Drive by My Cellar Door: Rethinking the Benefits of Wine Tourism in Niagara

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of various marketing activities on retail winery spending in a wine tourism region. Data from a survey of 282 visitors to three Niagara boutique wineries are analyzed using principal component analysis to identify marketing drivers of winery sales, and regression analysis to measure the influence of marketing activities, demographics, and personal experience. The results illustrate the relative influence of in-region, web-based, and indirect marketing, suggesting that web-based marketing is most effective in driving sales, whereas visitors influenced by in-region tourism marketing spend less. This finding suggests that while wine tourism may drive traffic, it may not drive sales. The results provide direction for boutique winery operators and regional associations to plan marketing activities more effectively. Exploring the relationships between marketing and visitor spending by using multiple drivers in one study sheds new light on the benefits of wine tourism for boutique operators.