The emergence of wine tourism in Ningxia, China

Abstract

This paper outlines the development of wine tourism in the Ningxia wine region, primarily from the perspective of key wine stakeholders. Based on field observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews with 24 winery managers and owners, and 2 government officials in the region, it reveals that wine tourism development provides an opportunity to build a unique regional brand focused on high quality wine, to build brand loyalty with domestic and international visitors, and to provide a distribution channel for the wineries to enhance sales directly. To date, however, wine tourism in the region remains under-developed, and there is scepticism about the value of the activities, when other challenges are considered.