Classifying wine festival customers : Comparing an inductive typology with Hall's wine tourist classification

Purpose – To provide a better understanding of the relationship between wine festivals, winery visitation and wineries in order to determine whether wine festivals are an effective promotional tool. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data identifying the characteristics of festival patrons was gathered from regional wine festivals in Australia, then compared with Hall's stratified, New Zealand wine tourist market segments to ascertain whether the “right type” of consumer is attracted to wine festivals. Findings – The study concludes that wine festivals are successful promotional strategies that attract a diverse mix of consumers including the preferred consumer type, namely those with a high predilection to purchase wine. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in a wine growing area of south eastern Australia. Case studies of other regions would be of interest to determine the reliability of the findings. Originality/value – Previous studies of wineries and events approach from a wine tourist's perspective. From a winery's perspective however, successful wine festivals are those that not only attract consumers wishing to trial and buy wine products but ultimately lead to ongoing brand recognition and loyalty. This study specifically considers the juxtaposition of wine festivals and their patrons and therefore the effectiveness of this promotional strategy.