Abstract
Wine tourism as a separate sub-sector of the tourism industry is constantly evolving and changing in terms of its content and structure. New market trends, as well as the experience gained by wine producers in the implementation of projects for the development of wine tourism, business initiatives and investments by local and national authorities, European and international institutions, contribute to a much more dynamic nature of this type of tourism in comparison with its initial stage of development in the 90s in Bulgaria, respectively in Europe in the early 90s of the XX century. This type of tourism meets the needs of modern man for a short escape – detachment from the daily rhythm of urban life, contact with nature, acquaintance with the cultural characteristics of an area, entertainment and recreation in areas with unchanged view of the negative effects of mass tourism. The significant increase in the number of tourists interested in wine has motivated many communities to develop wine tourism. The aim of the present study is, through a retrospective review, to bring out the current problems of wine tourism and on this basis to outline the prospects for its development.
Key words: wine tourism, market trends, wine producers, retrospective, perspectives