Exploring marketing strategies in wine tourism: a comparative study of Roussillon and Empordà wine regions

Purpose This study addresses a gap in the literature by examining the marketing strategies adopted by wineries in the context of wine tourism. This study aims to identify marketing strategic orientations and highlight their significance in the context of wine tourism. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a comparative case study approach, focusing on two wine regions, Roussillon (France) and Empordà (Spain). It involves the analysis of 99 active winery websites to identify marketing orientations. Descriptive statistics, cluster analysis and ANOVA tests were used to achieve this. Findings The study reveals four distinct wine tourism strategic orientations adopted by wineries in these regions. It emphasizes the importance of external ties, varying levels of competitiveness, website performance and geographical differences as key findings. The results show that wineries with a clear diversification strategy benefit from a higher level of competitiveness. Originality/value This research contributes to the academic literature by identifying different marketing strategies within wine tourism, highlighting their importance and providing a comprehensive analysis of key areas, thus adding original insights to the existing body of literature.