Conference Sessions – 2018 Budapest, Hungary

Welcome to Budapest, Hungary for the 10th anniversary of The International Wine Tourism Conference, Exhibition, B2B Workshop & Fam Trips (IWINETC). Some words of welcome from the organisers and key sponsors.

Outstanding wines, stunning vineyard views, delicious culinary delights and steaming thermal natural spas are Hungary’s major attractions for food and wine lovers. But there's more...stunning architecture, vital folk art and Europe's most exciting capital after dark. Discover Hungary at IWINETC.

Grab a coffee, make friends with someone you don't know and together make your way to the exhibition area to take part in a competition to name all the wine regions represented.

Wine tourism is moving out of the cellar door and into the world of experiential tourism, where people want to be surprised and delighted by authentic experiences. Felicity Carter, editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International,  looks at international trends in tourism and what they mean specifically for the wine tourism industry, and how they can be built into even the smallest wine tourism venture.

This presentation provides a case study of wine tourism in Japan using the methods of cultural sociology. It argues that Japan’s wine tourism represents a form of culinary nationalism. This, however, is not contradictory to the globalization of culinary culture. This research is theoretical but has practical implications for wineries and tour planners in and outside Japan.

The majority of research treats wine tourism as a commercial product. However, this research studies it as a cultural practice. It examines wine tourism through “wine worlds approach”, building upon Howard Becker’s idea of “art worlds” (Art Worlds, Chicago, 1982). I will introduce this approach, which describes the networks, through which multiple actors interact to create a cultural practice and imbue it with shared meanings. A “wine world” is an interpretative network consisting of actors interacting with one another to create the network. The wine world came to be global when the actors began to interact regularly at a global level.

By this approach, I will show that Japan’s wine tourism is a cultural practice, adopted from the global wine world by a set of Japanese actors and incorporated into Japan’s touristic and culinary practices. The local wine tourism is constructed with a tight tie to the global wine world. Domestic tourists are targets. This means they come to the wine tourism to experience not only the local but also the global wine culture. Wine tourism has its practical meanings for local society. However, from a sociological perspective, it could be understood as an “invented” educational site based upon concepts from the global wine world to inform domestic Japanese tourists that wine is part of Japan’s culinary culture. This construction in the domestic context is directly connected to the enhancement of Japan’s wine culture and also to the elaboration of its nation’s status in the global wine world.

The presentation will be based on a historic overview of how the name Tokaj became world famous and how the past decades have changed the winemakers' way of thinking to rebrand this name. Tokaj region and especially the village of Mád has become one of the most appealing wine destinations of the country and represents today a great combination of varied attributes of tourism: excellent gastronomy completing the wine portfolio, different styles and options for accommodation, active programs and cultural sites to discover.

A panel discussion on the wine festivals of Hungary. How do these festivals contribute to the reputation of a region? Chaired by Elizabeth Gabay MW who is based in the tourist region of Provence.

Panel members Pál Rókusfalvy, winemaker, marketeer and organiser of many gastronomic festivals in Etyek, Zoltán Zilai, Head of department at the Hungarian Festival Association and Florian Zaruba, on lake Balaton with an event and concert venue, a restaurant, cinema and hotel at his winery will discuss the question using their own personal experience.

Wine festivals do not guarantee success, fame or fortune. We will look at how Hungarian Wine Festivals have evolved and what elements have proved to be successful. The discussion will cover the various aspects of festival organisation including the logistics (travel, access, costs, venue suitability, audience reach, time of year…). What type of festival is successful (arts, gastronomic, history, cultural, education…)? How can festivals be planned to benefit both the vineyard and region (walks between vineyards, several vineyards hosting joint festivals?)

An important part of this discussion will be considering what comes next in the development of this form of marketing. How can festivals retain their attraction with an increasing amount of competition?

How social network platforms can be used for customer acquisition and retention. Case studies and take away ideas from around the globe. While the case studies are not specifically travel-oriented, these best-of-breed studies and examples will be woven with examples of how to adapt the techniques for your business. Specific attention will be given to how to implement these ideas economically as well as how to run an effective Facebook campaign.

A recent survey of the Eastern European wine industry shows that some nations post communism have excelled as wine tourism destinations. Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Czech Republic have especially flourished. Is it because of their closeness to Central Europe or are there other qualities that explain their success? What can be done to enhance enotourism in other Eastern Nations?

We will present the wine tourism offerings and potential in the Côte Chalonnaise, a wine sub-region in Burgundy, France. While the wines of Burgundy are globally renowned, the sub-region of Côte Chalonnaise has lacked a strong wine or tourism identity to date. This is beginning to change with effective private and public initiatives.

Wines of Hungary Grand Tasting. A colourful, entertaining journey to eight Hungarian wine regions through 8 different wines. Here, you will discover some of hidden treasures of Hungary: its unique wines and its compelling tourist destinations.

Your customer base is evolving.  Digital immigrants – those who were born prior to the Internet era – are giving way to the digital natives of Generations Y and Z.  They now have the earning power to be an increasing proportion of your future customer base.  Digital natives have only ever known communication without borders, instant access to any information that might interest them this particular second in time, building wide but perhaps shallow circles of online friends, making their own news through social media.  Yet, in the wine and culinary tourism industry, the majority of our businesses are still run by digital immigrants.  How do we need to adapt and change to embrace the digital world?  What are the characteristics of digital natives that need to be understood to drive our digital marketing?  How can our businesses remain relevant and attractive?  In this session you will learn about the future digital marketplace and what your business needs to do to continue to thrive in an increasingly digitally-driven world.

The presentation focuses on The Wine Lab International Project, aiming at generating innovation between practice and research on the European level. The three year long project includes a wide variety of activities including research, networking and special events. The presentation summarizes the outcomes of the stakeholder interviews carried out in four involved countries (Austria, Greece, Hungary and Italy).

The purpose of this research was to investigate efficacy of wine tourism in Washington state using Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle Model (TALC). This exploratory study outlines practices and strategies of Washington state wineries and wine regions attributable to the stages in the TALC and highlights the various tactics developed to stave off stagnation. The focus is a combination of theoretical and practical research.

Direct to consumer (DTC) is the new catchcry in the wine industry. Fuelled by low margins offered by retailers and distributors, wineries increasingly rely on direct sales to generate full-tote revenue.  This means converting cellar door visitors to wine club members, developing long term relationships and maximising lifetime value.  Discover how to implement a successful DTC strategy by mapping the customer journey and activating touchpoints to generate sales.  While primarily using wine industry case studies, the principles presented apply just as well to tour operators, travel agents and others in the tourism supply chain.

The presentation What makes a wine tour in a wine region successful? deals with the various components of a tour: the preparation by the Travel Agency which should establish its itinerary in close contact with the wineries visited, the choice of a competent Tour Leader, the choice of the wineries to be visited, other aspects of the tour, and the preparation to be undertaken by the wineries.

Branding is a marketing practice that creates a name, symbol or design that both identifies and differentiates your product. An effective brand strategy requires a business to distinguish itself from its competitors, but also protects its brand through intellectual property. This presentation will focus on both theoretical and practical legal aspects of branding using the hypothetical business: Loony Wines, Inc.

With the rapid advances in technology and an economy that is globalized, whether your business has a local/regional presence or a national/international presence, branding your business and products starts at its inception. The hypothetical business, Loony Wines, Inc., will provide the participants with a visual story to help them understand the theoretical and practical legal aspects of branding. This presentation is aimed to an audience of winery owners, but is also applicable to any business owner involved in the wine tourism industry.

Who does build the brand? Everyone.

Today the use of the brand does no longer mean just the material possession of the brand. The brand is being formed by everyone, what more, everyone can have his own brand even without knowing about it.

The presentation introduces a brand qualifying system, where the positioning of the brands is related to individual brands and the impact of these on brand value. In this system the brand position interacts with the model role and the functioning of brand communities.

Your optimal digital communication mix for a campaign to improve customer acquisition and retention. At every stage of the pre- and post- purchase journey, people touch multiple digital touchpoints even when not consciously looking for a holiday. In this session we will walk through the stages and touchpoints you can utilise to both acquire and retain customers through integrated digital channels.

Tour Operators usually offer Gourmet Wine Travel Tours without success because they don’t attract REAL Wine Lovers to apply for it. So, what are the most important advertising points to use to make higher profile clients jump into your Wine Tour? During this session, you will learn the key factors to create a compelling tour and how to get wine enthusiasts to rush to join your tour.

Families that play together, stay together, and many modern parents are reluctant to change their imbibing and travel habits once the nippers arrive.  Savvy wineries and wine regions have realised that the family market is good for business – both now and in the future – and created innovative products and experiences to cater for this growing market (which can also include the grandparents). Explore the family-friendly trails that traverse wine country and be inspired to create your own innovative experiences, or extend your client base and put together packages that appeal to this lucrative market. Workshop.

When discussing the world’s top wine tourism destinations and finest wines, like that Renieri Invetro - Make A Dish, it is the celebrated regions of France, Italy and Spain in Europe or Napa in California that have historically been most respected. What are the chances and possibilities for a small country like Hungary to direct attention to its wine regions and wines, to establish a good reputation and a strong international presence on the world (tourism) market?

In my presentation I would like to outline the history, the background and the results of a very special co-operation ─ a project developed with Vinum Tokaj International LLC.
Together, we directed attention to Hungary and what the country has to offer to the international wine connoisseurs, the professional North American wine buyer and all those who are committed to discover the world through exciting sites, culture, history and outstanding wines.

I will discuss how we focused on select target groups, and how we reinforced our existing contacts and developed new channels to promote Hungary’s wines and wine regions.

We put Furmint, the indigenous Hungarian variety, in the spotlight and launched a campaign to promote the “Year of Furmint.” The project included editorial content about the Hungarian viticultural and wine making tradition, and the history behind the country’s wine regions. We successfully put Furmint on the map as top-of-mind for wine buyers, adding Hungary’s presence to U.S. wine lists and educating our readers about Hungarian wines.

Through strategic marketing, we introduced programs such as our “Furmint Ambassador” series, and an on-going “Traveling Hungary” column in cooperation with the Hungarian Tourism Agency ─ and were able to influence a new wave of visitors to Hungary.

As a practical part I would show some of the high profile cover stories, the educational display ADs with “Did You Know” facts about the Tokaj Wine Region and its wines, the lectures delivered at different events (SOMM Con, Society of Wine Educators, SOMM Summit) and how we linked wine to wine tourism and country branding. In addition, how we reached an unprecedented success thanks to Hungary’s long-reaching campaign that helped increase circulation for our publications.

In conclusion, I will explain the path we took during our first year in this endeavor to have strong support from the wine-buying trade including a Las Vegas Restaurant Wine Director who declared, “I have never experienced such a strong, continuous and focused presence of Hungary and the Hungarian wines promotion in the U.S. so far.”

Now: what is needed in order to keep and continue this impressive attention directed to the country? I believe a continuation to not only talk to the gate-keepers: the wine-buying decision makers, but also in using their voices and testimonials for marketing and promotion. Acting as the “authority” for the wine industry in the U.S., we can deliver unique campaigns to attract more and more visitors to Hungary and make sure Hungarian wines maintain a world-class presence.

Hungary’s wine regions are a delight to travel around with their über cool combination of centuries-old cellar rows interspersed with state-of-the-art wineries, set in charming, rolling and utterly welcoming countryside. Despite Hungary being quite a small country, there are plethora terroir-related factors at play that result in unique wine of various styles across Hungary’s 64,000 hectares under vine. Most of the wine regions included in this visual tour of Hungary can be visited by Conference delegates after IWINETC.

A growing trend, wine tourism is not only a source of revenue for wine regions, for the wine business value chain and for the society, but it is also revealing and safeguarding the great cultural heritage of wine. How will wine tourism develop in a socially responsible and sustainable way?

Wine tourism is the perfect opportunity to introduce the visitor to wine culture and to educate him on how to best appreciate wine in moderation and responsibly. In the fast-evolving wine tourism market, wineries and related wine business should be fit for purpose, creative and open for partnerships. Creating an environment and offering choices to the visitor to experience wine responsibly will prove beneficial for the business and visitors.

Wine in Moderation is an international programme of the wine sector to inspire healthy lifestyles and well-being, and to contribute to the reduction of alcohol related harm.
This talk will briefly present the conclusions of the recent Wine in Moderation symposium on wine tourism (Santorini, 02/11/17). It will introduce the wine in moderation tool-kit to help winery improve visitor experience and facilitate responsibility and finally will share best practices from Wine in Moderation Supporters around the world.
While some of the tools to be presented refer mainly to wineries, a responsible wine tourism requires the involvement of all various actors involved in wine tourism and we will be looking for a vivid discussion to answer questions and exchange ideas on innovative approaches.

Many of the Premium Wines of Europe are produced in the Basque Country (El País Vasco in Spanish), a region of northern Spain well know for its ancient culture and beautiful landscapes.  Few wine regions can claim to excel in young and aged red, white, rosé and sparkling wines. Dense Tempranillos to floral Garnachas to elegant Gracianos from the Rioja Alavesa region to spritzy and fresh white Atlantic Wines from the three Txakoli (pronounced chacolee in Spanish) production areas.

Thanks to the Basque country's geographical location - the wild Sea of Cantabria on the North and the high Sierra Cantabria reaching to the sky to the South with huge plains and hills and dales in the middle gives this region a great diversity of terroirs for vine cultivation. The care and dedication of the Vascos also play an important role in the quality of Premium wines produced here. They have combined traditional production processes with new technologies. This means that the Basque wine producers can exhibit  everything from vintages aged in medieval caves through to wines produced in the most avant-garde architectural installations designed by stars like Frank O. Gerhy.

This closing plenary talk will  journey in and around the wine regions of the Basque country showing the audience that its a grape escape destination that demands exploration beyond the delightful main cities of Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian.