Virginia Craft Beer and Winery Visitors: An Exploratory Study of Beverage Visitor Demographics and Expenditures in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Abstract

The craft beer industry has experienced significant growth over the past several years, especially in the Commonwealth of Virginia. While the effects of winery operation on the tourism industry have been widely researched, a dearth of similar knowledge exists for the craft brewery. Moreover, there lacks an understanding of who these visitors to craft breweries aree, how similar they are to their winery counterparts, and if the same individuals are visitors to both. This study of Virginia wineries and breweries sought to begin the process of satisfying this need for information through an exploratory study using a questionnaire through intercept interviews. Respondent demographics, cursory visitation patterns, and general expenditure patterns comprise the three main components of research undertaken. The information discovered is of particular value to brewery and winery marketers, advertisers, festival coordinators, policy makers, DMOs, DMCs, and any industry that serves in the tourism industry. Through analysis of the survey results, conclusions on who brewery and winery visitors are and whether or not they are the same, as well as recommendations to continue the growth of beverage tourism in the Commonwealth of Virginia are explored. Lastly, areas of future research are delineated to foster future research in this tourism niche