DOI:  10.36172/EKONOMISTI.2022.XVIII.02.Tsitsi.Tsatskrialashvili

Expanded Summary

Wine tourism is becoming more and more popular among both Georgian and foreign tourists and parties involved in tourism services. Therefore, suppliers of this tourist product appear on the market every day. Competition is high, and hopefully increased competition will guarantee high quality.

The issue of wine tourism development is relevant, both in the world and in Georgia. Foreign researchers thoroughly study and are interested in this direction, you will find many works in the foreign scientific space, however, the joint, fundamental research of services and products in wine tourism in Georgia has not yet been conducted.  This research is that serves the doctoral thesis, a part of which you will learn about in this article.

The purpose of this work is to conduct fundamental researches of services and products included in wine tourism and to create a Georgian wine tourism business model for small family wineries based on the results and analysis of these researches.

 The paper discusses the essence and importance of wine tourism for our country, and formulates a strategy that implies a Georgian business model for small family wineries.

A segment has been defined: small wineries, large wine companies, tourist companies conducting wine tours, wine shops and chateaux, research of Georgian and foreign wine tourists. The paper also presents a face-to-face interview with the owners of ten small family wineries, which is one of the important studies to establish a Georgian wine business model for small family wineries.

The aim of the obtained research results was to identify the problems in these ten wineries that actually hinder the development and progress of small wineries, especially during the pandemic period. The role of wine tourism and the benefits accompanying the development of this industry were revealed. A segment of wine tourists visiting small wineries was formed and a profile of foreign and Georgian wine tourists was created.

In conclusion, I can say that this particular work is a part of doctoral research. The complex doctoral studies conducted have established a wine tourism business model for small family wineries. The model showed that the biggest competitors of small wineries turned out to be chateaux, since in a chateau-type hotel a tourist can stay and taste wine, visit vineyards, and engage in other activities that most small wineries offer.

Nobody can represent Georgian traditions and culture better than small wineries. The scale of the production volume of large wine companies and the amount of wine exported cannot be compared with the production of small wineries. The least competitors of small wineries are large wine companies.

The business model showed us that small wineries, large wine companies and chateaux are visited by different segments of tourists. The model also showed us that tourist companies constantly cooperate with small wineries. Also wine shops that help small wineries sell their product. Complex studies have shown us how the services and products included in wine tourism are intertwined with small wineries, how important a thorough research of each of them is.

With all this in mind, a wine tourism business model has been developed for small family-type wineries, which will be a kind of business plan, a right direction for start-up entrepreneurs in this field, or for those who are now taking the first steps and want to get a well-calculated income with less costs, more knowledge and experience. Bringing and one of the most demanded products and services in the wine market.