Vinturism i Sverige - möjligheter och utmaningar : En kvalitativ studie om Sverige som vinturismdestination och hur marknadsföringen kan främjas via sociala medier

Sammanfattning: Wine tourism is a form of tourism that has grown in popularity in the last couple of decades and refers to tourism which aims to visit vineyards, wineries, and tasting or purchasing wine at or near the source of the wine. Destinations for wine tourism are often associated with warm climate countries which are dominant in wine production, such as Southern European, South and North American countries and Australia. Due to reasons such as climate change and the discovering of wine grapes that have the ability to adapt to colder climate, the production of wine has become possible in countries with a colder climate, among others Sweden. Research about wine tourism is mainly focused on the traditional warm climate countries, and despite Sweden’s wine industry existing for 20 years, there is a lack of research about this matter. The purpose of this study was to fill the research gap about Sweden’s wine industry, and to investigate what possibilities and challenges exist for Sweden to become a country suitable for wine tourism. The aim was also to analyze how marketing through social media platforms could promote wine tourism in Sweden.  Twelve qualitative interviews with owners of Swedish vineyards and other experts in the matter were conducted in order to collect empirical data. To provide a better understanding about this matter, a literature review of previous research on wine tourism and social media marketing was presented, as well as theories about the wine tourism product, sustainable development of wine tourism destinations and marketing theories as these were considered relevant for the study. Based on the empirical data, Sweden has various possibilities to develop in to becoming a destination for wine tourism. However, this development is challenged by setbacks that must be attended in order for the development to endure. According to marketing specialists, the marketing of the wine tourism industry in Sweden should be conducted through social media platforms in order to market the industry in an effective way.