Book excerpt: Get the advantage you need to compete in the worldwide food and wine tourism marketplace! Wine, Food, and Tourism Marketing is an overview of contemporary practices and trends in food and wine tourism marketing. International in scope, the book draws on studies from Canada, England, France, New Zealand, South Africa, and Scotland for analyses of contemporary practices and trends that help you develop, implement, and maintain strategic competitive advantages. The book looks at case studies of business operations, seasonality, destination image, and the development of business networks. Equally valuable as a professional resource for practitioners and as a textbook for upper-level and graduate students in tourism, hospitality, and wine and food studies, Wine, Food, and Tourism Marketing examines the importance of food and wine tourism to rural regional development. The book presents destination management planning and marketing initiatives for specific markets that can be easily adapted and applied to a wider range of wine tourism settings. Tourism marketing researchers and academics address vital issues such as the importance of collective marketing strategies, viticulture, design factors for online tourism information, and the use of food images in promotional material and positioning strategies. The book includes: a 2001 research study on French public sector management of wine tourism an examination of the cider industry in Somerset, England a look at the implications of non resident tourist markets on British Columbia’s emerging wine tourism industry an analysis of the types of food images used in French regional tourism brochures a national study of seasonality issues on wine tourism in New Zealand a look at post-apartheid tourism trends on South Africa’s Western Cape a survey of eight wineries on the Niagara Falls wine route with implications for marketing strategies a study of the use of local and regional food for destination marketing of South Africa a look at how food-related tourism in the United Kingdom is being promoted using the World Wide Web Wine, Food, and Tourism Marketing is an essential read for practitioners and educators involved in tourism and hospitality, marketing, food and wine studies, and rural regional development.