PhD
 
Research to Examine the Business ‘Fit’ for Tourism and Wine

Daisy Dawson’s PhD research is casting new light on how wine businesses might deal with two major seasonality issues, to become effectively involved in tourism.

“Seasonality is a management issue faced by most tourist destinations and operators, particularly small operators, says Daisy, who completed a Masters at Griffith University, Gold Coast, and came to New Zealand on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

“In wine tourism, seasonality may be especially challenging because a winery hosting tourists must deal with the seasonality of tourism in conjunction with the seasonality of wine production.”

Her research is focusing on the experiences of boutique wineries in rural, cool-climate wine regions.  The project involves up to 25 case studies of wine businesses in Central Otago, and a similar number in The Finger Lakes, New York.

One of the major research goals is to establish how the experiences of wine businesses relate to the larger phenomenon of small, entrepreneurial, lifestyle business involvement in tourism in rural areas.
 
This will include an examination of the motivations for wineries becoming involved in tourism, the nature of networks and co-operative alliances within a rural area, and how these are perceived as a factor in the establishment of a wine tourism activity.

“Above all, we want to know how the wineries perceive these seasonality issues.  Is seasonality a problem to overcome or is it perceived as an opportunity?”

Daisy’s undergraduate programme was in International Affairs and Business, at George Washington University in Washington DC, which sparked an interest in the tourism industry.  After completing a Masters in international tourism and hospitality and management she identified Lincoln University as her first choice for advanced tourism studies.

“The work load is high, and a bit of shock compared with my undergraduate years, but it’s great to do research with people who make you feel like you’re part of a community.”

Daisy is aiming to complete her thesis early next year, and is thinking about a career in academia or within a regional tourism organisation in the US.

Her project is being supervised by Dr Joanna Fountain, Lecturer in Tourism, and Dr David Cohen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing.