Destination competitiveness: evidence from Bali

Abstract

Within the dynamic global tourism industry, understanding the reasons for a destination's competitiveness is essential in order to enhance its performance, facilitate more effective destination management, and inform its overall sustainable economic development. This paper applies Kim and Wicks' (2010) tourism cluster development model to Bali -a small, mature destination in the developing economy of Indonesia. It demonstrates that there are complex relationships between: (i) cluster actors; (ii) barriers preventing effective networking; and (iii) the significance of these interactions for the local host community. This paper contributes to the debate by addressing new and different attributes and actors such as transnational corporations (TNCs), universities, and the concept of co-opetition, as being significant attributes in Kim and Wicks' initial model. Through a qualitative approach involving n=23 semi-structured interviews, 2 this paper illustrates intricate issues and relationships that are identified in Bali, a small mature destination. Purposive sampling methods were employed to generate a range of key stakeholders who informed our understanding of 'cluster actors' in Kim and Wicks' terms. The systematic examination of these key tourism elements provides a detailed analysis of the destination's strengths and weaknesses, and a more nuanced understanding of what facilitates a destination's competitive position.Key words: destination competitiveness; cluster theory; impacts; island tourism; Indonesia As part of this, we explore the elements within Porter's Diamond (reformulated by Kim and Wicks); the relationship of cluster actors ( Figure 1); and how such factors affect the competitiveness of a small developing destination. This analysis illustrates complex relationships and linkages between cluster actors; barriers preventing effective networks; and highlights the significance of those interactions, which leads to wider understanding of the socioeconomic implications for the host community. Our analysis enables tourism policymakers to develop a more comprehensive understanding to enable strategic planning; helps identify destination strengths and weaknesses; as well as identification of barriers to progress.The paper is divided into six sections. First, we explore and critique the key literature relating to competitiveness models, rationalising the application of the Kim and Wicks (2010) model for this research. Second, a description of tourism in Bali is presented, followed by the methodology and research approach used. The main findings are analysed, highlighting destination competitiveness issues specifically for Bali, followed by a discussion. The paper concludes noting how this framework provides academics and policymakers with a useable tool to understand certain complexity, destination dynamics, and main actors. Literature Review of Competitiveness modelsMost academic work on destination competitiveness models (Dwyer and

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