for those wineries included into
the network of the wine routes. e publication materials, produced by the wineries,
are used by a half (50%) of the surveyed wineries. Available are also promotion materi-
als, which are published by the municipality. According to the responses, some wineri-
es are preparing promotion materials themselves, including catalogues about their acti-
vities. e third most popular promotion is through the websites. is way of promo-
tion is used by around 40% of the surveyed wineries, which show improvements in the
use of this promotion, communication, marketing, and selling channel.
In attracting visitors, wineries are relying on their own resources, rather than on coope-
ration. Around 40% of the visits in the wineries are a part of a tourist package or a re-
sult of cooperation with tourist agencies. In the Goriška Brda wine district there are se-
vere competitions between the wineries and, for this reason, they should develop more
cooperation between themselves, particularly in promotion, marketing and selling. In
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addition, there is no specialized tourist agency which would organize and advise visi-
tors in the wine district. ere is only a tourist information o ce, which is not active
enough in the marketing activities.
e aims of more e cient integration of wineries into tourism destination develop-
ment, according to the opinion of respondents should be: to increase direct sale of
wine to visitors, to develop list of e-mails and websites for wine sale, to promote the
importance of the characters of viticulture in Primorska region as well as in Slovenia
in general, and to improve the recognition of the brand names of the wines from the
Goriška Brda wine district. e wine producers are aware that an important factor for
a business success is a good promotion. ese objectives would be easier and faster
to achieve if the wine producers would, to a greater extent, cooperate between them-
selves. e wine consortium has been established, but has not given expected results.
It would be possible to achieve better results when the wineries and wine producers
become internationally recognized what, for small-scale producers, would be possible
only through joint activities. However, this can be di cult to achieve as currently, for
example, not all suppliers are present in such activities. However, it would indeed be
possible to increase economies of scale, when more producers appear on the wine mar-
ket jointly. e independent representation represents relatively high costs and there is
also possibility that visitors do not recognize such small suppliers.
e share of direct wine sales to winery visitors in the total wine sale revenue varies by
the wineries and not all wineries are willing to provide such data. Moreover, the wine-
ries are selling small amount of wine directly to winery visitors, very rarely more than
20% of total wine production. A greater quantity is sold to di erent larger buyers,
regular customers and tourism rms such as inns, restaurants, hotels, and other wine
tourist product suppliers.
In spite of the relatively low share of direct sales to winery visitors, sale of wine to visi-
tors has increased during the last three years. is increase, depending on winery, has
been between 2 and 20%. Seven wineries were of the opinion that has remained the
same. e more optimistic is expectation for the next three years. More than two-
thirds of the wineries are of the opinion that the direct sale to visitors in the winery
will increase between 5 and 30%, and only one-third of the wineries that it will remain
the same.
e one-third of wineries intends to supply some other products or services to visitors
in the next three years. eir plans are based on an expectation of greater number of
tourist arrivals as every year more and more visitors are recorded in the Goriška Brda
wine district. Due to this, the wineries are enthusiastic regarding wine tourism poten-
tial and aim to increase, as much as possible, sale of local products and services to o er
integrated, authentic experiences to visitors.
e plans for expansion of visitor-related products and services include: two wineries
plan to o er accommodation with recreation, two wineries will build new farm tou-
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rism activities, a single winery will o er rooms, swimming pool and sauna, a single
winery will start to produce and sell domestically processed products (i.e. liker, mar-
malade, juices and similar) and a single winery will specialize for a guided wine testing.
Plans to add accommodation facilities and o er typical food produces are mostly due
to the fact that the entire district has a shortage of accommodation and no retail out-
lets where visitors can buy locally made products.
Among opportunities to increase the number of the visitors in the winery, there is a
desire to increase the share of international visitors' to wineries. is might be partly
motivated by wineries aim to expand the marketing chain outside Slovenia and, in this
respect, foreign visitors are perceived as one of the vehicle towards achieving this aim.
For the wineries in the Goriška Brda wine district it is of almost equal importance to
increase visits of, both, independent tourists as well as organised tourist groups. Some
of wine producers have relatively small wineries. is seems to be a reason that they
want to have more individual visitors. e wineries with farm tourism and accommo-
dation facilities consider as very important to have as much as possible organised tou-
rist groups.
Table 6
OPINIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ACTIVITY
Number
of
answers
%
Number
of
answers
%
Number
of
answers
%
Congress activity 2 11.1 10 55.6 6 33.3
Tourist places 1 5.9 5 29.4 11 64.7
Hotels 1 5.6 11 61.1 6 33.3
Accommodations with breakfast 1 5.6 2 11.1 15 83.3
Camps 6 35.3 8 47.1 3 17.6
Special accommodation capacities, which expresses a special regional 743.7 9 56.3
Restaurants and inns 5 27.8 13 72.2
Specialized shops, which are selling typical products and goods 5 29.4 12 70.6
Sport halls 2 11.8 10 58.8 5 29.4
Craft workshop 4 23.5 8 47.1 5 29.4
Activities for children 2 11.8 8 47.1 7 41.1
Wine festivals/entertainment 4 23.5 2 11.8 11 64.7
Special events 545.5 6 54.5
Other product or activity
More promotion for your region as a tourist destination 2 11.8 15 88.2
More promotion for your region as a wine tourist destination 1 5.3 18 94.7
More promotion for your wine cellar as a cultural attraction 2 11.1 16 88.9
More promotion for your wine 18 100.0
Legislation, which supports development of entrepreneurship 3 15.8 16 84.2
Financial supports, which support development of entrepreneurship 1 5.6 17 94.4
More favourable use of territory or municipal regulations in the field of 4 23.5 13 76.5
Other 4100.0
Not: Row % is equal 100%.
Important to increase supply
of the following activities in the region
Not important Partly important Very important
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Vol. 57 No 4/ 2009/ 435-448
In terms of the destination-wide activities that wineries consider important in foster-
ing their own wine tourism product, the most important is the presence of restaurants
and inns (Table 6). Some of them can sell wine and have bed and breakfast accommo-
dation. In addition to accommodation, they can o er visits of the winery and in this
way can increase sale of wine. For a great proportion of the wine producers it is also
very important that in the Goriška Brda wine district specialised shops are set up, de-
dicated to selling typical local products and agricultural produce. More than half of
the surveyed wineries place high importance to wine festivals and entertainments as
well as on restructuring of all Goriška Brda wine districts into well integrated tourism
destination. For the surveyed wineries the least important are camps, sport halls and
craft workshops, where sale of wine is less important. Among other important factors
to increase wine tourism supply are long-term development vision, joint presentation
consortium, association, and faster resolving permissions for new buildings. Almost
for all surveyed wineries the promotion of all kind of nancial support to farmers and
subsidies to rural areas are very important.
e Goriška Brda wine district is among the most developed in wine tourism in Slove-
nia. According to the presented life-cycle development stages, around one- fth of the
analysed wineries are in the initial rst development stage, around 35 percent are in
the second development stage, around one-fourth are in the third development stage,
and around one- fth are in the mature fourth development stage. Among advantages
are family tradition and closeness to the Italian market. Among disadvantages are rela-
tively small-scale private farms and wineries, which call for a greater cooperation and
networking between the family wineries.
Among proposals obtained from the surveyed wineries for more e cient development
of wine tourism in the Goriška Brda wine district, several activities are necessary: to
set up more signposts for the wineries, to increase supply of typical local food, to put
more e orts towards joint presentations of the wine producers in wine competitions,
greater and more e cient promotion of the Goriška Brda wine district in Slovenia and
abroad, better arrangements of the Goriška Brda wine district landscape (infrastructure
and similar), more friendly taxation legislation towards farmers and wineries, and sub-
sidised interest rates for credits to farmers. Among proposals for future development
are also networking in wine tourism supply with tourist agencies and tourist informa-
tion centre in Slovenia and abroad; joint promotion in di erent fair activities by the
regional wine, olive oil, and fruit producers as well as presentation of typical local
foods; and development of di erent sport and other activities for tourists.
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Conclusion
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Submitted: 01/10/2009
Accepted: 03/24/2010
