Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
8
Monitoring Performance: Best practices from global corridors show efforts at a
comprehensive evaluation of performance with European cultural routes using the European
Tourism Indicators System, which measures governance, communication both internal and
external, sustainable management, the impact of cultural activities, and the economic and
environmental implications of the route itineraries. The GMS TC also uses visitor metrics and
organizational effectiveness, as well as sustainability metrics.
Monitoring performance for the OIC MDTCs seems to be lagging behind best practices from
global MDTCs. While visitor metrics are typically collected by OIC MDTCs’ countries,
assessment of impact, whether economic, social, or environmental, as well as organizational
and marketing communications, is not a common practice among the OIC MDTCs. The Abraham
Path TC provides an excellent example of incorporating economic impact metrics. However,
there is a range of other metrics that still need to be covered for proper governance to be
ensured.
Table 6: Monitoring Performance - Best Practices versus OIC Examples
Best Practices - Currently, 7 of the Council of Europe routes monitoring their performance
with the use of the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS).
- The Greater Mekong Subregion TC using visitor metrics, organizational
effectiveness, and sustainability metrics.
OIC - The Silk Road uses visitor metrics.
- The Abraham Path uses visitor metrics, organizational effectiveness, and
marketing communications metrics.
Collaboration with Stakeholders: Best practices from global MDTCs also show that
collaboration with stakeholders uses formal platforms, as in the case of the Mekong Tourism
Advisory Group and the Destination Napoleon local steering committees, which include
representatives from various stakeholder groups. Some of the existing OIC MDTCs seem to be
performing well and creating public-private partnerships that allow for cooperation between
the multiple stakeholders.
In the case of the Silk Road, collaboration with stakeholders was facilitated by the creation of
the Silk Road Task Force and the establishment of its office in Uzbekistan. In the case of the
Umayyad Route, the layered organizational structure with local support groups composed of
public and private sector entities allows for interaction and collaboration among the various
stakeholders.