The governance of coastal tourism: unravelling the layers of complexity at Smiths Beach, Western Australia

Abstract. Local involvement in tourism development is defined as a key issue for sustainable tourism, however it is often questioned and less seldom implemented in reality. Reasons behind this condition are lack of knowledge and practical experience on community-based tourism as a bottom-up approach. In this paper it is argued that local involvement in tourism development is both a democratic right and a strategic destination management tool. The paper scrutinizes a process of collaboration and local participation in a tourism development project within three coastal communities on the Swedish West Coast. A mixed-methods approach was employed in the project with the specific aim of investigating attitudes to the community and tourism development and of involving community stakeholders in exploring alternative avenues of tourism development. The article describes four phases of the process of local involvement in a tourism development project: step 1, formation of a representative project group and negotiation of community-based approach; step 2, consulting local stakeholders and employing a mixed-methods approach; step 3, elaborating results with local stakeholders; step 4, increased community collaboration.

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“…Due to the attraction of the coast and the sea, coastal communities, in particular, face these stakeholder conflicts (e.g. Wesley, Pforr, 2010).…”

Section: Theoretical Frame Of Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

Community-based tourism in practice: evidence from three coastal communities in Bohuslän, Sweden

Lindström

Larson

2016

Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series

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“…Hall, Jenkins, and Kearsley (1997), for instance, advocate its relevance to tourism analysis within contextual situations because it emphasizes the complexities involved in actual tourism situations and arguably provides stronger real-world linkages to the theoretical constructs identified in scholarly discourse (Wesley & Pforr, 2010). They point out Enabling of social conditions necessary for • future processes: A participatory process is to create a discursive climate suitable for future planning and decision-making activities.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, governance is now recognized as an increasingly significant issue within tourism planning. It is argued that a governance approach is able to foster partnerships, networks, and collaborative arrangements between government, industry, and community (Beaumont & Dredge, 2010;Bramwell, 2010;Hall, 2011;Healy, Rau, & McDonagh, 2012;Pechlaner, Volgger, & Herntrei, 2012;Ruhanen, Scott, Ritchie, & Tkaczynski, 2010;Volgger & Pechlaner, 2014;Wesley & Pforr, 2010). Opening up the political space between public and private actors in order to better engage with a range of stakeholders has the potential to lead to more effective governance (Bramwell, 2011;Bramwell & Lane, 2011;Dredge & Pforr, 2008;Fischer, 2006).…”

Section: Tourism Planning and The Importance Of Stakeholder Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Opening up the political space between public and private actors in order to better engage with a range of stakeholders has the potential to lead to more effective governance (Bramwell, 2011;Bramwell & Lane, 2011;Dredge & Pforr, 2008;Fischer, 2006). It is this interaction, engagement, and deliberation, which is described as "participatory governance" and entails shared decision making and collaboration among stakeholders, which is seen to enhance planning processes (Fischer, 2006;John & Cole, 2000;Kooiman, 1993;Wesley & Pforr, 2010). Thus, governance discourse in relation to democracy, collaboration, coordination, stakeholder management, decentralization, community planning, power politics, institutional arrangements, and community participation appears to be a key principle for tourism policy and planning (Wesley & Pforr, 2010).…”

Section: Tourism Planning and The Importance Of Stakeholder Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is this interaction, engagement, and deliberation, which is described as "participatory governance" and entails shared decision making and collaboration among stakeholders, which is seen to enhance planning processes (Fischer, 2006;John & Cole, 2000;Kooiman, 1993;Wesley & Pforr, 2010). Thus, governance discourse in relation to democracy, collaboration, coordination, stakeholder management, decentralization, community planning, power politics, institutional arrangements, and community participation appears to be a key principle for tourism policy and planning (Wesley & Pforr, 2010). As argued by Laurian and Shaw (2009), "since the communicative turn of the 1980s and 1990s, planning theorists support more deliberative, or discursive, models that emphasize inclusive dialogue, mutual learning, and collective problem-solving" (p. 293).…”

Section: Tourism Planning and The Importance Of Stakeholder Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Quagmire of Stakeholder Engagement in Tourism Planning: A Case Example from Australia

Pforr¹,

Brueckner²

2016

Tourism Analysis

Self Cite

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After its first election win in August 2001 since the Northern Territory of Australia (NT) was granted self-government (1978), the incoming NT Labor government released a new tourism plan, the Northern Territory Tourism Strategic Plan—2003–2007 in the following year. Turbulent events of 2001 that had a significant impact on the tourism industry in the NT and included the collapse of the Australian carrier Ansett Airlines and "September 11" provided the impetus for the new strategy. Purportedly, this plan was designed to direct and guide the NT tourism industry's future development based on sound research and extensive consultation with key stakeholders. Such a partnership approach was regarded as crucial for the success of future tourism in the Territory. This article specifically focuses on the formulation process of this Tourism Strategic Plan, exploring in particular the effectiveness of the underlying consultation process. Adopting a microperspective on tourism planning processes with the NT case example we portray a unique case that allows us to highlight not only the complex and dynamic nature of tourism planning during times of significant change in the Territory's political landscape, but also the often-experienced contradictions between tourism planning rhetoric and practice. Even though we explore a planning process that dates back about a decade, we believe that the findings of the study are relevant and inform current tourism policy and planning discourses.

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State-of-the-Art Beach Governance from the Tree of Science Platform

Botero

Cervantes

Finkl

2017

Beach Management Tools - Concepts, Methodologies and Case Studies

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The governance of coastal tourism: unravelling the layers of complexity at Smiths Beach, Western Australia

Cited by 73 publications

References 49 publications

Community-based tourism in practice: evidence from three coastal communities in Bohuslän, Sweden

Community-based tourism in practice: evidence from three coastal communities in Bohuslän, Sweden

The Quagmire of Stakeholder Engagement in Tourism Planning: A Case Example from Australia

State-of-the-Art Beach Governance from the Tree of Science Platform

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