Wine tourism in the North Hungarian Region

Wachtler, István – Nagy-Kovács, Erika

Keywords: wine tourism, wine district, expansion of tourism offers, strategy

Wine tourism can play a prominent role in the expansion of tourism programmes and the popularisation of Hungarian wines. Wine tastings, hospitality and accommodation organised within family businesses offer greater employment opportunities and supplementary income. This can help promote both regional and business development, reduce depopulation and the demographic aging of villages and improve the population’s standard of living and security of livelihood. It is a good advertisement for the region’s wines, increasing demand and improving local purchasing power. Village tourism and particularly wine tours, have a multiplier effect on the infrastructural development of the region’s wine-growing areas, as well as offering investment opportunities.

In the framework of the NKFP research, we examined whether the viniculturists and viticulturists of the North Hungarian region would be happy to participate in wine tourism. We determined that only a small proportion of farmers currently take part in wine tourism, but a large number would gladly undertake hospitality and the presentation of their own wines. This requires intensive orientation, adult education and expert advice, together with the concerted cooperation of those elements of local/national government involved in the establishment and development of the necessary infrastructure with chambers of commerce and trade organisations. Their active collaboration is essential, for example, for the submission of grant applications and the utilisation of opportunities presented by the National Wine Marketing Programme and wine tour associations.

We further determined that the region has very favourable prospects and from a tourism point of view, plays a prominent role in Hungary’s tourist industry; however, it lacks an effective strategy for the development and utilisation of existing resources and capacities.

The well-known cellars and wide choice of exceptional wines are the strengths of the four wine regions. Deficiencies in infrastructure, the lack of necessary capital to provide hospitality and accommodation options and the inadequate quality and capacity of these, may all be obstacles to the success of village and wine tourism. Wine consumption is changing as substitutes become more popular. Problems may be and are caused by lack of promotion and information and the tensions between wine cellars. In the course of our investigations the active role of pensioners was conspicuous, being advantageous from a number of viewpoints, particularly due to villages’ aging populations. A few well-established businesses may slow down the migration of young people from these villages. Hungarian tourism is thriving and for this reason, the following are all essential to the development of the new approach: the expansion of complex tourism offers (for example, supplementing them with wine-tasting winter programmes or with hunting); a united front from viticulturists and those in the hospitality trade; better promotion; and not least, grant support and the realisation of the EU’s regional development programme, training and further education for farmers and the operation of the expert advisory system.

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