Wine tourism is the leading niche in tourism in the Western Cape with 64% of tours booked including wine tours. Wine is also the number one interest of tourists to the Western Cape (involving 86% of all tourists) with food ranking fifth (involving 32% of all tourists).

These are some of the figures Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro, revealed at this week’s Business of Wine & Food Tourism Conference. The figures are based on annual research by Wesgro.

The top wine and food destinations are (in order) Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Constantia and Paarl, with Hermanus and Stanford coming up strongly thanks to clever leveraging on adventure tourism such as the Whale Route and shark cage diving.

World-class fine dining also ranks tops amongst tourist requests, with wine and food tasting events and festivals featuring strongly. Harris said the survey highlighted the need for businesses to offer a range of options in terms of wine and food tours and not to adopt a “one size fits all” approach. He said the target market is aged 36-50 years; travels as a couple; and 85% are first time visitors to the Western Cape.

Source markets reflect the province’s top tourists markets of the UK, Europe and the USA, a big concern being the lack of wine and food tourists from the rest of Africa.  Meanwhile, 56% of tour operators have seen an increase in domestic wine and food tourists.

Harris emphasised the need for a smart strategy to maximise the potential of its world-class products in food and wine tourism.  “We need to take it to the next level, we need to coordinate, align and lobby for more funding to create a world-class brand. It’s a great way to get the narrative about our country back on a positive track,” he said. Harris said the business case for wine and food tourism was evident in that tourists were increasingly interested in this sector. “Therefore one needs to ensure a high value, unique offering to capture their spend.”