Tourists are relishing wine estate offerings
Industry growth a boost for province
NINETY-nine percent of tour operators in the Western Cape include wine tours in their itinerary, which has helped wine tourism in the province grow by 16% in the past year. This is according to a new study, the second annual Wine & Food Tourism Study in the Western Cape conducted by Wesgro last year, in partnership with Explore Sideways, a leader in curating immersive food and wine tours of Cape Town and its surrounding areas.
Tim Harris, Wesgro chief executive, said a multitude of factors had boosted awareness of South Africa as a wine tourism destination.
“Positive media coverage and internationally recognised wine awards have generated interest and investment in the evolving local wine industry.
“Specialist wine tour companies have done much in the way of showcasing boutique, off-the-beaten-track wine producers and properties, further enhancing the perception of quality and promoting the Winelands as an essential stop on itineraries.”
Another important aspect of wine tourism is that spending patterns of wine tourists, in particular, show higher than average expenditure than general tourists while visiting the Western Cape, thereby enhancing economic growth through tourism in the province.
Respondents showed that offering tailor-made wine tours was key to growing the industry, allowing tourists to immerse themselves in authentic experiences rather than scheduled or package tours.
This trend is further supported by the growing interest in unique activities like food and wine pairings (68%), cellar tours (54%), meeting the winemaker (51%) and food- and wine-tasting events (49%).
Harris said established wine destinations like Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Constantia remained the most popular with visitors.
He said there was a 43% increase in requests for the Hermanus (Hemel-enAarde Valley) wine route between 2016 and last year, which surpassed Paarl as the fourth most popular wine route.
“Other wine routes like the Swartland, Helderberg and Robertson Valley also experienced significant increases,” said Harris.
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said growing wine tourism was one of the key goals the Western Cape government had set itself, through Project Khulisa.
“Our focused economic strategy is to grow the economy and create jobs in our province. The growth we are able to report shows that we are on track in delivering on our objective.
“This is an important sector because it creates jobs for locals in both urban and more rural areas by driving the regional spread of tourists. The success we are seeing is a result of the excellent service and unique experiences we offer, driving visitors to return for more.”
Earlier this year, Wesgro signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vinpro, which will give new momentum to wine tourism in South Africa.
Christo Conradie, a manager of Vinpro’s cellar division, said through developing and broadening wine tourism together, the organisation aims to attract a greater range of visitors to the country and improve the spread of visitors to smaller and rural areas.