Employing a lifecycle typology to generate a unified and strategic approach to regional wine tourism development

As a leading player in the international wine arena, Australia's wine regions have experienced the full range of lifecycle stages. This article uses a lifecycle typology that classifies regions as emerging, growing, maturing and rejuvenating to examine the value, strength and importance of regional networks and alliances. Wine regions were selected in each typology category and a series of 47 in-depth interviews were conducted with winery owners and operators, tourism associations, tourism agencies and ancillary networks that helped to promote wine regions. The findings suggest that growing regions were the most likely to have well established, effective and strategic alliances that would assist them to achieve the next stage of development, while other categories within the typology lacked consistent, dynamic and coherent networks and alliances. The article discusses the implications for wine regions and practitioners as well as policy and planning agencies.