The Profile of Wine Tourists and the Factors Affecting Their Wine-Related Attitudes: The Case of Türkiye

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the characteristics of wine tourists by determining their demographic and psychographic profiles, the effects of their travel motivations and lifestyles on their attitudes towards wine tourism, and the relationships between their demographic characteristics and attitudes. Based on a quantitative approach, study data were collected using a questionnaire. The sample consists of tourists who had visited a winery or participated in the vintage in a wine destination. Wine tourists’ principal motivations were pull factors and wine-related motivations. Their attitudes towards wine consumption had higher mean values than attitudes towards info-seeking, meaning that wine tourists preferred to taste wine and shop from wineries more than learn about wine. Regarding lifestyles, they were mostly innovators and experiencers. For destinations like Türkiye, wine tourism is a significant economic and sociocultural development tool. It is the first study to identify the wine tourists’ profile based on VALS-2, thereby providing a different perspective for the literature.