Is There a Good Model for Implementing Governance in Tourist Destinations? The Opinion of Experts

María De La Cruz Pulido-Fernández,Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández

doi:10.3390/su11123342

María De La Cruz Pulido-Fernández, Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123342

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Jun 17, 2019
Citations: 17	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Jaén

Abstract

The scientific literature and reports by international bodies recognise the importance of governance in tourism. This is a process whereby different stakeholders interact in order to solve problems and find opportunities for the different sectors involved. For the purposes of this article, different approaches have been analysed with the aim of understanding the full governance process among stakeholders. In order to validate the main findings, a panel of experts was set up to establish the characteristics a model should have when implementing the principles of good governance as a key tool for managing tourist destinations. This model is aimed at guaranteeing the sustainable development of tourism and enhancing competitiveness. There is a great consensus about how governance must be applied, establishing an open and participatory model which must be transparent and effective, capable of attracting the participation, coordination and collaboration among stakeholders using a clear methodology divided into different stages: diagnosis, planning and strategy, execution and monitoring, and evaluation.

Highlights

The aim of this paper is to identify the desired characteristics of the methodology used to implement the concept of governance as a tool for the sustainable management of tourist destinations anywhere in the world
The need to share responsibilities, to have more instruments, to improve competitiveness, to have a greater capacity to achieve the goals set out when developing tourism within a destination, and the need for this tourism development to be effective and sustainable, make it essential to use the concept of governance in the sustainable development of any destination [1]
The first stage entailed examining the existing literature, focusing on the application of governance and its importance in the sustainable management of tourist destinations among the literature reviewed, this study found, for sustainable tourism, [46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53] among others; for governance [21,31,33,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62], among others; for good governance [16,31,32,63,64], among others; and for tourism governance [27,35,65,66,67,68], among others

Summary

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to identify the desired characteristics of the methodology used to implement the concept of governance as a tool for the sustainable management of tourist destinations anywhere in the world. The need to share responsibilities, to have more instruments, to improve competitiveness, to have a greater capacity to achieve the goals set out when developing tourism within a destination, and the need for this tourism development to be effective and sustainable, make it essential to use the concept of governance in the sustainable development of any destination [1]. Governance is essential in terms of increasing cooperation between all parties interested in their management; which allows them to expand their scope and make the most of the opportunities offered by the market, thereby increasing their competitiveness, whilst respecting their sustainable development [10,11,12,13]

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