Dean Hristov

The destination paradigm continuum revisited: DMOs serving as leadership networks

Purpose – This paper aims to serve as an introduction to a rather under-researched field. It aims to provide a conceptual definition of destination management organisations (DMOs) serving as leadership networks in destinations drawing on what is to be called the DMO Leadership Cycle – a guiding framework integrating the perspectives of management, governance and leadership to influence destination development trajectories. Design/methodology/approach – A synthesis of the extant literature on destination management and governance, coupled with the latest academic contributions in destination leadership serves to uncover the existence of a gap in the way leadership is seen in the underpinned domain. DMOs are conceptualised and their role in serving as leadership networks in destinations is then critically discussed. Findings – Perspectives of destination management, governance and leadership and their interaction with one another is fundamental to DMOs serving as leadership networks. The paper provides just...

Destination management plans – a new approach to managing destinations in England: evidence from Milton Keynes

Within a new political and economic context, Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) across England are expected to facilitate a more holistic and inclusive approach to destination management and provide core leadership functions, rather than being solely responsible for the marketing and development of destinations. Destination Management Plans (DMPs) are an expression of a government-mandated, current policy-driven approach to guiding the work of private-led DMOs. These DMOs are being challenged to achieve a more sustainable level of performance in times of decreasing state funding. Building on the scarce literature surrounding this new approach to managing destinations, this paper looks into how an emerging destination has approached the development of such a plan in practice. The paper examines the case of Milton Keynes and its local destination management structure, the collaborative approach to policy development and the resultant DMP. The paper concludes by discussing the importance of the key aims of the plan and their relevance to comparable emerging destinations, which are developing DMPs.

From graduate employability to employment: policy and practice in UK higher education

The purpose of this paper is to enrich the current conceptualization of graduate employability and employment through the lens of policy, academia and practice in UK higher education. We examine the UK policy context that is shaping graduate employability and employment debates before enriching this conceptualization through a discussion of key themes in the academic literature. We then undertake a comparative study across a sample of 35 higher education institutions in the UK to identify and discuss key employability practice areas shaping their graduate employability and employment provision. We do so by drawing on institutional employability data that is already available in the public domain. In mapping key themes in the literature against institutional employability practice, we conclude that the employer-university interaction theme in the literature is not sufficiently addressed in UK higher education practice. Drawing on the evidence from our comparative study, we provide a discussion on four directions worthy of further exploration by universities as they shape their institutional responses to the lack of employer-university interaction.

Does distributed leadership have a place in destination management organisations? A policy-makers perspective

Within an increasingly networked environment and recent transitions in the landscape of funding for destination management organisations (DMOs) and destinations, pooling knowledge and resources may well be seen as a prerequisite to ensuring the long-term sustainability of reshaped, yet financially constrained DMOs facing severe challenges to deliver value to destinations, visitors and member organisations. Distributed Leadership (DL) is a recent paradigm gaining momentum in destination research as a promising response to these challenges. Building on the scarce literature on DL in a DMO context, this paper provides a policy-makers’ perspective into the place of DL in reshaped DMOs and DMOs undergoing transformation and explores current challenges and opportunities to the enactment and practice of DL. The underpinned investigation used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with policy-makers from VisitEngland following an interview agenda based on the DMO Leadership Cycle. Policy-makers within VisitEngland saw a multitude of opportunities for DMOs with regards to DL, but equally, they emphasised challenges acting as barriers to realising the potential benefits of introducing a DL model to DMOs as a response to uncertainty in the funding landscape.