Investment holding back Stellenbosch from becoming top tourism destination

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 25 August, 2016

A leading US wine expert has said that investment is the only thing stopping Stellenbosch from becoming as significant as Napa Valley in terms of popularity for wine tourism.

A leading US wine expert has said that investment is the only thing stopping Stellenbosch from becoming as significant as Napa Valley in terms of wine tourism popularity.

Clay Gregory, president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley, believes South Africa already has the skills and assets but currently lacks the investment to rival its Californian counterpart.

The regions are both well known for producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blends.

Gregory is due to gives his thoughts on the topic in his role of headline speaker at The Business of Wine and Food Tourism Conference in Stellenbosch on 1 and 2 November.

"You have the wine, the people and the natural beauty to rival any wine tourism region of the world. But South Africa first needs to spend more on marketing and getting the region top of travellers' minds," he said.

Market research by Destination Analysts of San Francisco, on behalf of Visit Napa Valley, showed that 3.3 million tourists visited Napa Valley in 2014, an increase of 11% on the prior year, spending $1.63 billion (£1.23 billion), of which $1.2 billion (£900 million) was spent in hotels.

By contrast, the entire wine tourism industry of South Africa's Western Cape is estimated to be worth $358 million (£271 million) in 2013 (Conningarth Economists estimated).

The size of the global wine travel market alone is estimated to be $17 billion (£12.8 billion), and the culinary travel market is estimated as $25 billion (£18.9 billion).

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