Cooperation in tourism and regional development

Abstract

Tourism's contribution to the economy, in general, and to local economies, in particular, is widely accepted. Given the increasing competition between destinations and complexity of tourism destination management, the formation and development of cooperative relationships between stakeholders has become a requirement for success and sustainability. This study sought to understand business cooperation in terms of specific territories' complementarity, with a specific focus on tourism development in the Portuguese subregion of the Setúbal Peninsula. A qualitative methodology was applied using a case study. Documentary sources were analysed to collect data to facilitate the peninsula's characterisation, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a focus group. The results indicate that stakeholders understand cooperation's importance to obtaining synergies that ensure tourism and regional development. The interviewees identified a set of benefits associated with cooperation, but these experts are all aware of this strategy's challenges, which, nonetheless, do not necessarily diminish their willingness to cooperate.

Sustainable Mountain-Based Health and Wellness Tourist Destinations: The Interrelationships between Tourists’ Satisfaction, Behavioral Intentions, and Competitiveness

“…However, the tourism market is filled with numerous challenges [2], such as new client demands, tourist-saturated destinations, tourism phobia, infrastructure modernization, and the increasingly fierce competition between tourist destinations [3]. However, competitiveness between tourist destinations has been considered to be a prerequisite for its sustainability [4]. An increasing number of studies examining the impact of competitiveness on the tourism industry have been published on topics related to "tourism competitiveness", for example, also known as "tourist destination competitiveness" and "destination competitiveness" [5], which are highly relevant in the academic field and have been studied for more than 30 years [6].…”

Analysis of management on the development of regional tourism in Europe

“…Buhalis ( 2000 ) states that the development and implementation of strategic goals in destination depends on the relations between the stakeholders. Relationships in the network are a complex and interdisciplinary issue but the authors emphasize the need to create a platform for regular communication, which is intended to help to improve the quality of relationships in order to create space for cooperation and also to weaken the barriers to cooperation (Costa & Lima, 2018 ) to varying extents and in various contexts. Selin and Chavez ( 1995 ) and Gursoy et al ( 2015 ) as well as many others consider the communication between the members of the partnership and its level to be one of the key factors of a functioning partnership in tourism in the destination.…”

Sustainable consumption and production of wildlife tourism in Indian tiger reserves: a critical analysis

“…The tourism industry must ultimately take responsibility for ensuring the preservation of resources and the adoption of sustainable consumption practices (Korstanje and George, 2012; Livina and Atstaja, 2015), as sustainable consumption leads to conservation at the destination (Hall, 2009). Further, the tourism sector can improve the economy of local communities, and the sustainability of tourism in rural areas is being given increasing importance today (Costa and Lima, 2018). A study on animal consumption discussed ethical implications, morality and culinary tourism (Kline, 2018).…”