This research was designed to identify the wineries and other locations that wine tourists visit during a day trip to Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula and the motivations contributing to travel decisions. Though wine tourist motivation has been examined in varying contexts, the observation of travel patterns in an emerging wine region such as the Leelanau Peninsula has yet to be understood either independently or in relation to motivation. The research questions of this study sought to identify itinerary patterns of wine tourists, the information sources that impact wine tourist itineraries, the factors that motivate wine tourists, and the relationship between motivations of wine tourists and itinerary patterns. This study was implemented over a period of seven days at wineries in the region. To effectively identify both wine tourists' motivations and itineraries, survey and map-diary instruments were used. Motivation was identified in terms of push and pull factors. Maps developed from the results of the map-diaries report visitation to all locations and road use between attractions, revealing distinct patterns. The survey results show that the most important motivations were to taste wine, get away, purchase wine, and relieve stress. Tourists that were highly motivated by both push and pull factors visited the most wineries, and those that more were motivated by factors specific to wine visited more wineries than those motivated by non-wine specific factors. Implications for wine tourism research in emerging wine destinations, and the destination marketing and tourism planning strategies of winery operators result from this study.
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