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Stellenbosch most highly ranked wine and food tourism region. Karl Parkinson, Group Sales Manager for the Vineyard, Oude Werf and Townhouse hotels, reports

According to Wesgro CEO Tim Harris, the South African wine and food destinations that highest with tourists are (in order) Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Constantia, and Paarl.

“We were thrilled to hear the results of the Wesgro survey. Of course, being in the heart of Stellenbosch, we were a bit biased!” said Nina Daniels, GM of the Oude Werf Hotel.

Sixty-four per cent of tours booked by visitors to Cape Town include wine tours. This is likely due to the fact that most tourists say wine is their top interest and rank food, wine-and-food tasting events and festivals highly too.

These were some of the findings of a Wesgro study that was shared at the Business of Wine and Food Tourism conference.  The conference was recently hosted by Spier Estate, where international and local experts shared trends and global best practices for wine and food tourism.

“It was also intriguing to learn more about our visitors,” said Daniels, “For example, the most frequent request received is for fine-dining destinations. Queries regarding wine-and-food tasting events also ranked highly. I was pleased to realise that at Oude Werf we help our guests satisfy their wine and food tourism needs every single day.”

“The cuisine we specialise in at Oude Werf is contemporary but rooted in our South African heritage.  Our tourists love to pair it with the local wines our trained sommeliers suggest. As partners with the top wine farms in the area, we can also offer well-informed advice to our guests planning their wine farm tours.”

Nina Daniels added: “I see that one of the other preferred wine and food areas is Constantia, which is just down the road from our sister hotel, the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town. Besides the excellent cuisine offered at the Square restaurant with its multi-award-winning wine list, the Vineyard Hotel offers monthly wine-paired dinners and weekly, complimentary wine tastings. So, as a group, we’re definitely catering to our foreign visitors’ wine and food tourism needs. But I want to point out that in our experience, South African tourists have similar preferences to those coming to us from other countries, and our fellow countrymen are very important to us too.”