Pietro Beritelli

Destination Governance: Using Corporate Governance Theories as a Foundation for Effective Destination Management

This article adds to the ongoing debate on the performance of corporate-based versus community-based destination management models. New forms of integrated, centrally managed destinations challenge the business models of traditional, historically grown destinations driven by decentralized ownership. This article analyzes the contribution of corporate governance theories to the explanation of destination governance structures and evolution. The research uses six selected dimensions of corporate governance, and the operationalization through concrete items, to analyze and assess twelve destinations in the Swiss Alps. Various destination governance forms and mechanisms reveal the context for conditions for success.

The New Frontiers of Destination Management Applying Variable Geometry as a Function-Based Approach

This study challenges the way the research community has approached issues and implemented concepts in the field of destination management. In contrast to previous contributions that deliver a particular framework, this study aims to literally deframe the construct of the destination. To this end, we propose an alternative and dynamic viewpoint for researchers and practitioners that might have evolved decades ago, if the research community had not tried to constrain or reduce the phenomenon of the destination to a comprehensive and inherently static system. We identify the main problems of destination management and attempt to explain the reason for the many failures and shortcomings in practice. Building on an alternative concept, we present its applicability to the case of the currently ongoing reform of the destination management organizations (DMOs) in Switzerland. The study has a conceptual character, although its practical relevance has been proved over the past two years.

From Destination Governance to Destination Leadership : Defining and exploring the significance with the help of a systemic perspective

Purpose – Starting from the tenet that destination management deserves a systemic approach the authors first explain the meaning of systemic leadership and then discuss its relevance for tourist destinations. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it develops a concept of destination leadership based on a systemic perspective and therefore prevents a common misunderstanding, namely that destination leadership may simply generate from organizational leadership. Second, the concept builds on extant literature on destination governance and in so doing it stretches the vector of this research stream (governance) into a supplemental field (leadership). Design/methodology/approach – Based on recent empirical research in the field of systemic research in destinations, the concept of destination leadership is elaborated in a wider context of destination management. Findings – As a result, a set of dimensions and mechanisms which drive the systemic development of destinations can be distilled. A framework for fu...

Interlocking directorships against community closure: a trade-off for development in tourist destinations

Purpose – In remote rural areas such as the Alps, communities present a set of specific laws, norms and rules. According to social capital theory, these idiosyncrasies are founded on the closure of the actors in the community. On the contrary, as tourist destinations develop, enterprises and organizations gradually acquire non‐local directors in the boards, slowly affecting the identity of the local community. The aim of the paper is to analyze whether interlocking directorships with board members, residing outside of the destination, really increases openness in the boards of the organizations.Design/methodology/approach – For a set of salient organizations in six tourism destinations in Austria and in Switzerland, the authors analyzed the networks of interlocks between local and non‐local (outside of the region, outside of the country) board directors.Findings – Chi‐square tests for group differences in tie densities show that, with the exception of the control destination Zurich, intragroup linkages (i...

Do actors really agree on strategic issues? Applying consensus analysis of stakeholder perceptions in tourist destination communities.

Consensus on strategic issues in tourist destination communities is an integral part of the extensive body of literature on destination planning and destination policy making. But while there are numerous contributions addressing methods and concepts for achieving explicit consensus, research on implicit consensus among decision-makers that increases the likelihood of collective action is lacking. This article focuses on individual perceptions of prominent actors in four European Alpine destinations and the question of whether they implicitly agree upon selected strategic dimensions. With the help of network data and the application of formal consensus analysis, the empirical research identifies whether there is one common truth and if so, which actors know the truth best and which are the ones who are bad informants or even create dissent. Despite the earlier and ongoing planning processes in the research sites, which involves most of these actors, and despite the explicitly agreed-upon destination strategies and plans, the results show only partial consensus. Against expectations, the best informants are not the most influential actors but rather those prominent individuals who reside in relatively marginal positions, at hierarchical middle levels and with limited responsibility. The results indicate that the less concerned some individuals are with a strategic dimension, the more likely they give the culturally correct answer, because they do not have to advocate or defend a differentiated position. Additionally, external individuals may catalyze the formation of consensus over time, but only after they have first destabilized stalemate perceptions and positions among the local actors. The article concludes with implications for destination planning that complement the current approaches.

Maximizing online bookings through a multi-channel-strategy-effects of interdependencies and networks

Hotel managers are being challenged by the increasing multitude of distribution and sales channels. Online travel agencies (OTAs) in particular generate a great deal of uncertainty: Which are the best ones? Which ones offer the best conditions? How many channels are optimal for my hotel? How can I evaluate costs versus benefits? These and other questions concerning the optimal online distribution channel strategy have produced different reactions in practice. The aim of this paper is to challenge the need for an over-optimization of channel strategy by proposing that the consumer, at the end, deals with a network of information presented on one networked environment, including the Web. Hence, the network effect of the numerous online platforms is what drives consumer choice and, finally, bookings.,A series of multiple regressions with representative samples of hotels in Switzerland from the years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 was performed to estimate the importance of the number of platforms against other independent variables. Additionally, further multiple regressions with samples from the years 2011 and 2012 using the most important platforms (first-tier channels) shows again that the number of platforms is more important.,The analyses show that the estimated number of online bookings by the respondents in the hotels is a result of the number of channels, not the type of channel. This is particularly true for non-categorized establishments and one- and two-star hotels. The analyses do not confirm the billboard effect, according to which particular platforms (first-tier channels) increase the probability of bookings. Thus, the survival strategy is to maximize share of shelf and to build on interdependencies and network effects.,The study looks only at online bookings. Additional research into the connection between online and offline channels, particularly from the viewpoint of the consumer, will provide further insights. The study looks at the booking volume per channel, not the monetary sales volume or the profit. A study that quantifies not only the volume of bookings but also the total profit or the contribution to profit per channel could quantify the benefits of the multi-channel strategy.,The multiple online channel strategy seems to be the more effective approach to maximizing bookings online, regardless of the platforms chosen. Results of the study challenge the current opinion among practitioners that the multitude of distribution channels forces them to choose among single online channels and, therefore, drives the search for criteria to assess these channels or even to disregard them. The consistent results across 2009-2012 show that even in the turbulent phase of the advent of OTAs in the travel industry, hotels can adopt a winning strategy. Finally, the results suggest that the intermediation of online distribution of hotel beds has approached the condition of perfect competition, causing the OTA business model to be cannibalized.

Market segmentation by reasons and influences to visit a destination: the case of international visitors to Australia

This article is about segmenting international holiday travelers on the basis of their motivations to travel to a certain destination�in this case Australia. For this task, using a two-step procedure, we clustered complementary reasons for, and influences on, travel to Australia by visitors, whose primary travel purpose was leisure. The results revealed that there are two groups of visitors. Members of cluster 1 (62.3%) turn out to be comparably older, originate predominantly from Asia, New Zealand, and the US, and visit relatives and stay either at a friends or relatives home as well as hotels. In contrast, visitors defining cluster 2 (37.7%) are comparably younger, originate mainly from Europe and Japan, stay in a variety of types of accommodation, and experience a broad panoply of what Australia has to offer, while in some cases working. The results further suggest that (1) immigrants from comparably nearby origin markets fuel an increasing demand with regard to interpersonal relations to their home country (cluster 1), and (2) Australia proves to be an attractive destination, especially in long-haul markets with high international travel propensity, such as Europe and Japan as opposed to the US (cluster 2).

SOLO TRAVEL - EXPLORATIVE INSIGHTS FROM A MATURE MARKET (SWITZERLAND)

This study examines solo travel, and offers (1) a conceptual framework of solo travelers, (2) a profile of these types of travelers (by socio-demographic characteristics), and (3) a profile of travels (by specific descriptors). The data for this study stem from a comprehensive survey of Swiss travel behavior conducted in 2004 by the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). The conceptual model is derived from transportation research. It proposes an a priori segmentation of four types of solo travel, delineated on the combination of the (1) departure status (a single, one-person household, compared to a collective, multi-persons household) and (2) arrival status (solo travel, compared to group travel), thus creating a two-by-two matrix with four segments overall. Solo travelers basically either tend to foster an existing social network or try to nurse their curiosity and at the same time look for new social contacts. The results of the profiling further reveal significant differences between the solo travel groups, as well as towards a control group incorporating all other travel. They include income, profession, and age, as well as familiarity with the destination, choice of type of accommodation, expenditures and various types of trips. However, no significant differences can be reported with regard to the choice of destination.

The coordinating DMO or coordinators in the DMO? – an alternative perspective with the help of network analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative perspective on understanding the coordinating role of destination management organizations. Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) are known to have a coordinating role within a destination. Many qualitative case studies discuss this role in the institutional context, assuming that the DMO is supposed to coordinate the network of the organizations and stakeholder groups in the destination. By contrast, this paper analyzes the coordinator role of DMOs by focusing primarily on the prominent individuals (directors and board members) affiliated with it. In so doing, it proposes an alternative perspective on these organizations. Looking at the influential individuals in the destination, in particular those affiliated with the DMO, reveals new insights into what the DMO alternatively could be from an individual’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Using social network analysis, the coordinator role of the actors affiliated with the DM...

Building trust and identity on the Web - New IT transaction platforms to overcome psychological barriers to rent

In Switzerland the holiday-home-market is a major pillar in the accommodation sector as there are more holiday apartment beds than hotel beds. While the number of hotel beds decreases for economic reasons a positive trend of holiday apartment beds exists, but only a limited number of second homes are on the market. This study investigates the barriers-to-rent on an economical, social and psychological level based on theoretical models and empirical survey in Swiss destinations. It was found that IT could play an important role in increasing the number of second-home beds available on the market. By using internet platforms which connect owners, guests and agents, psychological and economic barriers for owners can be overcome. Especially the psychological barriers, which include identity and trust issues encounter positive effects if web-platforms are introduced. The results of this study also give insights for the durable goods in the leisure sector and their rental.