Winery Tourism Competitiveness Across Macro, Meso and Micro Data Hierarchies: Comparative Evidence from France, South Africa, and Romania

Authors

  • David Priilaid School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
  • Antoine Pinede Haute Ecole de Gestion de Genève, HES-SO, Carouge, Switzerland
  • Monica Maria Coroş Transylvania Business School, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55482/jcim.2026.36350

Keywords:

winery tourism, competitiveness, strategy, France, South Africa, Romania

Abstract

This study examines how winery tourism contributes to broader tourism competitiveness across France, South Africa, and Romania using a multiscalar framework that integrates national indicators, sectoral tourism activity, and firm-level data. The analysis reveals a clear disconnect between overall tourism rankings and niche performance: South Africa emerges as a leading wine tourism destination despite a relatively low national tourism ranking, France underperforms in winery tourism despite its global tourism leadership, and Romania shows growing potential as an emerging market despite infrastructure constraints. The findings extend traditional competitiveness theory by emphasizing multilevel dynamics, policy-responsive factor conditions, and feedback effects through which niche-sector success can enhance national tourism branding. Practically, the study underscores the value of targeting high-potential tourism niches and adopting more granular performance metrics, offering a more inclusive and forward-looking model of tourism competitiveness that captures innovation and specialization alongside national capacity.

Author Biographies

David Priilaid, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

David Priilaid is Associate Professor at the School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa. He teaches entrepreneurship, creativity, and strategy. His research focuses on wine business innovation, creativity in music and business, and entrepreneurship, with over 50 publications in international journals and conferences. He serves on the Board of the Global Wine Business Institute as Regional Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East.

Antoine Pinede, Haute Ecole de Gestion de Genève, HES-SO, Carouge, Switzerland

Antoine Pinède is a scientific collaborator at the Global Wine Business Institute (Geneva School of Business Administration, HES-SO), where he studies market dynamics and consumer behaviour in the wine sector. His work combines econometrics, surveys and experimental designs to understand how production choices, branding and consumption contexts shape consumer judgements.

Monica Maria Coroş, Transylvania Business School, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Monica Maria Coroş is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She teaches subjects in the areas of management, tourism, and hospitality. Her research covers topics related to destination management organizations, sustainable tourism, rural tourism, entrepreneurship, and SMEs and adds up to over 100 articles, books, and book chapters published in national and international conferences and reputable journals and books. She is a member of the FuTourWork Horizon project dedicated to workers’ wellbeing in tourism and hospitality.

Published

2026-06-22

How to Cite

Priilaid, D., Pinede, A., & Coroş, M. M. (2026). Winery Tourism Competitiveness Across Macro, Meso and Micro Data Hierarchies: Comparative Evidence from France, South Africa, and Romania. Journal of Comparative International Management, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.55482/jcim.2026.36350