wine tourism Archives - Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference

The Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference – A New Name

January 22, 2016 by Allan

The Wine Tourism Conference, in advance of its sixth annual event in 2016, is changing its name to the Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

Changing one’s event name could be seen as a pretty big deal. In reality, the change just reflects what the conference is already about: wine marketing and wine tourism.

In fact, in many ways the two are so entwined it is hard to separate them. Wine tourism, of course, is simply the visitation of wine regions by travelers. From an industry conference perspective, our goal has always been to provide valuable advice on how to grow and improve one’s own wine tourism offering. And growing wine tourism is all about effective marketing.

And so wine marketing has been a key component of the conference since the beginning. This past November, for example, we had content on digital marketing, no-cost guerrilla marketing, promoting your wine tourism business beyond your region, email marketing, and more.

We do think wine tourism is a special component of the wine industry. Selling out the cellar door is a hugely important revenue stream for many, many wineries and focusing on tourism is a critical way to grow that revenue stream. So we will continue to offer lots of content focused on wine tourism but will also continue to provide what we think is top-notch marketing content specific to the wine industry.

WTC is coming in HOT in just a few weeks!

November 3, 2015 by Robyn Scott

Get ready for WTC2015 in Loudoun County, Virginia where the wine flows like…..well rich and tasty Virginia wine!

This year’s conference is packed with solid content that any winery or brewery should be in the know on. Hosted at the beautiful Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, VA, WTC15 will host a set of pre-conference workshops on Wednesday before kicking off the full conference agenda on Thursday November 18^th. The Wednesday workshops can be attended a’la carte without the need to attend the entire conference and are full of great topics.

Note to our friends and readers…please share with your friends in the Wine industry. Why? The Wine Tourism Conference is a unique event dedicated to helping those in the wine and beer industry promote their business. WTC is coming to East Cost for the first time, as there are fantastic winery and brewery partners with a huge amount of potential growth to capture a healthy tourism stream.

A quick overview of some of the topics I am most looking forward to hearing are:

China – Wine and Wine Tourism – The Chinese market has an undeniable potential. Learn about this dynamic market and find out how to capture new visitors to your wines and brews.

Promoting Your Wine Tourism Business Beyond Your Region – This is a huge part of making your mark in the wine and beer industry. Find out how to expand beyond your region and find ways to get enthusiasts to visit your winery and taste your creations!

Customer Relationship Management – Effective Email Marketing – A big part of getting new interest in your product is keeping those people interested. Find out how to manage your customer relationships appropriately for your business and retain those customers!

That is just a small flicker of the valuable knowledge that will be passed around on November 17-20^th

What are you waiting for? Come for a workshop or come for the whole 3 days and hang with some great folks for the entire conference. Leesburg is gorgeous, easy to get to and WTC15 is sure to be a valuable and fun conference. Don’t miss out on some excellent information and networking opportunities and get an advantage on the coming year!

See the agenda here

Register today and come join in the fun!

2015 Wine Tourism Conference Agenda Outline

June 23, 2015 by Sarah Wolcott

The 2015 Wine Tourism Conference heads to Loudoun County, VA this November 18-20. The Virginia wine industry is buzzing with energy and enthusiasm for the culture of wine and we very much look forward to being in “DC’s Wine Country” this Fall for the annual forum of all things wine + tourism.

We are delighted to announce that the 2015 Agenda is being finalized and well in advance of the conference. We have worked hard to secure relevant program content for the conference and are confirming speakers. Please take a peek at the current schedule of topics covered at this year’s Wine Tourism Conference in Leesburg:

Screen Shot 2015-06-23 at 10.52.51 PM

Current WTC Agenda

Note: Please see the Agenda page for the updated agenda

Wednesday, November 18

Optional, pre-conference Workshops
Three sessions in the morning & afternoon to choose from:

8:30-11:30 AM
• Digital Marketing for the Wine Industry
• Tasting Room Management
• Beer Tourism (intended for the local beer industry)

— Can attend the Workshops separately from and/or in addition to the Conference —

1-4 PM
• Customer Relationship Management
• Creating & Growing a Food, Wine, or Beer Tour Operator Business
• Digital Marketing for the Beer Industry (intended for the local beer industry)

Wine Tourism Expo & Opening Night Wine Reception
5-7 PM Meet all conference partners and enjoy wines from across North America and the world

Thursday, November 19

9:15-9:30 AM – Conference Opening & Welcome

9:30-10:15 AM – Welcome to Loudoun County & Virginia
We’ll hear from the experts who put Loudoun County & Virginia on the map as a major wine tourism destination

10:15-11:15 AM – Wine Tourism is Ag Tourism
Hear from experts in the food tourism and ag industries about state policies, current trends and other items affecting ag tourism and how it relates to wine tourism

11:30-12:30 PM – Wine Tourism Research
Learn about the latest research in wine tourism from various regional and national studies

12:30-2:00 PM – Lunch Break

2-3 PM – Breakout Sessions
• Guerilla Marketing: No-Cost Marketing Solutions
• Technology & the Wine Industry: What is Working Now

3:15-4:15 PM – Breakout Sessions
• It Takes a Village: Working Together to Increase Tourism
• Public Relations for the Wine Industry: How to Pitch to the Media

4:15-5:45 PM – Wine Reception

6:00 PM – Dinner

Friday, November 20

9-10 AM – How the Media Sees Your Wine Business
Hear from professional wine and tourism writers about their relationship with wine tourism & how you can engage with them

10-11 AM – Panel of State Tourism Directors
Leaders of three state tourism agencies will discuss, in-depth, their efforts to promote wine tourism

11:15-12:15 PM – Breakout Sessions
• Customer Service: How to Set Your Brand Apart
• Promoting Your Wine Tourism Business Beyond Your Region

12:15-1:45 PM – Lunch

1:45 – 3:15 PM – Three Perspectives on International Wine Tourism
An opportunity to learn from wine tourism practices from outside the U.S.

3:30-4:15 PM – Keynote Speaker

4:15-5 PM – Conference Close/Announcement of 2016 Location

5 PM – Depart for Overnight Post-Conference Excursion

5 Reasons to Attend WTC15 in Loudoun County, VA

March 25, 2015 by Sarah Wolcott

The 5th annual Wine Tourism Conference is heading to Loudoun Country, Virginia November 18-20, 2015. We are excited to be in “DC’s Wine Country” this year and surrounded by a wine savvy, metropolitan population that actively pursues wine tourism. In the wine business and thinking about attending this year’s Wine Tourism Conference? We think you should!

5 Reasons to Attend the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference

1. Location, Location, Location

The 2015 Wine Tourism Conference takes place at the Lansdowne Resort in the heart of Virginia Wine Country and in Loudoun Country. Virginia has excelled in recent years at promoting itself both as a wine producer and also as a tourism destination. The combination of the two makes this is a perfect destination for the first-ever East Coast host of the Wine Tourism Conference.

The Lansdowne Resort is in Leesburg, VA and is located just 25 minutes from Washington Dulles International Airport. Lansdowne Resort is the preeminent resort, spa, and golf club experience in Northern Virginia and is also an IACC certified conference center. We look forward to a great conference experience and have a great room block rate for WTC15 attendees.

2. Conference Partnerships & Content

Visit Loudoun is the destination management organization for Loudoun Country and its incorporated towns. They lead the Loudoun tourism industry and are an Elite Sponsor of the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference. We have been working with Visit Loudoun for many months to organize the logistics and help curate content. They are very well organized and super personable and are eager to host a top notch Wine Tourism Conference. We look forward to their insights into wine tourism!

The conference Agenda is updated monthly and we look forward to learning from all conference speakers and contributors. Back by popular demand are optional, pre-conference Workshops, the day before the conference begins. Workshops provide 3 hour hands-on learning sessions in a smaller environment.

3. Networking & Learning from Peers

What industry event brings together wineries from across the country, wine tour operators, winery associations, tourism associations, students of wine and wine business, pr professionals, members of the media, and many other wine related businesses? There is a great collaborative spirit at the Wine Tourism Conference – some of the best things learned come from open discussions and sharing by attendees.

4. Wine Tourism is a Growing Industry

Olive oil tasting before wine tasting in wine country

The concept of “wine tourism” is growing world-wide and regions around the world are organizing efforts to increase wine tourism to their areas. The US celebrated it’s second “Wine Tourism Day” last year (the 2015 Wine Tourism Day is November 7) and governments around the globe are thoughtfully investing in their wine tourism programs in order to meet consumer demand. The Wine Tourism Conference is the best way to understand the trends in wine tourism in order to increase visibility, winery visitor numbers, hospitality standards, and profitability.

5. Wine is Awesome

The wine sector is culturally significant for a number of reasons: it supports agriculture, contributes to the historical underpinnings of many regions around the globe, promotes education and learning about other cultures, and, of course, is loads of fun…The Wine Tourism Conference aims to support the wine industry and promote wine + tourism in all its ways, shapes, and forms.

Registration for the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference is open. We look forward to seeing you in Loudoun County, Virginia this November!

Zephyr Adventures in the New York Times

November 3, 2014 by Allan

Taste Vacations, the new food, wine, beer, and spirits tour company from Zephyr Adventures, was included in yesterday’s New York Times travel section.

I would like to say we were “featured” in the paper but the article was just a few paragraphs. Still, the New York Times is one of the best locations for a tour company (or any company) to appear in print and we have already received information requests from all over the country from this one article.

The article focused on Taste Vacations’ food tours and the New York Times’ interest in this shows how hot food in general and food tourism in particular is right now. Cooking shows are immensely popular on television, eating local is a priority for many people, and food tourism – actually engaging with local producers while you are traveling – is also on the upswing. The same is true of wine tourism.

Consider joining Taste Vacations’ 2015 food tours in Peru, the Basque country of Spain, or Tuscany in Italy or join our Affiliate Program to receive commissions if you refer your community to us.

The Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference – A New Name

WTC is coming in HOT in just a few weeks!