Industrial tourism related to wine: comparative analysis between wineries located along three wine routes of Piedmont (Italy)

Once Piedmont was known as ‘the antithesis of a tourism destination’ because its regional capital, Torino, was (and still is) well known worldwide as the symbol-city of the Italian car industry. Nowadays, this Region has a very appreciate position as a tourist destination because of museums, exhibition centers, cultural and religious events (e.g. the Holy Shroud) and, last but not least, industrial tourism, linked not only to car industry but also to excellences of the food and wine sector. Furthermore ExpoTorino 2015 is going to happen at the same time as ExpoMilano: both events are officially open on May, 1, 2015 and close October, 31, 2015. Tourist activity is expected to increase in the area by providing visitors with a rich calendar of activities to choose from and participate in. It is in this context that we have studied the interactions between Piedmontese (Italy) wineries and their territorial/economic situation. A few research results focused on wineries’ perspectives related to factors influencing/determining their satisfaction/dissatisfaction and their opinion about the Piedmontese wine cluster were illustrated by the Authors during last SGEM Conference. This study is based on the comparative analysis between wineries located along three wine routes of Piedmont (Italy), that are those based in the provinces of Cuneo (Langhe), and Asti (Monferrato). These two districts are different in their territory, history and wine production, but both of them are attractive in terms of wine and food. Each district has its own ‘wine routes’, which attract tourists from all parts of the world every year. In this paper, the Authors intend to define the contexts in which winemaking cooperatives work in these different provinces, clarifying their owners’ opinion on industrial tourism. Fifty-two wineries have been directly involved in the survey by assigning them a questionnaires.