India’s new-found love for wine tourism: a decanter of expectations and change

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate driving factors for wine tourists to revisit Indian vineyards. It explores the motivation for Indians engaged in wine tourism and specific behaviors related thereto. Framed in the theory of planned behavior, this paper proposes a conceptual model of revisit intentions for wine tourism. This model covers environmental concerns, escapism, countryside lifestyle, entertainment and spillovers of international traveling as direct antecedents for the revisit intentions. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was adopted for this research. Data was gathered through a standardized questionnaire from 141 vineyard tourists in Nashik, India and evaluated by fitting a structural equation model. Findings Important drivers for wine tourists revisit intentions are countryside lifestyle and spillovers of international travel. Notably, entertainment does not have a significant direct effect, but a substantial impact moderated by escapism. Environmental concerns have a negative impact. The escapism component is the most influential motivation for revisiting the Indian vineyards. Research limitations/implications The attractiveness of vineyards visits in contrast to nearby tourist attractions needs to be clarified, e.g. by calibrating gravitation models. Practical implications Escapism is a substantial antecedent for the revisit intention of the vineyards while environmental concerns are its major barrier. Social implications Countryside lifestyle contributes to overcoming the disadvantage of the contemporary hectic society of the Indian middle class and preserving Indian roots along with modernizing lifestyles. Originality/value The first evidence of Indian wine tourists revisits intentions. The current research fills a research gap by examining India’s wine tourism phenomenon.