Industry body Vinpro has announced its support for a new wine tourism research pilot programme, which intends to generate tourism intelligence and help wineries use this information to grow their direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales.

The programme, which initially involves 16 wineries, was launched in March.

The pilot builds on Vinpro’s South African Wine Tourism Visitor Research Report 2022, which also served to identify some of the wine industry’s needs and knowledge gaps.

This year, the goal is the smarter use of technology, Vinpro states.

Vinpro is working with the Cape Winelands district municipality to get more cellars involved and with location analytics provider Flow Networks to help count visitors to winelands, note where they come from, understand the size and makeup of the total market and help wineries stay connected to wine tourists between visits.

“We want to make consumer engagement in the DTC wine space possible,” notes Vinpro wine tourism manager Marisah Nieuwoudt.

She adds that the more data industry can collect and record about customers, the better the industry can tailor offers and personalise communication.

Flow Networks will work with the cellars involved on their marketing strategies to assist on cross-channel sales, manage their online reputation, build a loyalty and rewards programme or send offers through email.

The company is licensed to use Purple, which can measure the time spent by visitors at a venue and the frequency of visits, without visitors needing to be connected to the farm’s Wi-Fi network.

Vinpro will have access to the same information that Flow Networks gathers from visitors at wine farms and see, for example, when a wine tourist visits more than one winery.

Winemaker Breedekloof Wine Valley CEO Melody Botha says wine tourism is not only about enjoying exquisite wines and landscapes, but also about harnessing the power of data and intelligence to support the growth of wineries and enhance visitors’ experience.

As a participator in the pilot programme, Breedekloof aims to unlock valuable insights that can inform its strategic decision-making for wineries, and enable them to optimise their DTC business operations, improve customer engagement and create more memorable experiences for visitors.

“We see this pilot programme as an opportunity to pool our collective knowledge and expertise, so we can elevate our wine tourism offerings and position our region as a premier wine destination.

“We envision a future where wineries in our region can thrive in the DTC market, and where visitors can have truly exceptional wine tourism experiences,” Botha adds.

Vinpro says a further 43 wineries in the Cape Winelands region have been earmarked to subscribe to Purple Presence Analytics and Purple Wi-Fi Analytics for a year at a subsidised rate.

The project is open to all wineries beyond the Cape Winelands.

Moreover, Cape Winelands district municipality mayor Dr Elna von Schlicht comments that the tourism sector is one of the largest economic contributors in the region.

“Between our mandated function of generating opportunities through local economic development and our role as regional tourism office, this exciting and technologically advanced project ticks all the right boxes for the municipality,” she states.

Von Schlicht adds that this kind of thinking will move the wine and agricultural industry forward.