Wine tourism experiences

A critical review and conceptual framework for future inquiry

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to synthesise the articles on wine tourism experience (WTE) to systematically present a comprehensive overview of the antecedents, decisions and outcomes (ADO), and explore the insights of theories, contexts, and methods (TCM) of the studies conducted since inception (1975). This study used an integrative systematic review approach using the ADO-TCM framework to get unbiased results in the WTE domain. The guidelines of the SPAR-4-SLR protocol were applied to screen the dataset extracted from Scopus and Web of Science. Content analysis was performed on a final dataset of 61 articles identified since its inception using Nvivo-14 Software. Experience economy theory, push-pull theory and experiential marketing theory emerged as a widely used theories along with other important theories to understand the WTE in a broader context. The study concludes by thoughtfully identifying key gaps in the existing WTE literature and offers meaningful suggestions on how future research can address these shortcomings.  By emphasising authenticity, local employment generation, and eco-conscious travel trends, the proposed framework strategically aligns tourism innovation with broader sustainable development goals. The findings provide actionable guidance for policymakers to implement preservation oriented strategies that safeguard vineyards as cultural and economic assets and can strengthen rural employment structures, reinforce local value chains, and foster culturally authentic tourism experiences that enhance destination sustainability. A conceptual framework has been proposed to investigate the unexplored dimensions of wine tourism and to enhance the tourist satisfaction, loyalty and their revisit intention.