Segmenting wine tourists in Niagara, Ontario using motivation and involvement

Abstract

Wine tourism is a growing industry in select rural regions within Canada, particularly in the Niagara region of Southern Ontario. This study aims to sharpen that development by providing a detailed profile of the psychographic traits of wine tourists visiting the Niagara region. Specifically, our study examines the motivations, wine purchasing involvement and wine purchasing behaviour of the region’s winery tourists to identify distinct market segments. The study results indicate that the wine visitor market in Ontario can be segmented into three distinct groups: Wine Enthusiast, Wine Interested person and the Wine Novice. This study also shows that the multi-criterion segmentation approach is a viable way to determine distinctive wine market segments, and to provide a solid, evidenced-based foundation for effective marketing strategies and sales practices.

Keywords:

• Market segmentation
• wine tourism
• cluster analysis
• involvement
• motivation

Notes

1. VQA (Vitners’ Quality Assurance) is Ontario’s appellation and regulatory system. A VQA label acts as a guarantee for the origin and quality of the wine.