THE WINE TOURISM TERROIR: EXPERIENCES FROM ISTRIA

Purpose -The purpose of the paper was to discover new ways of extending the tourist season through wine tourism.The survey detected which factors are crucial for wine, positive "push" motives of "tourism terroir", wine consumption and satisfaction with wine cellar visits.Methodology -During the IPA/EFRR project "Malvasia TourIstra" a survey was conducted on two convenient samples.Wine cellar owners were selected by their production of high quality autochthonous wines with protected geographic origin.Wine cellar visitors were individual visitors at wine cellars.Two questionnaires were created as research tools for the survey.Findings -Our findings confirm critical factors of wine tourism, describe "push" and "pull" factors for Istria wine tourism, interest in wine itineraries and perceptions of autochthonous wine.Contribution -Our findings might contribute to the development of innovative wine related tourist itineraries that can extend the tourist season.