Experience economy constructs as a framework for understanding wine tourism

Global growth in wine tourism mirrors that of wine consumption and rural tourism. Existing research reveals that wine tourists look for dining, shopping, and cultural and recreational activities along with authentic (e.g. reflecting local elements, unique events) products and experiences. This suggests the importance of hedonic and experiential consumption theories, which have been recently referenced in wine tourism literature. The present study proposes utilization of pertinent constructs of the experience economy model to explain the experiential nature of wine tourism. Evidence from wine tourism literature in support of this proposition is presented. This proposed framework advances the emergent theory in experiential consumption and wine tourism with a comprehensive approach that may be applied to wine tourism geographies in varying stages of development. Consequently, this examination of these associations promises new theoretical directions for wine tourism and contemporary applications for managers.