Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement

Wil Martens

doi:10.30519/ahtr.1789530

Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement

Abstract

Digital transformation poses a pressing challenge for firms in experiential tourism, where competitiveness depends on how digital and physical resources are configured. This study investigates trade-offs between digital maturity and locational advantage using evidence from 89 winery websites in Niagara. A feature audit coded 58 website elements across informational, transactional, and relational categories, and hierarchical clustering identified three archetypes: Niche Operators, Digital Mainstream, and Advanced Integrators. External engagement data, including Google review volume, star ratings, sentiment scores, and traffic estimates, were linked to these clusters and analyzed using one-way ANOVAs with Tukey’s HSD. Results reveal two notable dynamics: firms in weaker locations relied more heavily on digital portfolios, while digital maturity was strongly associated with engagement reach but not sentiment quality. These findings highlight how resource substitution and complementarity shape strategic configurations, contributing to debates on digital transformation in tourism and offering insights for SMEs navigating digital–physical ecosystems.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Tourism (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Wil Martens ^*
0000-0001-8839-9412
Taiwan

Early Pub Date

April 1, 2026

Publication Date

-

Submission Date

September 23, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 19, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.1789530

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA73LD66AM

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Martens, W. (2026). Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.1789530

AMA

1.Martens W. Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR). 2026;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.30519/ahtr.1789530

Chicago

Martens, Wil. 2026. “Digital and Locational Trade-Offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement”. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), no. Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.1789530.

EndNote

Martens W (April 1, 2026) Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR) Advanced Online Publication

IEEE

[1]W. Martens, “Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement”, Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), no. Advanced Online Publication, Apr. 2026, doi: 10.30519/ahtr.1789530.

ISNAD

Martens, Wil. “Digital and Locational Trade-Offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement”. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR). Advanced Online Publication (April 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.1789530.

JAMA

1.Martens W. Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR). 2026. doi:10.30519/ahtr.1789530.

MLA

Martens, Wil. “Digital and Locational Trade-Offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement”. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), no. Advanced Online Publication, Apr. 2026, doi:10.30519/ahtr.1789530.

Vancouver

1.Wil Martens. Digital and Locational Trade-offs in Tourism: Insights from Winery Engagement. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR). 2026 Apr. 1;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.30519/ahtr.1789530