WINE TOURISM CONSULTANCY
TIM CLARKE’S EXPERIENCE IN WINE TOURS & TOURISM
Tim is one of the pioneers of Wine Tourism. He was the co-creator of Arblaster & Clarke Winetours, (founded in Autumn 1986), which was by far the most successful wine tours company in the world, then, and since, or indeed it seems in the foreseeable future.
Tim’s key responsibilities in steering this business successfully for nearly 30 years were marketing, the ‘wine identity’, the brochures, the size and shape of the programme, the individual tour design and the decisions regarding who to visit.
During this period, starting in the early days of wine tourism going right through to the industry becoming developed with commercial offerings, Tim led several hundred winetours all around the world. This involved visiting and enormous number of wine producers and experiencing all kind of wine tourism services.
TIM CLARKE & LYNETTE ARBLASTER – CURRENT ACTIVITY
Following the sale of Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours in Spring 2015, Tim took two tours and then had no further involvement, playing no part in what happened to it.
Tim now consults on tourism and tour operating, in particular on wine tourism and aspects of wine identity. His experience forged in visiting so many wine regions and wineries over such a long period of time gives him a unique experience, which when combined with his strategic thinking is potentially invaluable to wine tourism practitioners of all kinds.
He is ‘Head of Wine Tourism’ at Kirker Holidays, an excellent and highly respected British Tour Operator. He wrote a strategy paper for them and set up the first winetours programme for them, which is now developing nicely. He has led tours to Champagne and Rioja & Northern Spain for Kirker and has designing further tours which will appear shortly.
Tim is also ‘Wine Ambassador’ for Variety Cruises of Greece, consulting on an on-going basis to this small ship cruise company that he worked with as a partner going back to the early 1990s. Tim designed a wine programme with a first Small Ship Wine Cruise in late summer 2022 and a second planned for September 2023.
He has also consulted to a small specialist tour operator start up, working with his wife Lynette Arblaster, to deliver launch and development strategies in these testing times.
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SPEAKING AT WINE TOURISM CONFERENCES
Tim has spoken at many conferences in Spain, Portugal, Republic of Georgia and England, where he presented a paper on Wine Tourism strategy at the 9th International Cool Climate Wine Symposium in 2016. he has also presented a paper to the Catalan wine industry and was the closing speaker at the Wine GB Wine Tourism Conference in 2021.
Tim is an engaging speaker with a deep understanding of winetourism and wine tourism strategies for success. With reasonable notice, Tim is available to talk at conferences anywhere in the world and to consult on Wine Tourism to wineries, wine regions and countries and to Tour Operators outside the UK and Greece.
STRATEGIC THINKING ON WINETOURS
As Director responsible for Marketing at Arblaster & Clarke, Tim was the ‘strategist’. In a small business, the link between marketing and sales is short, but against this the ‘vision thing’ can be so massive that it is almost completely disconnected from reality or sanity as currently perceived. – When Tim and Lynette outlined their idea for winetours to the bank (in 1986), the bank would not even let them open an account. Another bank, the TSB, asked less questions, and 3 years later Tim and Lynette were leading a group of 50 Champagne house owners around the California vineyards.
A&C wasn’t the first business Lynette Arblaster had started, by 26 she had already been dabbling in importing pottery from Portugal and looking into villa lettings and well as being a manager for a well-known, quality tour operator. Formative to her approach to business, was her experiences at the front-line as a destination manager during the collapse of a badly-run mass market tour operator.
Nor was wine tours Tim’s first business idea, crucially he had co-founded a firm devising strategy games several years earlier. Initially, his role there had been the specialist knowledge but this developed into the game mechanics and theory.
WINETOURISM STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT FOR THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
Tim wrote a highly influential strategy paper for the Economic Prosperity Initiative of The Republic of Georgia on Wine Tourism Development. Crucial to this, were discussions regarding treatment of tradition in developing the identity. There was also an action plan covering the Wine Trade and the wine touring public. Tim’s study for the EPI Georgia is referenced in the World Tourism Organisation U.N.W.T.O. Global Report on Gastronomy Tourism.
See Page 181 with arguments and methods used and repeated elsewhere. (Please be aware that this link doesn’t always seem to work!!). https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284418701
TIM CLARKE & LYNETTE ARBLASTER AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS ASPECTS OF SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATING & WINE TOURISM
Tim and Lynette are happy to advise Tour Operators in the UK and abroad on all aspects of Specialist Tour Operating and Wine Tourism, as long as this does not clash with commitments to Kirker Holidays or Variety Cruises.
They are also available to consult to wineries, wine regions or even countries, on everything from tasting room design and visit shape and purpose, through to grand strategy.
Please call to discuss any project or idea, large or small.
