Geographic Information Systems are critical tools to manage wine tourism regions

Abstract

The popularisation and sophistication of wine tourism has transformed many rural regions around the globe. Understanding land cover and land use in the context of winescapes is critical, as well as mapping the development of tourism services and infrastructure. Geotechnology offers a number of tools to manage wine tourism destinations. Remote sensing and GIS data are used to analyse the early stages of tourism development in São Joaquim, Brazil, and how its new economic dynamics have evolved driven by the production of high-altitude wines and wine tourism. A cultural landscape analysis provides an understanding of the processes of economic activities, particularly considering the distinct geophysical landforms of the study area. We identify land cover and the classification of land use using primary and secondary data. QGIS software was used for the intersection between data from satellite imagens processing and secondary data. The results show that remote sensing and the use of GIS were practical resources in carrying out a preliminary analysis of cultural landscapes, especially winescapes, providing a database useful in territorial planning. The information gathered by this methodology identifies problems, enables planning the expansion of cultivation, and can be used to manage native vegetation areas and built-up areas. The combined findings provide support for discussing the relationship between winescapes, land use and cover, and their relationship to tourism. The database developed supports territorial planning in the context of wine tourism regions, and is a replicable asset for other rural areas worldwide. The information also supports the establishing of a geographical indication of origin for high altitude wines.