Wine tourism and COVID-19: impacts and responses from the Ronda-Málaga wine route’s wineries

Abstract

Wine tourism is a subsector of gastronomic tourism that, according to the World Tourism Organisation, has been increasingly in demand among visitors worldwide. Spain is one of the three countries with the highest global wine production and has an outstanding wine-growing tradition, but the country has had to deal with one of the most significant challenges in recent times: the coronavirus disease-19 pandemic. This study analyzed the crisis’s impacts on wine tourism along the Ronda and Malaga Wine Route, winemakers’ perceptions of these effects, and how wineries reacted. Exploratory qualitative methods research was carried out using a combination of primary and secondary sources, identifying several strategies to tackle the crisis, such as online tastings or activities outdoors. The results were compared to other studies that have also sought to analyse wineries’ recovery strategies associated with the pandemic showing that measures taken by wineries were similar to the ones used in other parts of the world and very similar to those applied in previous health crises. The results partly corroborate the trends identified by the UNWTO as no significant recovery was reported for the wine tourism sector. The findings have practical implications that can help wine tourism providers improve their resilience in extreme situations or future crises.