Cape Town - Western Cape wineries in the business of wining and dining wine tourists have been urged to enter the 2023 “Best of Wine Tourism and Ambassador Awards”.
Wine tourism falls within the spectrum of food tourism and helps customers become better acquainted with the world of wine. In this, tourists get to know regions that are dedicated to wine production and taste the wines that region produces.
Some of the 2022 award winners include numerous Western Cape wineries, including Vergelegen Wine Estate, La Motte Wine Estate, Babylonstoren and others.
The province’s investment and promotion unit, Wesgro’s, chief destination marketing officer, Monika Luel, said they have been encouraged by the growth in the return of international and domestic visitors to Cape Town.
“The recent rise in tourism arrivals certainly bodes well for South Africa’s wine sector.
“This is welcomed news after the many setbacks endured by the wine tourism industry over the past two years,” she said.
Luel said wine tourism providers wanting to remain relevant to hard-pressed travellers, must monitor their competitive environment.
“An effective way to do this is through benchmarking. Evaluate yourself against the best of the best, through this competition.
“This provides a useful context in testing claims of uniqueness or distinctiveness,” she said.
The “Best of Wine Tourism and Ambassador Awards” consists of 10 categories.
The seven categories for the “Best of Wine Tourism Awards” are accommodation, restaurants, architecture and landscaping, art and culture, wine tourism services, innovative wine tourism experience and sustainable wine tourism practice.
The three categories under the “Ambassador Awards” are an authentic South African experience, wine tourism and WWF conservation pioneer. The latter award is sponsored by environmental group WWF South Africa.
Contestants can enter in every category, if they wish, for R575 per entry.
All entries for the “Best of Wine Tourism and Ambassador Awards” can be submitted on their website by August 5.
Winners for the 2023 “Best of Wine Tourism and Ambassador Awards” will be announced in October.