Dianne Dredge

Local tourism governance: a comparison of three network approaches

There is an absence of knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of different local tourism governance approaches. Consequently, experimenting with different modes of local tourism governance is increasingly common. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the ways in which three different local tourism governance networks operate, and the effects of this governance on local tourism policy. The three local tourism networks examined are a council-led network governance structure, a participant-led community network governance structure and a local tourism organisation (LTO)-led industry network governance structure. The study found that these governance arrangements were underpinned by four key trade-offs and that these tended to shape the effectiveness of local tourism governance. The significance of this paper is that it opens up discussion about local tourism governance, highlights the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches and reflects on their relevance to sustainable tourism management. The findings can inform local councils interested in improving their local organisation of tourism, and spur further research.

Networks, Conflict and Collaborative Communities

This paper develops critical understandings of the theoretical and practical implications of local tourism policy networks on collaborative planning. Application of the network concept in tourism has increased in recent years but has largely been focused on the competitive advantages of network organisation for small and medium size tourism enterprises. Critical discussion and development of the theoretical and operational dimensions of networks as a management approach beyond economic development has been limited. It is argued that network theory provides a useful lens for understanding the structures and social interrelations between government, tourism producers and civil society and, as such, has the potential to inform collaborative destination management policy and practice. This paper examines the contributions that networks can make in understanding collaborative planning, and how this knowledge may be able to improve collaborative planning practice.

Destination place planning and design

Abstract Destination place management requires that land use and development issues be addressed. Despite considerable advancement in the methodological processes, there is still no clear conceptual destination model to address these issues. Existing models have largely been developed through a fragmented case-study approach and have not yet achieved a sufficiently integrated conceptual basis for a comprehensive understanding of the spatial characteristics of destination regions. This paper attempts to sharpen the conceptualization of the core elements of destination regions by building upon existing models and concepts. The model presented here is a systemic construct and provides for a common platform from which investigations can proceed into the normative and functional aspects of spatial destination design.

Destination place identity and regional tourism policy

Tourism is essentially place-based and involves the production of destination identity at different scales. At any one time, organizations at national, regional and local levels are actively engaged in presenting and promoting place identity in order to attract tourists and increase market share. The drive to establish distinct destination identity in the tourism market place is derived from a range of complex and competing interests manifested at global and local scales. This paper focuses upon interconnections between place identity and the institutions of tourism planning and policy-making at the regional level. In New South Wales, Australia, regional tourism organizations are contentious. It is argued that more profound insights into the problems and challenges of regional tourism organizations can be gained by examining the global–local dialectic.

Going Green: Motivations for Environmental Commitment in the Airline Industry. A Case Study of Scandinavian Airlines

Many commentators have examined the airline industry’s impacts on the environment but not the internal management processes used to develop company environmental policies. This paper argues that environmental management tools need to take into consideration the complex, value-laden setting in which corporate environmental policy-making occurs if such tools are to be socially and politically legitimated. A case study of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) examines an airline’s decision-motivations for environmental commitment. An in-depth analysis of the drivers identified by both Scandinavian Airlines and related industry officials shows that attitudes, values and beliefs generated both internally and externally have a critical impact on the airline’s environmental policy-making. Although there are numerous influences that drive SAS’s level of environmental commitment, three ‘motivators’ are found particularly noteworthy. Firstly, this research demonstrates that eco-efficiencies, in various forms, are a strong motive at SAS. Secondly, Scandinavian culture also plays an influential role in the value SAS puts on the environment at a strategic level. Thirdly, it was found that internal leadership, in the form of environmental champions in senior management positions, played a key role in the positive outcomes of the airline’s environmental performance. Given the current growth in benchmarking and eco-labelling activity across tourism, this research enhances understandings about what motivates airlines to develop environmental policy in this increasingly competitive and volatile sector.

The collaborative economy and tourism: Critical perspectives, questionable claims and silenced voices

House swapping, ridesharing, voluntourism, couchsurfing, dinner hosting and similar innovations epitomize the collaborative economy. The rise of the collaborative economy, also known as collaborative consumption, the sharing economy and peer-to-peer consumption, has been fuelled by a range of social, economic and technological factors, including a shift away from ownership towards temporary access to goods; the use of technology mediated transactions between producers and consumers; direct host-guest relationships that contribute to a higher level of perceived authenticity of tourism experiences; and higher levels of consumer risk-taking balanced against mechanisms such as peer-to-peer feedback designed to engender trust between producers and consumers. This paper explores and critically assesses the collaborative economy and its implications for tourism industrial systems. It achieves this by mapping out the current knowledge dynamics characterizing tourism and the collaborative economy, paying particular attention to the asymmetries of knowledge that are emerging. The paper then identifies and critically discusses five pervasive claims being made about the collaborative economy, arguing for a balanced assessment of such claims. Highlighting these claims allows us to pursue a more reflective research agenda and leads to a more informed, evidence-based assessment of the collaborative economy and tourism.

Sustainable tourism pedagogy and academic-community collaboration: a progressive service-learning approach.

This article proposes a progressive, experiential and collaborative approach to sustainable tourism pedagogy (STP). Six core STP literacies (technical, analytical, ecological, multi-cultural, ethical, policy and political) are identified, which guide skill and knowledge development for the sustainability practitioner. These are facilitated through experiential education in the field that facilitates critical thinking, practical knowledge and participatory action. It is argued that a critical reflexive stance combined with a collaborative community service-learning approach in STP enables phronesis (practical wisdom) and praxis (social change). A case example is provided of an academic-community collaboration involving undergraduate students, local public and private sector stakeholders, plus diverse rural residents that came together temporarily to explore a cultural heritage issue and challenge. This collaboration facilitated collaborative learning, diverse community involvement and community service. The case overview illustrates a teaching opportunity that conveys how some of these STP priorities were undertaken, including the need for critical social action (to address not only environmental issues but also social-cultural sustainability issues related to the well-being of minority, marginalized and diverse populations).

Local Government Tourism Planning and Policy-making in New South Wales: Institutional Development and Historical Legacies

Local government has an important role in tourism planning and development but has been criticised for not being more proactive. Impediments to local government involvement in tourism planning and policy-making include lack of community interest; lack of resources; lack of appropriate research and information; lack of commitment to implementation; lack of co-ordination and communication; and lack of technical expertise. This paper argues that these impediments can be more accurately viewed as consequences of deeply embedded values, beliefs, ideas and perceptions about local government roles and responsibilities. The paper reviews the historical development of local government in New South Wales, Australia, with respect to tourism, and discusses the influence of institutional history on how tourism is dealt with in that state.

Mobilities on the Gold Coast, Australia: implications for destination governance and sustainable tourism

Mobilities of people, capital, labour, expertise, resources and images create significant challenges for sustainable destination governance. This paper discusses the implications of mobilities for destination governance where fluid populations of tourists, residents, second home owners and recreationists, and transnational flows of labour and capital intersect to create and recreate the physical, social, economic and political characteristics of place. Three key processes that affect destination management are identified: the spatial restructuring of destinations, the pluralisation of destination management and the re-envisioning of community. In a study of the hyper-neoliberal destination of the Gold Coast, Australia, mobilities are examined and implications for governance are discussed. Our research highlights the challenges of measuring, evaluating and understanding the extent and complexity of mobilities, and explores the tensions between mobilities and established sustainable tourism principles that suggest governance should be grounded in local community dialogue and values. The differences between “hard” and “soft” power structures in destination governance are noted. The paper contributes methodological insights into the study of mobilities and to theoretical and practical debates about the influence of mobilities on sustainable destination management, especially the need to re-visit the meanings of long-accepted concepts in sustainable tourism, including “public interest”, “community” and “community-based” tourism.

Event tourism governance and the public sphere

Political and sociological shifts have profoundly affected state, business and civil society relationships. This paper explores governance as a new form of public–private policymaking wherein stakeholders deliberate on and take action to achieve common goals. It examines how different public spheres facilitate (or not) sustainability debates, and specifically facilitate (or not) discussion about sustainable tourism. Using a case study of the 2009 Australian World Rally Championship, the paper explores the development of the public sphere. Tuckmans group development process – forming, storming, norming and performing – is employed as a lens to understand these processes. Key findings include: the way the public sphere is constituted has a major influence on the dialogue that takes place; citizens are currently reactive, rather than strategic and creative in their engagement; the “third way” project, seeking to empower communities, requires government commitment; there is a blurring of public–private interests; control of knowledge and expertise within the public sphere is largely controlled by corporate and state interests; fast action to secure events prevents debate and engagement; and a discursive public sphere is essential for transparent and accountable governance, and sustainable development, and to move beyond government by powerful corporate interests and extra-local rule systems.