OKANAGAN — Wineries can sell a lot of its products, win many awards, but those aren’t the main reasons why visitors keep on coming back, according to new research.
An Okanagan College professor says he’s learned what attracts people to the valley and spend their money here.
“Wine tourists who visit the Okanagan for wine festivals stay longer, spend more and visit significantly more wineries while they’re in the valley,” says Blair Baldwin, Okanagan College School of Business Professor and Okanagan Wine Festivals Society General Manager.
This research is commissioned by the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, the British Columbia Wine Institute and Okanagan College School of Business.
About 900 people were interviewed at different wineries, which were done both during the festivals and at other times of the year when the festivals were not being held.
Now that the local wine industry is earning a higher global profile, other wine regions are thirsty to learn how the Okangan achieved its current success.
The study’s findings were presented earlier this summer at the prestigious Academy of Wine Business Research in Germany.
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