This essay is the winning article by Silvija Prancane from Latvia as entry for the essay competition.
Tourism destination management is one of the most complex processes in the business world. How to manage the destination? Who is responsible for it? These are most often heard questions that always raise strong discussions.
The tourism destination is not just a large company with CEO. Tourismdestination can be described as entity that involves great amount of stakeholdergroups with their different interests and ambitions. Moreover, they are closelyinterdependent due to held fragmented control over planning and development.The decision-making process requires high professionalism to communicateeffectively and establish cooperation in order to reach set goals of tourism destination development.
There is a consideration that without innovations business management can not reach sustainable growth and development. Innovations can be described as new changes, to be implemented. The innovation process rises from the interdependence between the factors that influence tourism destination development (causes) and set goals. It can be seen from various points of views Firstly, the cause can be identified as the main driving force for the innovation. For example, the unexpected decrease of tourist arrivals to the destination is motivating the management to take the action, develop innovative strategy to overcome the downturn. On another hand, the set goals can be seen as the driving force for the innovation. For instance, if the tourism destination set as the main goal to increase the income from international arrivals new culture tourism products are introduced into market.
Innovations can be implemented in different ways. Often innovations are related with structure reorganization of the management, so called organizational innovations. After collapse of Soviet Union, the new independent countries, such as Baltic States, implemented a new organizational structure, from more centralized, power is hold only by the responsible ministry, to more decentralize when an independent Development Agency has been established. In the mean time the increase of various non-profit organizations that represent different tourism sectors has been notified. Marketing sector is an immense area for development of innovations. New developed tourism products, branding strategy are of great importance for tourism management and are forced by the set goal to increase competitiveness and awareness of the destination.
As discussed in the academic literature, effective destination management is possibly the most problematic issue facing tourism managers in the twenty-first century.1 In order to ensure the effectiveness of the management, it requires great innovations to develop integrated approach, to involve various stakeholder groups into decision-making process.
In my opinion the development of integrated tourism destination management framework is one of the most remarkable innovations in the tourism field.
Destinations have been working on implementation of various approaches but there is no perfect model that could be used as copy-paste in any destination which is interested to develop efficient management. Each destination is an unique case, it is unique due to its great variety stakeholders involved, and their fragmented power to influence the decision-making process, moreover, the vision of development, desired goals varies remarkably by each stakeholder group. It is great challenge for tourism managers to develop this framework of integrated destination management. Nevertheless, the challenge has to be implemented in order to avoid from destructive and chaotic development that leads towards the collapse of profitable tourism industry in the destination.
Most often the greatest focus within the management is on promotion, marketing, to reach great competitiveness in the global market, to profit from tourism development in the destination. However the development of destination, its community reflects that the outer approach which is from the destination managers towards its target markets can not be effective without the cooperation between the management and local community. Respectively, the balance between outer and inner approach is required.
Tourism development is sensitive process from the perspective that it brings together local community, which can be said at certain point owns their destination and offers their land to tourists, who have arrived to enjoy, to use the resources of the destination.
Many destinations have used different innovative approaches. It varies from developed systems of communication and networks of collaboration towards the establishments of organizations to unite great variety and amount of involved stakeholders. At last but not at least these organizational innovations are highly dependent on involvement and willingness from the stakeholders. The level of involvement from the stakeholders can greatly facilitate the success of the development of innovations or completely the opposite; put high barriers for integrated destination management.
Integrated destination management framework is fascinating many researchers in the field; furthermore there is a great room for opportunities and innovations to facilitate effective destination management.
1 Collaborative Networks and Partnerships for Integrated Destination Management By: Tazim Jamal and Ute Jamrozy; In: Tourism Management Dynamics (2006)
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