Wine tourism identified as export growth strategy

Boosting wine tourism
has been identified as a
key strategy in raising the
profile of South African
wines internationally and
ultimately increasing export
figures.
Speaking at the launch of
the summer tourism statistics
in Cape Town recently,
minister of economic affairs
Alan Winde said wine
tourism was not just about
bringing people to taste and
sample South African wines
locally but about taking the
experience and ultimately the
product back to their own
countries of origin.
“We have to market our
wines – and what better
way than to showcase what
we have to the millions of
tourists who come to Cape
Town every year.”
It’s an initiative that the
wine industry is sure to
embrace after facing some
tough times in recent years.
With exports only seeing
growth of around 10% in
2016 there is a dire need for
a strategy to map the way
forward. This was a message
shared by various experts
at the Nedbank VinPro
Information Day held in
Cape Town recently.
With the industry
currently in a slump, it is
estimated that only about
a third of grape producers
farming in South Africa
at present are financially
sustainable.
Trying to remain
economically viable by
dumping large quantities of
South African wine at cheap
prices in the export market is
not doing anyone favours.
Vinpro chairman
Anton Smuts said it
was imperative that the
industry not only got its
international pricing right
but did so collectively.
At the same time wine
critic Michael Fridjhon
pointed out the need for
increased marketing of South
African brands.