Conceptualizing a sustainable wine tourism ecosystem – global perspectives

Amid climate change and declining global wine consumption, sustainable wine tourism (SWT) has emerged as a critical strategy for wineries to enhance economic resilience, consumer engagement and brand value. While sustainability has become central to both wine production and tourism discourse, the concept of SWT remains underdefined and inconsistently applied. This global qualitative study addresses that gap through 58 semi-structured interviews with 41 winery owners/managers and 17 experts across ten wine-producing countries. It develops a conceptual framework for SWT grounded in stakeholder insights and responsive to the systemic complexity of the broader WT ecosystem. Core principles and distinctive features of SWT are identified and an operationally meaningful definition is proposed. Findings position SWT as a holistic, place-based model embedded within a mutually beneficial wine tourism ecosystem integrating sustainable wine production, responsible tourism, and inclusive visitor engagement. It conceptualizes SWT as not just visits to clusters of wineries, but as tourism to regions bound by wine as an essential cultural element, enabling both environmental and cultural stewardship while enhancing multisectoral business resilience. This research provides a foundational framework to guide wineries, destinations, policymakers and academia in aligning their practices with sustainability goals, thereby advancing a unified and coherent agenda for sustainable wine tourism.