WINE TOURISM AS A DRIVER FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Wine tourism is getting popular nowadays. Previous studies on wine tourism were mostly exploratory and focused on consumer perspectives. The present paper analyses the importance of wine tourism for development of Romanian rural economy. Data related to wine regions, wine tourism infrastructure, sustainable messaging and digital marketing was obtained from Web of Science database, Romanian National Institute of Statistics and websites of local businesses for the 2019-2022 period. The study focuses on three important wine regions and examines socio-economic benefits, sustainability practices and regional strategies for enhancing tourists’ arrivals. To explore the potential relationships between tourism and rural development indicators, a correlation analysis between the regions was performed. Statistical analysis was done using JASP Team. JASP (Version 0.19.3) [Computer software]. Findings show that wine tourism is a contributor for rural development because of its influence on economic results, infrastructure and employment, especially in regions where viticulture is well integrated with tourism services. Wine tourism corelates positively to Gross Domestic Product, employment and grapes production. Longer tourists’ stay is not direct proportional with economic growth, suggesting a need to examine the quality of services offered. Dealu Mare region, leader in the production of wine, offers most jobs in agriculture, but struggles with overnight stays and tourist arrivals. Murfatlar wine region does not depend on agriculture but is rapidly developing due to proximity to seaside. Accommodation capacity is increasing in all regions, Murfatlar being a leader and Târnave still being underdeveloped. Analysis of winery websites showed that Dealu Mare has a strong accommodation infrastructure and sufficient eco-certifications, while Târnave struggles with sustainability practices. Murfatlar performs well on digital accessibility, but in terms of accommodation and integration on reservations platforms is less efficient. Recommendations for enhancing the integration of wine tourism within rural development strategies have been formulated.