Abstract:

Wine tourism has become an experiential tourism segment characterized by strong sensory engagement. However, limited research has examined whether visitors perceive these sensory experiences differently across sociodemographic characteristics. This study investigates visitors’ sociodemographic characteristics differences in perceptions of multisensory wine tourism experiences in Portugal. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to individuals who had participated in at least one wine tourism activity in the previous year, yielding 342 valid responses. Non-parametric statistical tests, including Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests, were used to examine differences between groups. The results reveal statistically significant differences across sociodemographic characteristics in four dimensions: multisensory wine elements, multisensory experiential elements, sustainability attitudes and satisfaction, with male respondents reporting higher evaluations across all constructs. These findings highlight the importance of visitor heterogeneity in designing wine tourism experiences and suggest that wineries and destination managers should develop more targeted experiential strategies.