On caravaning tour in wine regions. Photo: M.studio - Adobestock They report advantages such as increased sales, acquiring new customers, and raising brand awareness. The combination of motorhome tourism and wine tourism opens attractive opportunities for both producers and tourists. Caravan tourism in Germany not only represents a sustainable vacation trend but also significant economic growth potential. The positive development of this sector is a clear signal of the need to further expand infrastructure and promote innovative concepts to meet the demands of modern caravaning travelers. The future of caravan tourism in Germany looks promising, with great opportunities for the economy, tourism, and local communities. Wine regions are attractive destinations for motorhome tourists. Among the groups most fond of caravaning are 50- to 65-year-olds in Germany, who are also a key target group for wine consumption.

Enjoy nature and wine where it grows. Photo: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS - Adobestock Motorhome tourists who visit wine-growing regions are characterized by higher wine consumption and greater interest in wine. About three-quarters of respondents knew they were visiting a wine region, and for around 40 percent of all guests, wine was a deciding factor when choosing their destination. Awareness that wineries offer parking spaces for motorhomes is also quite high at 64%, and nearly half of respondents could imagine using such parking spaces. According to the survey, three-quarters of motorhome travelers buy wine during their stay in a wine-growing region, and every second person brings at least one bottle home.

The trend of exploring wine regions by motorhome is picked up by the Baden Wine Royalty with a tour through the Baden growing region. The 10-day tour started at the Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein winery in Offenburg and took the trio of wine royalty through the entire growing area from Ortenau to the Baden Bergstraße and Lake Constance. With their tour, the wine royalty Julia Noll, Alisa Höll, and Katharina Bruder want to draw attention to the charming cultural landscape and simultaneously raise awareness among winemakers of the growing potential of caravan tourism. “The desire for closeness to nature makes caravan tourists an interesting target group for wine tourism because where else can you experience our cultural landscape more authentically than at the winery or a parking space close to the vineyard?” said Holger Klein, Managing Director of the Baden Wine Association. The camper tour is supported not only by the Baden Wine Association but also by Bürstner in Kehl, which provided a leisure van of the Campeo c600 line for the duration of the journey.

A study by the German Wine Institute (DWI) and Geisenheim University, conducted before the COVID pandemic with support from all 13 regional wine marketing organizations, scientifically examined the economic importance of wine tourism in Germany. During the two-year study spanning all 13 German wine regions, a total of 900 wineries and 4,500 tourists were surveyed. One of the core tasks of the project was to determine the economic importance of tourism in the German wine regions. The study could serve as a decision-making basis for investments in the regions to better exploit the tourism potential. At that time, 50 million people annually traveled primarily because of wine to the German wine regions and spent €5.5 billion there. The income of around 86,000 people in the 13 growing areas depended directly on wine tourism.