Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
39
As the global MDTCs’ examples show, extensive research with the aid of experts fromhistorical,
cultural, and practical perspectives was used to formulate corridor themes and assess their
potential tourism assets, as in the case of the Prehistoric Rock Art Trails. The examples also
focus on “experiential tourism” in the selection of assets to be included, as evident from the
culinary experiences provided by the Hansa Culinary Route.
1.3. Tourism Corridors Governance and Management – Global Best Practices
Governance starts with the choice of the most suitable governance model for the MDTC as well
as clearly defining the role of the various bodies involved in corridor management and
promotion. Good Governance also involves ensuring that the legislative frameworks governing
corridor member countries are in line with their efforts and aspirations for the MDTC. It is also
directly linked to accountability, which requires monitoring performance, whether in terms of
organizational effectiveness of the corridor management entity or the effectiveness of its
marketing communications activities, in addition to tracking the satisfaction of various
stakeholders.
Figure 12: Tourism Corridor Governance and Management Best Practices
Effective management of MDTCs also requires cooperation between multiple stakeholders at
various levels, including cooperation between responsible entities from the corridor member
countries and cooperation on national, regional, and local levels in each member country. 78
Capacity building for the various stakeholders in TC member countries is also crucial for the
effective management of MDTCs as it ensures standards are unified and maintained to provide
a seamless tourist experience.79
The sustainable management of the natural and cultural heritage assets of corridor countries
is an important task for MDTCs, which can benefit from the cooperation between corridor
countries.80 MDTCs can help spread demand across the various sites in corridor countries in a
way that preserves the assets redirecting tourists from high-traffic to less-known sites and
spreading benefits to all communities.81
Diversifying funding sources is also essential to enable corridor management to undertake the
needed activities to ensure the corridor’s viability and success. In this section, and overview of
select examples of global MDTCs management best practices is presented in addition to an
overview of monitoring and evaluation approaches.
78 UNWTO (2015), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume twelve – Cultural Routes and Itineraries, UNWTO, Madrid.
79 UNWTO and European Travel Commission. 2017. Handbook on Marketing Transnational Tourism Themes and Routes.
80 Ibid.
81 UNWTO (2015), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume twelve – Cultural Routes and Itineraries, UNWTO, Madrid.