Destination Development and

Institutionalization Strategies

In the OIC Member Countries

collaborate and empower these stakeholders by assimilating their opinions and suggestions in developing

the plans and strategies for the destination’s development and making them part of the decision making.

At this level, stakeholders should be included in regular meetings and can be included in the DMO board

if possible or be part of a stakeholder board as well as collaborate with them in special committees in the

formulation of the destination’s development plans and strategies; this also ensures stakeholders

cooperation in implementing the developed policies and strategies.

There are a number of elements that determine the level and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement

activities, including the degree of centralization of decision making, the density and centrality of

stakeholder networks, the presence of a strong shared identity, and the abilities of destination managers.

Highly centralized decision-making systems leads to lower level of stakeholder involvement as their inputs

may not be taken into account in decision making. Higher density stakeholder networks, in terms of

stakeholder interconnectedness, facilitates collaboration and enables stakeholder networks to have more

influence on decision makers while lower density networks are generally marred by conflicts leading to

lower ability of stakeholders to influence decision making. The level of centrality of stakeholder networks,

in terms of position, level of access and degree of influence relative to other networks, can also shape the

nature of their engagement in terms of control over outcomes of collaboration

The presence of a strong shared identity strengthens the norms of affinity and interdependence among

destination stakeholders leading to increased levels of collaboration. Destination managers need to

possess vision, diplomacy, persistence, and social expertise as opposed to only technical expertise, which

is inadequate on its own to motivate stakeholders to be actively involved in the DMOs activities. It is also

important to note that DMO efforts to involve all stakeholders may be curtailed by those stakeholders who

either do not have the time or human resources to become involved, or who chose to remain passive

knowing that their interests will be served nonetheless since other stakeholders are involved. Thus, DMOs

need to make stakeholders aware of collaboration benefits to encourage their participation.

DMOs around the globe are aware of the importance of stakeholder engagement in creating a shared vision

for the destination and have been actively seeking their input in a variety of areas from planning to

implementation and marketing of tourism activities in their destinations. In Spain, to develop Granada’s

strategic tourism plan, the DMO Patronato Provincial de Toursimo de Granada carried out interviews and

work groups with stakeholders through an external consulting agency to understand their needs and

expectations.

In the US, the Go Great lakes, which is a private DMO that aims to market the Great Lakes

Bay in Michigan, engages regularly with a variety of stakeholders including: the tourism industry players,

government officials on all levels, chambers of commerce, and educational organizations. The Go Great

lakes holds regular monthly meetings as well as uses electronic media channels including its website and

social media platforms to collaborate with stakeholders.

In Dubai, the Department of Tourism and

Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has included tourism industry stakeholders, such as hotels and airlines, in

committees to coordinate destination promotion activities.

In the context of the stakeholder structured interviews conducted within the scope of this study,

respondents were asked how destination management organizations interact with them and what is the

aim of the engagement. Responses were divided between those reporting destination management

organizations interacting with them and those citing no formal efforts by destination management

Ibid

Epp, Aimee. (2013). Assessing the Impact of Stakeholder Engagement on Perceptions of DMO Performance.

Ibid.

Lally, A. M., O'Donovan, I., & Quinlan, T. (2015).

Stakeholder Engagement in Destination Management

Interview with team member of Tourism Planning and Development, Patronato Provincial de Toursimo de Granada.

Interview with CEO of Go Great Lakes.

Interview with Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Airlines.