An Empirical Analysis of Wine Consumption Behaviour among Domestic and International Tourists in Heritage Hotels of Rajasthan

Wine consumption behaviour, heritage tourism, domestic tourists, international tourists, luxury hospitality, factor analysis and cultural dimensions theory

This study provides a detailed empirical study of the wine consumption behaviour of domestic and international tourists at the heritage hotels in Rajasthan, India. The study is quantitative in nature with a mixed method using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis, based on a structured questionnaire fulfilled by 187 domestic and 143 international respondents in 24 heritage properties from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Pushkar during 2023–2024. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences between groups in wine consumption (domestic: M=4.83, SD=2.61; international: M=9.47, SD=3.82; t=12.84, p<0.001), in awareness of pairing wine with food, in brand orientation, and in heritage ambiance influence. The results of the factor analysis revealed four motivational dimensions with the following percentages of variance: Heritage & Experiential Motivation (22.8%), Social & Status Motivation (19.6%), Sensory & Quality Motivation (17.4%) and Price & Value Motivation (14.2%), accounting for 74% of the total variance. The regression analysis shows that the type of tourist, the heritage motivation and the social motivation are the most relevant variables in predicting wine consumption behaviour (R²=0.623, p<0.001). The study extends the concepts of Theory of Planned Behaviour and Cultural Dimensions Theory in the context of luxury heritage tourism, providing relevant and practical insights for hotel managers, wine curators, and tourism destination marketers in the state of Rajasthan. The results perform a contribution to the limited empirical literature available on the consumption of wine in non-traditional markets of South Asia.