Intra- and Inter-Destination Cooperation Networks

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although cooperation in tourist destinations is often discussed in the literature, it is still valuable to search for new ways of assessing such cooperation. This concerns especially intra- and inter-destination collaboration. The aim of the paper is to discuss how cooperation within and among five tourist destinations forming one region can be assessed using the structural properties of the network. A region called the “Beskid Five”, located in Poland, was used as an example. It consists of five municipalities whose mayors signed an agreement on joint promotion. Its aim was to stimulate inter-municipal cooperation among tourism stakeholders from three different sectors (public, private and non-profit). Network analysis was used to assess cooperation among 225 key actors forming the “Beskid Five” network, representing all 3 sectors. This means of assessment provided a view of cooperation from a new perspective and can be applied in other tourist regions for development planning purposes.