Engaging stakeholders and communities in wine tourism education: experiences from an international collaboration

Purpose Given their multifaceted aspects, wine tourism studies depend on multilevel bridges between business education and scientific research. Despite the need to eliminate the gap in theoretical and empirical knowledge among wine tourism professionals and scholars, what constitutes sufficient training remains controversial. This paper aims to explore the perceptions of wine tourism stakeholders and local communities toward several angles of wine tourism education. In specific, this study focuses on the particular areas an international master program on wine management and tourism should emphasize and the critical factors for its success. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative methods were mainly used to examine the views of wine tourism stakeholders and experts, as part of a cross-country level strategy aiming at effectively developing particularly the wine tourism track of the program. The steps of a participation–action research process included in-depth interviews, desk-based research, dialogue meetings with various actors of the wine tourism sector using the World Café method, training needs assessment and dissemination activities. Findings Empirical findings indicate that industry professionals have very concrete ideas and requirements when it comes to designing a wine management and tourism education offer. Moreover, they strongly agree that considering sustainability as a priority and adopting a holistic system perspective for wine tourism add up to the effectiveness of any relevant educational program. Research limitations/implications The qualitative, exploratory approach of this paper does not allow for extensive understanding of all stakeholders and their recognized challenges and priorities worldwide, yet paves the ground for further, quantitative research. Practical implications This study contributes to the literature by identifying critical challenges for wine tourism education; It also reveals how formal training can help bridging the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge in the pursue of sustainability. Implications for future research include additional focus on potential students’ perceptions along with directions for comparative studies in both Old- and New-World contexts. Originality/value Apart from winery owners and managers, the wine tourism supply chain involves multiple actors with different expectations (e.g. local communities) that need to be taken into consideration. Research efforts to address these challenges are rather scarce. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt interdisciplinary methods to gain a thorough, holistic understanding of wine tourism. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, little empirical evidence exists on such relations, especially in an Old-World context. This paper aims to address this gap.