Wine tourism a major drawcard

Touring New Zealand’s wineries and vineyards has become a huge drawcard for visitors – with 24% of international holidaymakers making it part of their itinerary.

Now New Zealand Winegrowers has made it even easier for tourists to explore wineries by adding a wine tourism section to their website: nzwine.com/visit, showcasing over 450 wine experiences.

The new ‘Visit’ section of nzwine.com allows tourists to search wine regions using a Google map tool, or filter listings by region and four experience types:

• Sip – enjoy cellar door tastings
• Dine – dine in a winery setting
• Stay – overnight in vineyard accommodation
• Play – partake in on-site activities, such as tours and other experiences.

“Wine tourism provides an exciting new opportunity for us to showcase our wines in the unique locations where they are grown and produced,” says New Zealand Winegrowers Global Marketing Director Chris Yorke. “Our visitors are also able to meet the people and hear the stories behind the brands.”
“We’re seeing evidence of just how much tourists are enjoying wine tourism in New Zealand through the strong TripAdvisor ratings our wineries are receiving.” 

The new web pages (nzwine.com/visit) unlocks over 230 cellar doors, 110 winery dining options, 60 vineyard accommodation outlets, and 50 onsite tours or experiences for visitors to New Zealand to explore and enjoy. 
New Zealand Winegrowers are also partnering with Tourism New Zealand to develop online tourism training modules for wineries. In addition, Tourism New Zealand CEO, Stephen England-Hall will be presenting as a keynote speaker at the industry’s national Romeo Bragato Conference in late August.

“Wine tourism has such wide appeal because visitors to New Zealand can explore wineries in any season, and across many regions during their stay,” says Tourism New Zealand CEO, Stephen England-Hall. “Our research has found that wine visitors spend more, stay longer, and visit more regions than the average international holidaymaker.” 

“Nzwine.com/visit will enhance the experience that tourists have by providing useful information before and during their trip. This allows visitors to make the most of their stay, and go home with great stories and memories.”