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Abstract:There is an absence of knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of different local tourism governance approaches. Consequently, experimenting with different modes of local tourism governance is increasingly common. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the ways in which three different local tourism governance networks operate, and the effects of this governance on local tourism policy. The three local tourism networks examined are a council-led network governance structure, a participant-led community network governance structure, and a local tourism organisation (LTO)-led industry network governance structure. The study found that these governance arrangements were underpinned by four key trade-offs and that these tended to shape the effectiveness of local tourism governance. The significance of this paper is that it opens up discussion about local tourism governance, highlights the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches, and reflects on their relevance to sustainable tourism management. The findings can inform local councils interested in improving their local organisation of tourism, and spur further research.

House swapping, ridesharing, voluntourism, couchsurfing, dinner hosting and similar innovations epitomize the collaborative economy. The rise of the collaborative economy, also known as collaborative consumption, the sharing economy and peer-to-peer consumption, has been fuelled by a range of social, economic and technological factors including a shift away from ownership towards temporary access to goods; the use of technology mediated transactions between producers and consumers; direct host-guest relationships that contribute to a higher level of perceived authenticity of tourism experiences; and higher levels of consumer risk-taking balanced against mechanisms such as peer-to-peer feedback designed to engender trust between producers and consumers. This paper explores and critically assesses the collaborative economy and its implications for tourism industrial systems. It achieves this by mapping out the current knowledge dynamics characterising tourism and the collaborative economy, paying particular attention to the asymmetries of knowledge that are emerging. The paper then identifies and critically discusses five pervasive claims being made about the collaborative economy, arguing for a balanced assessment of such claims. Highlighting these claims allows us to pursue a more reflective research agenda and leads to a more informed, evidence-based assessment of the collaborative economy and tourism.

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This paper develops critical understandings of the theoretical and practical implications of local tourism policy networks on collaborative planning. Application of the network concept in tourism has increased in recent years but has largely been focused on the competitive advantages of network organisation for small and medium size tourism enterprises. Critical discussion and development of the theoretical and operational dimensions of networks as a management approach beyond economic development has been limited. It is argued that network theory provides a useful lens for understanding the structures and social interrelations between government, tourism producers and civil society and, as such, has the potential to inform collaborative destination management policy and practice. This paper examines the contributions that networks can make in understanding collaborative planning, and how this knowledge may be able to improve collaborative planning practice.