Consumer behaviour of wine tourists in premium wine experiences

: a case study of Quinta Nova da Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Abstract

Consumer satisfaction plays a critical role in the success and survival of tourism organizations, including wine tourism. Previous research has shown there are several factors that influence satisfaction in a wine tourism context, including behavioural and demographic variables. Research has also demonstrated that satisfaction can favourably influence brand loyalty. Visits to cellar doors offer wineries an important opportunity to reinforce brand loyalty and purchase intention. The main purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence customer satisfaction in a premium wine experience setting and examine the role of satisfaction in predicting loyalty and purchase intentions, recognizing that the overall wine tourism experience offers not just monetary value, but also relevant hedonic and utilitarian experiential value to visitors. Adopting case study methodology and a customer-centric view, we conducted in depth analysis of eighteen semi-structured interviews to Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo visitors. Findings suggest that demographic and behavioural variables affect customer satisfaction. Indeed, foreign interviewees were more satisfied with the overall experience. Additionally, wine consumption and involvement revealed to be important, since people who do not drink wine and are not as involved with wine showed a lower level of satisfaction. These respondents also had lower levels of brand loyalty, which leads us to conclude that satisfaction has a direct effect on brand loyalty. The more satisfied consumers are, the higher their loyalty levels will be. Also, satisfaction did positively influence purchase intention, since even those visitors who had a lower level of satisfaction and brand loyalty, wanted to purchase Quinta Nova wines in the future. The findings of this research provide a valuable contribution to Quinta Nova management team and to wine business managers, since the sale of wine should not be treated as the sale of a product, but as the sale of an experience, which provides a high satisfaction. A satisfaction with the overall experience, will result in brand loyalty.

Date of Award	18 Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Joana Machado (Supervisor)