Enhancing stakeholder networks in wine tourism – evidence from Italian small municipalities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore validity and reliability of a possible collaboration model for wine tourism with a “public” basis, i.e. from the point of view of the municipality engaged in promoting the wine tourism industry insisting on the territory. Design/methodology/approach – The survey, proposing a theoretical/empirical framework, has investigated, through an electronic platform, the municipalities belonging to the National Association of “Wine Cities.” Findings – The research has demonstrated a substantial trustworthiness of the model, with further evidence about the underestimation of stakeholder networks on behalf of Italian small municipalities. A clear difference of perception between non-small municipalities and small municipalities has emerged with regard to the perceived relevance of the collaboration with the territorial wine tourism players/stakeholders. Practical implications – A recent legislation in Italy, just focused on small municipalities, might help overcome these gaps, between non-small municipalities and small municipalities, releasing in the territories new energies for the development of wine tourism, from both planning and financing points of view. Originality/value – Italy as country is the largest producer of wine in the world. Similarly, wine tourism, as additional wine business opportunity, is a successful phenomenon in Italy, even though with great margins of development (especially with comparison to the New World of Wine). One of the main limits of this delay is the lack of public-private collaboration, at widespread level, among the players/stakeholders of the sector. The model that has been proposed in this research contributes scientifically and practically to fill this gaps.