The development of wine tourism in Spain

Purpose - Wine is a key element in the development and promotion of tourism and it offers the opportunity to generate wealth in a given geographical area. The purpose of this paper is to analyse, from the perspective of the offer, how a specific area (namely Jerez in Spain, the Sherry region) is structured in order to develop wine-based tourism. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology employed for this study consisted of a combination of surveys, interviews and field observations with the suppliers in the traditional wine-producing region, el Marco de Jerez, or the Sherry region, in the south of Spain. Findings - The results of the study reflect the level of education of employees, the seasonal nature of tourism, the improvements in its promotion and the need for greater support from local government. Practical implications - The results suggest that there is scope for developing wine tourism products to attract tourists and which could be used to promote the Sherry region as a centre for wine tourism. Originality/value - This paper is one of the first studies to be carried out an important destination for wine tourism in Spain. This paper also reveals the results of a study on the offer of wine tourism and makes it possible for these results to be compared with those obtained in other areas.