The role of knowledge in good governance for tourism.

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AbstractThis chapter discusses the role of knowledge in good governance for tourist destinations. In this context, the chapter identifies the broad processes and institutions involved in governance and decision making regarding tourism. These include levels of government, promotion and marketing organizations, tourism industry sectors, residents groups and community leaders, in addition to development organizations with a focus on tourism. The key focus of this chapter is to explore the importance of knowledge in being responsive and in achieving successful (or unsuccessful) outcomes in destination governance. Numerous challenges and barriers to sustainable tourism development are described through her analysis of 100 case studies of development processes in peripheral regions internationally. By exploring knowledge provision, communication and ownership, the chapter makes a case for its importance in successful tourism governance. Once these issues and barriers have been identified, principles for the effective use of knowledge in tourist destination governance are discussed. A number of factors, such as the importance of knowledge in reference to destination management systems, participation mechanisms and educational approaches, are developed further in the later section of the chapter. In order to explore the importance of knowledge further, the chapter develops a concept of 'good' governance in the context of tourism development and decision making, primarily moving away from the exercise of power and towards enhanced democratic, community capacity building and participatory approaches to destination management. The importance of sustainability and public involvement in decision making and governance are acknowledged. The chapter concludes in stressing the importance of knowledge provision and the movement away from tourism as primarily an economic resource that has been the focus in regional community development, with a shift toward governance which emphasizes tourism as a community resource and social force. This chapter has introduced the reader to issues and considerations of destination governance and presents an overview of the following four chapters. Though solutions may be found for dealing with specific governance challenges, understanding the diversity of issues and considerations which impact on destination governance may provide a strong foundation for developing more integrated, sustainable and comprehensive approaches for governance within tourist destinations.