Abstract
In the Global South traditional hierarchical steering modes are still quite widespread. The significantly changing conditions of competition in recent decades have boosted the need for innovation in tourism. As such, the core challenge for tourism development in many countries of the Global South has been to attain an innovation-based orientation by using stimuli from destination governance. This article is an attempt to analyse the factors that might facilitate the diffusion of an innovation-based orientation. As a basic hypothesis, the article adopts the “counter-flow principle”, with exchange between different spheres as stimuli for innovation. Taking the Souss-Massa region in Southern Morocco as a case study, the paper describes an analysis of the positions of public and private stakeholders as well as civil society organisations. The main question is what kind of relationship between the stakeholders would foster effective governance processes among local, regional and (inter-)national stakeholders. One of the major constraints seems to be that existing public governance conditions concerning the fostering of private activities limit the implementation of an innovation-oriented range of rural tourism options. The paper then examines such limitations and constraints of existing governance structures, which lead to the suboptimal performance and effectiveness of (mainly) top-down approaches.
Highlights
Tourism governance approaches in the Global South Since the turn of the century in many countries of the Global South, rural tourism has become a new product line, complementing traditional coastal tourism resorts and cultural tourism opportunities
The core challenge for tourism development in many countries of the Global South has been to attain an innovation-based orientation by using stimuli from destination governance
Specific results concerning the development of successful, innovative choices in rural tourism as well as the implementation of substantial innovative sustainability management strategies are rather limited in most countries of the Global South
Summary
It has been hypothesised that to foster rural tourism with a multitude of small private stakeholders, the Community Model would seem more appropriate, by incorporating smaller stakeholders with regard to their (often limited) competences and resources (Kagermeier & Kobs, 2013; Kagermeier, 2014a) This corresponds to what – from a governance perspective of destination management – Flagestad & Hope (2001; see Figure 3) described as the “Corporate Model”. The role of regional DMOs could be reinterpreted as that of facilitators and mediators in cooperation, and cooperative governance (Pechlaner, Raich & Kofink, 2011) with private entrepreneurs working to achieve innovative developments Another line of discussion has been developed by the “St. Gallen School” of destination management (see, e.g. Reinhold, Laesser & Beritelli, 2017 or Reinhold, Beritelli & Grünig, 2018) with a primary focus on destination management and organisational aspects in Switzerland. Tourism policies cannot be understood separately from general political conditions, so the step is to sketch the development of general governance approaches in Morocco
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
