Wine tourism and economic development of rural areas

The objective of this thesis is to investigate wine tourism development in a certain Greek wine region, the province of Central Macedonia and to explore the ways in which wine tourism can contribute to economic development of rural areas. Triggered then by this central objective, the present study approaches the topic form the supply side view. Thus, the contribution of wine tourism in local economies is examined through the view of wineries and the other actors like tourism bodies, restaurateurs and municipal authorities implicated in it. Hence, a case study was conducted, that of Central Macedonia, to serve the study’s main objective. The primary data then, consistent with the literature to a large part, indicate that wine tourism in Central Macedonia has only recently developed and is still at an initial stage. However, it does affect the local economy in a positive way by improving the overall destination image, by spreading the tourist season, stimulating thus more tourism in the region and by enhancing the wine sector’s income. Above all though, wine tourism sets the grounds for differentiation of the local economy which is an impetus for rural restructuring. Furthermore, both the case studies deriving from the literature and the one of Central Macedonia were very insightful indicating the quality of wine and service, effective marketing tools and an active support by the State as the major success factors. On the contrary, the main barriers identified comprise the inactive involvement of the State, the cost of travel and a lack of coordinated actions among the suppliers of wine tourism.