Wine tourism is on the rise. Well over two million overnight stays in the whole of Eastern Austria are made up of pleasure vacationers who feel particularly at home in the native regions of Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt & Co. Total sales are estimated at 500 million euros. Burgenland is betting on this.
Fresh and fruity, with character, depth and maturity – the image of the wine should spill over into tourism. “That did not attract much attention until recently, but the wine industry and tourism are closely related and need to work together even more closely,” says Andreas Liegenfeld, President of the Wine Industry. With this in mind, wine should in future be combined more often with other leisure activities such as cycling or a picnic. Smart marketing and customer loyalty programs are in demand.
Good wine popular with everyone
The targeted considerations for the expansion of wine tourism are based on clear facts: Austrians consume 26 liters of wine per capita per year. A third of the wine produced in Austria comes from Burgenland. 100 million bottles of it are sold every year. An important detail: For 86 percent of Austrians, a glass of wine with friends in the sunshine is an absolute summer feeling.
Global market in focus
“Bordeaux was yesterday, Burgenland is today. Our wine always tastes good! “Admittedly, wine tourism chairman Herbert Oschep puts it a little more provocatively, but the international comparison makes him sure:” There are no better wines in the world than in this country where the price and quality are in such a good relationship. “
For the time being, Oschep wants the winemakers to be fully present on the market again after Corona setbacks. The main focus is on the local gastronomy and hotel industry. Oschep and Liegenfeld in unison: “Our wine has an outstanding image far beyond national borders. This needs to be refined for pleasure vacationers. “