Artigo

Wine tourism has grown significantly, becoming vital to some regional economies. However, this growth poses sustainability challenges, such as managing water resources essential for wine production and tourism. This chapter presents a quantitative empirical study involving managers/representatives of 103 Portuguese wine tourism companies. Wine tourism activities, associated water costs, water conservation practices, and barriers to their implementation are analysed. Findings reveal that, despite the growing interest and awareness regarding the importance of sustainable practices in water resource management, companies face several difficulties, mainly of an external nature, in their implementation. Excessive bureaucracy, lack of uniformity in regulations, and insufficient financial support from the state (subsidies) are considered the most significant barriers. High operational costs and perceptions of low adherence by peers also hinder adoption. Based on these results, we suggest several ways to mitigate the difficulties identified. More institutional support, clear public policies, and sharing best practices among companies are fundamental actions for this transformation. Proactive social marketing campaigns are also recommended to guide stakeholders towards more sustainable behaviours regarding this limited resource. This study highlights the practical and theoretical importance of the relationship between sustainability (water conservation), marketing, and wine tourism. The research results aim to guide decision-makers towards more effective social marketing campaigns that promote changes in pro-environmental behaviours amongst wine tourism supply agents.