Us Residents' Perception of Local and Global Wine Tourism Destinations

Abstract

Consumer perceptions of wine tourism destinations have been documented to be based on prior visitation, the reputation of the wine region, or the quality of its wines. This study assessed US consumers??? perceptions of wine destinations within the US and across the world that they may or may not have visited. A semistructured questionnaire that was designed and executed on Amazon???s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) generated 495 completed surveys. The findings revealed that the respondents??? most important criteria for judging a wine destination brand were the quality of wines, the taste of wines, and the reputation of wines. US respondents??? image of the wine regions in the US was better than those of the global wine regions. Winery and wine-related attributes were rated more highly than the attributes related to the destination???s attractions, local cuisine, or natural beauty. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.