Seasonality and the lifestyle "conundrum": An analysis of lifestyle entrepreneurship in wine tourism regions

Abstract

This study explores the importance of non-economic, personal and family lifestyle goals in the establishment of rural wine tourism operations and how these lifestyle goals influence the decisions and actions of owners as they relate to seasonality management, particularly surrounding wine tourism involvement. It also explores the ways in which lifestyle-oriented operations may be deemed "problematic" at the destination level in relation to managing for tourism seasonality. The wine and tourism industries provide particularly useful contexts to explore entrepreneurial lifestyle motivations and how these play out in efforts to manage seasonality. Both the wine and tourism industries are highly seasonal, and rely on cooperation for regional initiatives to manage seasonality, through events or marketing, particularly when the businesses are small scale and located in peripheral areas. However, if the lifestyle or personal goals of some owners are at odds with the profit maximization goals of other owners, then developing a cohesive regional strategy can be a problem. The trends identified here reflect the challenges faced in many wine regions and in other rural areas that attract a diversity of business owners, including lifestyle-oriented business owners. © 2011 Copyright Asia Pacific Tourism Association.