Com_St_2015_02_25_WineTourism-ENG.pdf
Donnafugata, in 2014, exceeds about 10,000 visitors: This is the number of wine lovers who decided to visit the historic cellars in Marsala or the Contessa Entellina and Pantelleria wineries. Excellent results obtained from the annual appointments: “Cantine Aperte”, “Calici di Stelle” which recorded nearly 2,000 people.
The leitmotiv of the events at Donnafugata in 2013 was the multi-sensory experience: from the grape tasting in the vineyards during Calici di Stelle usually reserved for technicians, to the blind tasting at Cantine Aperte.
Visitors continue to choose Sicily as a tourist destination and consider the wine production and typical products as an integral part of the local culture. But Sicily occupies a strategic place also regarding the emerging issues of quality tourism: the environment, beauty and wellness. Donnafugata embraces these values and in welcoming wine tourists aims to offer a cultural and multi-sensory experience.
The numbers in 2014 suggest new and interesting wine tourism trends at Donnafugata:
Mobile & Internet: online booking
Booking and searching for information online is becoming increasingly important and frequent. Through Tripadvisor, Facebook and above all the website on the internet, where the page “Visit Donnafugata” is the second most visited. The share of access to the website from mobile devices is increasingly important, equal to 40%. This is the reason why Donnafugata wants to devote even more space to wine tourism on social channels, and improve the availability of the “Visit Donnafugata” section on its portal.
Tours & Reservations
2014 confirms the greater flow of visitors in the months between April and October with a major peak of over 1,300 people in August compared to 780 in 2013. Foreigners account for 40 % of the visitors in Marsala with the majority from: USA, Russia, Germany and Sweden.
Services & Tastings
To meet the needs of the increasingly sophisticated wine tourist Donnafugata has introduced, several options of wine tasting, according with the number of wines to be tasted and food pairings; as a novelty, a vertical is available regarding the tasting of classic vintages no longer on the market of the following wines: Vigna di Gabri, Chiarandà, Tancredi and Ben Ryé.
In addition, analyzing the profile of the wine tourist from Italy and abroad we observe that the first prefer to concentrate on the tasting of wine alone, while the foreigners love to associate the wine matched with local food.
Buying in the winery
More and more visits end with a purchase. The protagonists are the company’s top labels: Mille e una Notte and Ben Ryé. More and more in search of excellence the wine tourist chooses at least one of Donnafugata’s icon wines.
Wine tourist profile
Visitors are divided in two categories: those who organize their trip to Sicily depending on winery tours, and book well in advance, and those who book the wine tourism service last minute, as an integral part of the experience in Sicily. Lastly, besides being more careful and curious in wanting to learn vinification methods and wine tasting techniques, wine tourists are becoming younger and more open to wine culture. The winery tour is increasingly becoming the privileged channel for responsible drinking education.
The company receives in Marsala by appointment from Monday to Saturday both organized groups through tour operators and individual groups of wine lovers. The Pantelleria and Contessa Entellina wineries are open to the public in the summer. You should visit the website test.donnafugata.it to discover all the services offered and take advantage of all the information in the section “Visit Donnafugata”. It is possible to book the tour online (filling in the form on the website section “Visit Donnafugata” https://test.donnafugata.it/pagine/Guided-tours-Marsala.aspx) or by sending an email or phoning the contacts listed in the previous paragraph.
Reservations: [email protected] – +39 0923 724245/63
Public Relations:
Baldo M. Palermo [email protected] tel. 0039 0923 7242267
Laura Ellwanger [email protected] te. 0039 0923 724258
