Strategic Profiling of Wine Tourists in Central Greece: Insights for Wine Tourism Business Development

Wine tourism has emerged globally as a niche but rapidly growing sector of cultural and rural tourism, enhancing regional economies through high-value experiences. With tourism being one of Greece’s greatest sources of revenue, wine tourism is becoming increasingly important to regional economies, yet strategic visitor profiling remains underdeveloped, particularly in emerging destinations like Central Greece. This area is among the top five wine-producing regions in the country, contributing significantly to domestic wine exports and vineyard acreage. This is the first study that seeks to identify the wine tourists’ profiles specifically in the Central Greece Region and aims to develop strategic profiles of wine tourists to inform wine tourism business development and destination planning. An empirical, deductive, cross-sectional case study was conducted, encompassing a structured questionnaire in order for efficient data collection, easy analysis, and reduced bias. Findings identify that the purpose of visiting a winery is not limited to wine tasting but comprises a combination of activities/benefits. The most important wine activities have been identified, while participants find that there is limited information about wine tourism and the respective services in the wineries of Central Greece. While the study did not explicitly differentiate between small and larger wineries in its sampling or analysis, the findings provide general insights into visitors’ preferences and experience expectations that can inform service improvements and business strategies across winery types.