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A recently presented study at the Geisenheim University confirms the central role of wine tourism for the economy, quality of life, and cultural landscape in the Rheingau. The investigation is based on surveys of tourists at 13 locations and provides reliable data on the structure and impact of wine tourism in the region again after 2018.
The results show that the Rheingau is predominantly visited by domestic guests, especially from Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Only about a quarter of the respondents visited a winery during their stay, but for around half of this group, wine was a central travel motivation. At the same time, almost a third of the winery visits were spontaneous, indicating previously untapped potential in visitor management and offer design.
The economic effect is also evident: guests with a clear wine connection spend significantly more per day than visitors without a winery visit. Overall, the tourist value creation in the Rheingau is estimated at around 300 million euros annually, about one-fifth of which is directly attributable to wine tourism. In addition to direct value creation, wine tourism also strengthens regional businesses, direct marketing, and employment.
The study also makes it clear that wine is not the sole travel motivation for most guests. Nature, landscape, gastronomy, and relaxation often take precedence. Wine acts as a complementary, identity-forming element that extends stays and increases spending. This is particularly relevant for overnight guests, who generate significantly higher revenues in the Rheingau than day visitors.
These findings can be transferred to other wine regions. The Rheingau exemplifies that wine tourism should be understood less as an isolated specialty offer and more as an integrated part of regional tourism. Success factors include good networking of the wine industry, gastronomy, hospitality, and tourism organizations, easily accessible offers, and clear target group communication.
This also applies to other regions: spontaneous visitor decisions offer opportunities, such as through better visibility of wineries, low-threshold offers, or combined formats of nature experience, culinary arts, and wine. At the same time, wine tourism can help cushion structural challenges in viticulture and stabilize regional value creation.
The study thus emphasizes wine tourism as an important factor for the future – not only for the Rheingau but as a transferable model for wine regions that want to strengthen their tourist attractiveness, reach new target groups, and economically utilize regional identity.
Only in October 2025, the Geisenheim University published the “Global Wine Tourism Report 2025”, the most comprehensive analysis of global wine tourism to date.
(ru – Image: 123rf)
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