Destination Development and
Institutionalization Strategies
In the OIC Member Countries
15
1.3. Adding Value for Tourists and Host Communities
Beyond destination development and marketing, the ability of destination management organizations to
minimize leakages along the tourism value chain, enhance the experiences of tourists and the quality of
life of the host community is key to the sustainability of tourism in a destination. As mentioned earlier in
the negative impacts of tourism, the import leakage resulting from import of foreign goods to fulfill tourist
needs can be compounded by an export leakage resulting from multinationals operating in the tourism
sector repatriating their profits. 19 Destination managers need to encourage local entrepreneurship in the
tourism sector to stop leakages and ensure a more profound positive impact on the economy by assisting
them to secure funding through the provision of information on tourism demand and its expected growth
as well as tourism products needs and opportunities for investment. Destination managers can also play
an important role in the development of human resources entails the provision of educational and training
programs that imparts the skills needed at all levels for working in the tourism industry, starting from
education programs at the school level to retraining programs for those who want to change their careers.
Even though DMOs do not provide nor control educational and training programs, they can work with
tourism stakeholders to influence the entities responsible for the development of these programs. 20
Host community support for tourism is critical for destinations’ tourism development and management.
Residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts influence their support for tourism development in their
communities; residents are more likely to support tourism development if they perceive it as beneficial
without “incurring unacceptable costs”. According to research studies, the main benefits from tourism
affecting local communities’ perceptions result from its positive economic impacts including the creation
of job opportunities for the local population in addition to increasing the standard of living and the
development of infrastructure among others. Local communities’ perceptions of social and cultural
impacts are negatively influenced by traffic jams, noise and increasing crime rates that can be associated
with high level of tourism exceeding the carrying capacity of their areas, 21 which is defined as “the number
of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, and without degrading
the natural, social, cultural and economic environment for present and future generations”.22
Destination managers need to set clear objectives for improving the quality of life of local communities
which can be a challenging task as the impact of tourism on quality of life varies across stakeholders in a
destination. Thus, it’s essential to actively engage local communities in the development of tourism and
to understand their value system and quality of life objectives to ensure that tourism impacts improve
rather than worsen their quality of life. Destination managers also need to monitor the level of satisfaction
and well-being of local communities as well as get their feedback on proposed tourism development
strategies and projects. 23 Thus, destination managers need to ascertain the quality of life objectives that
are important to the local residents and incorporate them in the destination “vision” while working on
creating a positive experience for tourists. 24 In Holland, Amsterdam Marketing identifies its goal as “and
to make the city livable and loveable and prosperous” for the local community, who are continuously
19 Environmental Impacts of Tourism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 08, 2018, fro
20 Presenza, A. (2005). The Performance of a Tourism Destination. Who Manages the Destination? Who Plays the Audit Role? XIV
International Leisure and Tourism Symposium ESADE.
21 Yoon, Y. (2002). Development of a Structural Model for Tourism Destination Competitiveness from Stakeholders’ Perspectives. Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University.
22 Kerstetter, D. L., & Bricker, K. S. Relationship Between Carrying Capacity of Small Island Tourism Destinations and Quality-of-Life. In
Uysal M., Perdue R., Sirgy M. (eds ) Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer,
Dordrecht.
23 Crouch G.I., & Ritchie J.R.B. (2012) Destination Competitiveness and Its Implications for Host-Community QOL.
24 Ibid.