Modern Communication and Wine Tourism / BKWine

Modern Communication
and Wine Tourism
-

An example of
how to sell the wine tour destination
with modern communication tools

Per Karlsson
BKWine AB
www.bkwinetours.com | per.karlsson (at) bkwine.com | T: @bkwineper | FB: bkwine.per

All photographs: © Copyright BKWine Photography

Wine Tourism of Two Types
• General Wine Tourism – mass market

2011-06-10 www.bkwinetours.com | per.karlsson (at) bkwine.com | T: @bkwineper | FB: bkwine.per 2

• General Wine Tourism • Specialised Wine Tourism


A Glance at Wine Tourism in France
• 10 million visits • Wine roads
• 4 million foreigners • Big projects popular…
– Belgium 27%, UK 21%, – La Winery, 20M €
Germany, NL, US… – Le Hameau de Bages, 5M €
• (Napa Valley 20 million!) – Champagne Taittinger,
• 10,000 caves touristiques 120,000 visitors
• 200 euros/visitor
• Various government
initiatives
– Label: Vignoble &
Decouvertes
– Prix de l’Oenoutourisme


A Glance at Wine Tourism in France
• 10 million visits • Wine roads
• 4 million foreigners • Big projects popular…
– Belgium 27%, UK 21%, – La Winery, 20M €
Germany, NL, US… – Le Hameau de Bages, 5M €
• (Napa Valley 20 million!) – Champagne Taittinger,
• 10,000 caves touristiques 120,000 visitors
• 200 euros/visitor
• Various government But this is far from most
initiatives wineries’ reality.
– Label: Vignoble &
Decouvertes What to do if you don’t
– Prix de l’Oenoutourisme have millions of €€?


You may feel alone in the desert


So how to show people where you are?


Modern Communications
for Everyone
Let me give you an example:
A small business that has become leading
in its field.

And how you, how anyone, can do it too!


BKWine
• Wine tours
• Wine journalism
• Wine photography
• Wine video
• Wine consulting


BKWine / Per Karlsson
• Technology

• Business

• Wine

• Travel


Modern Communication Tools?



If you make an effort!


• Old World
– Advertising
– Postal mailings
– Printed catalogues
– Tourism organisations
– …

Money
Distant


• Old World • New World
– Advertising – Little or no €€
– Postal mailings – Time
– Tourism organisations – Personal
–…
Money
Distant


So What Do We (You?) do?
• Step 1:

A Web Site
is a Must


So What Do We (You?) do? (2)
• Blog – no longer bleeding edge
• Email “marketing”


So What Do We (You?) do? (2-B)
• YouTube /
Videos

• LinkedIn /
Vinix

• Various
other


So What Do We (You?) do? (3)
• “Social Media”
– Twitter, FaceBook and others


For BKWine
• Web Site: since 1996; 30,000 visitors/month
• Blogs: since 2005, ~one post per day
• Email marketing: 20,000 subscribers
• YouTube: since 2007; 246,171 views
• Twitter: 2313 “followers”
• FaceBook: 1831 “friends”
 But don’t be fooled. It’s about Quality!


Some Practical Advice
• A) Must

• B) Easy

• C) Enthusiast


A) Must!
• You must have a web site
A few things to think about:
– Simple & informative; not
glossy & elegant
– No ‘flash’
– Some English
– Contact details
– Keep it up to date
Doesn’t have to be expensive

• Collect email addresses
– Contacts, visitors, customers…
– Don’t misuse them!


B) Easy
• Newsletter
– It’s simple
– Not (too much) sales
promotion
– Lot’s of good – and cheap –
tools
(YMLP, iContact,
ConstantContact, MailChimp…)
• Blog
– Simple
– Relatively often


C) Enthusiast
• Get a FaceBook account
– Test & Try

• Get a Twitter account
– Test & Try
• Follow e.g. @bkwineper,
@ilGamberoRosso,
@vinoalvino…
• Videos???
– Fun and very powerful. (Provided they are not too
“commercial”)


How to succeed in Wine Tourism
• You need 4 things!


– Time


– Time
– Enthusiasm


– Time
– Enthusiasm
– Wine glasses


– Time
– Enthusiasm
– Good wine glasses


– Time
– Enthusiasm
– Wine glasses
– Toilets


– Time
– Enthusiasm
– Wine glasses
– Toilets
• You don’t need
– A lot of money
– A fancy tasting room


Conclusions
• The Good Things
– Much of it is free or
low cost
– Easy to try and test
– Gives you direct contact
with the customer
(if you want)


Conclusions
• The Good Things
– Much of it is free or low cost
– Easy to try and test
– Gives you direct contact with the customer (if you
want)
• The bad thing
– It does take some time


Four things to remember!
1. Try and Test

2. Doesn’t have to be
perfect. Do it now!

3. Be simple

4. Be personal

 Wine is about people and passion!


Thank you!
• Contact me:
– Per Karlsson, BKWine
– Email: per.karlsson (at) bkwine.com
– Twitter: @bkwineper
– FaceBook: bkwine.per
– Web:
• Wine Tours: www.bkwinetours.com
• Wine Tours/Scandinavia: www.bkwinevinresor.com
• Photography: www.bkwinephotography.com
• BKWine Magazine: www.bkwine.com


Modern Communication and Wine Tourism / BKWine

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