The competitive destination a sustainable tourism perspective pdf

Log out Manage access. Log out. Search CAB eBooks. Enter keyword or phrase. Search within topic Limit to selected topics. Limit to selected content. CAB eBooks smart searches are based on commonly researched topics, and your own requests Request a search. Description This book is primarily intended to provide destination managers with an overall understanding of the complex and multifaceted factors that affect destination competitiveness. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 reviews the literature on competition and sustainable tourism.

Chapter 3 is the key chapter in the book, presenting and describing a basic model of destination competitiveness. The succeeding chapters discuss the key components of this framework, namely: the global macroenvironment chapter 4 ; the competitive micro environment chapter 5 ; core resources and attractors chapter 6 ; supporting factors and resources chapter 7 ; destination policy, planning and development chapter 8 ; destination management chapter 9 ; and qualifying and amplifying determinants chapter The accessibility of the destination, too, is a supporting factor since it is governed by a wide variety of influences, many of which depend on broad economic, social or political concerns.

For example, the accessibility of a destination is affected, in more complex ways than its mere physical location might suggest, by the regulation of the airline industry; entry visas and permits; route connections, airport hubs and landing slots; airport capacities cind Model of Destination Competitiveness 71 curfews; and competition among carriers, etc. Within a destination, the accessibility of tourism resources is also a competitive issue.

Although the accessibility of resources such as beaches, mountains, national parks, unusual land forma- tions, scenic regions, and lakes and rivers will undoubtedly be influenced by the needs of the tourism industry, other economic, social and sometimes political needs often govern the location of roads and railway lines, for example. A destination's resources are hardly relevant to the issue of competitiveness unless they are accessible to potential tourists and tourism operators alike.

The operating sectors of tourism are res- ponsible for delivering high-quality, memorable experiences. Care must be taken, however, to wrap these experiences in a warm spirit of hos- pitality. Quite simply, it is not enough to deliver all the attributes of an experience in a cold and detached manner.

Each individual visitor must feel that they are more than a source of cold cash revenue for the business or destination. Rather, visitors have a natural human desire for warm acceptance as they seek to enjoy the range of experiences the destination has to offer. The challenge facing destinations is to deliver their experiences in a way that enables the visitors to believe they are welcome - that they are truly guests. A further factor that can support or hinder destination competitiveness is the degree' of political will.

Many destination executives we have spoken to have noted how their efforts to develop their destination have been either assisted by an abundance of political will or frustrated by the lack of it. The saying 'where there's a will there's a way' captures the impor- tant role of political support in facilitating efforts by the tourism industry to create a competitive destination.

Political will is not a function of the attitudes and opinions of politicians alone. All community leaders shape political attitudes to the contribution that tourism might make to economic and social development and the resulting quality of life in the destination.

In Chapter 7, which focuses on the critical role of supporting factors and resources, we discuss in some depth the need to pay attention to this area as a foundation of successful tourism development. Destination policy, planning and development A strategic or policy-driven framework for the planning and development of the destination with particular economic, social and other societal goals as the intended outcome can provide a guiding hand to the direction, form and structure of tourism development.

Such a framework can help to ensure that the tourism development that does occur promotes a competitive and sustainable destination while meeting the quality-of-life aspirations of those who reside in the destination. In order to formulate a strategic frame- work, it is first necessary to decide or agree on the framework's subject: that is, precisely what it is that the framework is meant to govern.

This requires an explicit recognition and common understanding among the stakeholders who are involved in the process concerning the system definition of the tourism destination in ques- tion. Before different parties can agree or come to a consensus on what needs to be done, they must first agree on the entity for which the strategy is to be developed.

In the process of developing a policy- driven framework for destination development, various philosophical perspectives are likely to emerge among the stakeholders concerned. In different cir- cumstances, another community might hold the view that a different sort of approach to tourism development is called for. So a community's philosophy on the best way to address eco- nomic, social, environmental and political goals through tourism development will shape the policy framework.

This philosophy needs to fit the circumstances, but there also needs to be some emergent view among stakeholders about the right philosophy, or at least about the prevailing philosophy.

A vision is a statement or understanding of what such a philosophy logically suggests makes most sense for the destination. The same general philosophy might suggest different visions in different circumstances. Whereas a 72 Chapter 3 philosophy is a way of looking at a problem, a vision is more a view of what one sees when adopting a particular philosophical perspective. A tourism development policy, if grounded in reality, ought to be based upon an audit of the destination and its attributes, its strengths and weaknesses, problems and challenges, past and current strategies, etc.

Without some fundamental data on the significant attractions and resources, historical performance, current visitors and other vital information, the formula- tion of a policy framework for developing the destination remains an abstract exercise. An audit of the destination helps to communicate information and issues to all parties engaged in policy formulation and is a key input to any effort to create and maintain a competitive destination.

We view the destination audit as the linchpin in the whole process of managing destination competitiveness. For this reason, we end this book with a chapter that overviews the destination audit process.

Because competitiveness is a relative concept, decisions about the most appropriate policy or strategy for developing a destination must be made in the context of what other destinations are doing and how they are performing.

A management consultancy recently advertised its services in newspapers by showing two views of a sprinter in an athletics event. In the first frame the sprinter is shown in full flight, apparently in the lead with a couple of other athletes close on her heels.

In the next frame the view widens to show a gap in front of the athlete, revealing other sprinters clearly ahead of the pack. It is an effective illustration of how a narrow view can hide a competitor's true position. A similar issue involves the marketing concept of positioning.

An athletic sprint event is a one-dimensional race from a starting point to a finishing line. But destination competitive- ness is not one-dimensional, and positioning is all about where, in cognitive rather than physi- cal space, a destination is positioned vis-a-uis its competitors. Positioning is all to do with how unique a destination is perceived to be in ways that tourism markets value or regard as desirable or important.

Destination positioning entails knowing how different market segments currently perceive the destination against com- peting destinations, which market segments it makes most sense to covet, and therefore target, and how the destination might be effec- tively and feasibly repositioned with respect to these segments. Destination policies for tourism develop- ment should be formulated as an integrative system of mechanisms designed to work in concert, such that overall competitiveness and sustainability goals can be achieved.

Develop- ment policies should address the full range of important issues that govern destination competitiveness, including both demand- and supply-oriented concerns. On the supply side, policies should address the development and maintenance of resources, such as the destina- tion's physical features; the quality and supply of human capital; the availability and cost of financial capital and the investment attractive- ness of the tourism industry; the necessary data and information required for sound business and investment decisions to grow the industry; and the programmes and activities required to put these resources into action for the creation of tourism products and experiences.

To the extent that governments assist tourism develop- ment and therefore expect a broader socio- economic benefit from this investment, demand policies seek to ensure that the right tourism markets are pursued in the most effective manner with regard not just to the needs of the tourism industry but also to the wider community.

The final element of destination policy, planning and development, concerns the need for and importance of the monitoring and eval- uation of policies and their outcome. The effec- tiveness and impact of policies in a complex system can be neither forecast nor predicted with a high degree of confidence when they are first formulated.

Also, the eventual outcome is as much a function of how well the policies are implemented as a function of the policies them- selves. Hence, the task of policy formulation, planning and development must continue to include research into how well such policies are performing, whether improvements in implementation are needed or, indeed, whether circumstances have changed so as to render the policies no longer relevant or effectual.

Model of Destination Competitiveness 73 The sub-elements of the model discussed above are further explained and developed in Chapter 8, Destination Policy, Planning and Development. Destination management The destination management component of the model focuses on those activities which implement the policy and planning framework established in the previous section of this chap- ter, enhance the appeal of the core resources and attractors, strengthen the quality and effectiveness of the supporting factors and resources, and adapt best to the constraints or opportunities imposed or presented by the qualifying and amplifying determinants.

These activities represent the greatest scope for managing a destination's competitiveness as they include programmes, structures, systems and processes that are highly actionable and manageable by individuals and organizations and through collective action. Perhaps the most traditional of these activities is the function of marketing the desti- nation. In practice, destination marketing has tended to focus on the task of promoting and selling the destination. That is, the concept of marketing has been applied to the destination in very limited ways.

As a result, there is much scope for the application of a true marketing philosophy. The importance of the service experience dimension of destination management has also been recognized for some time. Tourists are buying experiences, and experiences are made up of all of the interactions, behaviours and emotions which each tourist permits their five senses to perceive and experience.

The choice of hotels, restaurants, attractions, tours, etc. Efforts to enhance the quality of service provided to visitors have recently been comple- mented by recognition of the need to take a total quality-of-experience approach to visitor satisfaction Otto and Ritchie, This approach emphasizes the need to examine the total travel experience of visitors.

Essentially, providing individual high-quality service trans- actions is not enough. As far as possible, destination managers must attempt to ensure a seamless, hassle-free interface among all ele- ments of the total travel experience.

In practical terms, this means paying close attention to such aspects as the convenience of transfers between modes of transport or travel packages and the responsibility of travel agents for each component of the travel packages they sell. In brief, on-site and transaction-specific visitor service is not enough.

This also involves the regular monitoring of visitor.. This monitoring function must be complemented by special research projects designed to provide specialized information for particular decisions. Finally, each destination management organization DMO also has the responsibility to disseminate key market and performance information to its members in a timely way. Such information is essential in order to ensure destination productivity and effectiveness.

The concept of the DMO, where the 'M' emphasizes total management rather than simply marketing, is a somewhat recent con- ceptualization of the organization function for destination management. Within this refocused philosophy, a broader view is taken of the desti- nation's organizational structure, which, in the opinion of Nadler and Tushman ,4 may be one of the iast remaining sources of truly sus- tainable competitive advantage. This broader view sees management as responsible for the 74 Chapter 3 well-being of all aspects of the destination.

It emphasizes the provision of a form of leader- ship in destination development that makes extensive use of teamwork in all DMO-led initia- tives. Destination promotion is no longer the sole purpose of the DMO. While this modified role presents many new challenges, it also provides a much broader range of opportunities for ensuring destination competitiveness. For example, guided by public policy, governments or DMOs can institute pro- grammes to provide investors with seed funding, grants, loan guarantees, depreciation allowances, capital gains exclusions, taxation concessions and other such incentives in order to stimulate private investment for tourism development.

Such programmes should clearly be designed to promote the realization of a destination vision that has been formulated previously. Similarly, destination management can play a key role in human resource develop- ment by further encouraging and stimulating education and training programmes designed to meet the specific needs of the tourism and hospitality industries.

Although quality educa- tion systems are a fundamental element of the facilitating resources see this chapter, Supporting factors and resources , education programmes are required which specifically address the skills required by employers in tourism and hospitality, just as other industries and economic sectors have cooperated with educational institutions to develop graduates' skills in other fields.

Australia is an example where educational institutions have responded to the needs of the industry at both secondary and tertiary levels and in terms of both voca- tional and professional education and training. As the travel and tourism industry con- tinues to grow rapidly, concerns have been expressed in various destinations that are sub- ject to large numbers of visitors that policies and systems are required for uisitor management in order to exert some influence over visitor impacts.

It is in the interests of the local tourism industries to cooperate in order to develop an appropriate approach to visitor management. In the absence of such cooperation, governments and other regulatory authorities may be forced to act if problems are left unattended. DMOs can play an important role in coordinating efforts to institute such industry-regulated arrangements.

An increasingly important challenge for destination managers involves crisis manage- ment. Destinations have always, from time to time, had to deal with crises affecting visitors - not only the direct effects at the time of the cri- sis but also the consequences of a tarnished des- tination image. Anecdotally, in recent years it seems that crises have become more problem- atic for destinations.

The impact of the terror- ism of 11 September in New York and Washington, DC, is an extreme example, in which some visitors to New York and all passengers on board the hijacked planes lost their lives. Not only has the New York Convention and Visitor Bureau had to contend with the significant aftermath of that crisis ever since, but these events have also affected the entire US tourism industry.

It is easy to think of numerous other acts of terrorism that desti- nations have had to contend with over the years. But crises may arise from many different causes, including disease such as the foot- and-mouth disease outbreak in the UK, Ebola in Africa and mad cow disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Europe , acci- dents such as the canyoning tragedy in Switzer- land , crime which we discuss in some detail in Chapter 10 , natural disasters such as the floods in Europe and fires in the western USA in , political and social problems such as the violence in Zimbabwe over land laws and the conduct of elections, and cultural and religious violence in parts of Indonesia and union strikes such as those by airline staff and other key groups of employees.

When such crises occur, destinations need to be able to respond in an effective way to deal with the immediate impact of the event as well as its longer-term conse- quences. Destinations which respond to such eventualities more effectively or, better still, act Model of Destination Competitiveness 75 to prevent or minimize them as far as this is possible, enhance their competitive position.

Proactive crisis management or disaster plan- ning is therefore becoming an additional chal- lenge and responsibility for forward-thinking destinations. The final component of destination man- agement in our model of destination competi- tiveness is a new but increasingly significant one. Resource stewardship is a concept that stresses how important it is - indeed, that it is obligatory - for destination managers to adopt a caring attitude to the resources that make up the destination.

This involves the effective maintenance of these resources and the careful nurturing of those that are particularly vulnera- ble to any damage that may be caused by tourism. All in all, the stewardship philosophy implies ensuring the effective yet sensitive deployment of all the resources within the destination.

The model is then not one of simple economic competitiveness, but one of long-term sustainable competitiveness, which acknowledges the stewardship of ecological, social and cultural resources. This group of factors, which we have called qualifying and amplifying determinants, might alternatively have been labelled situa- tional conditioners because their effects on the competitiveness of a tourist destination are to define its scale, limit or potential. These qualifiers and amplifiers moderate or magnify destination competitiveness by filtering the influence of the other three groups of factors.

They may be so important as to represent a ceiling to tourism demand and potential, but are largely beyond the control or influence of the tourism sector alone. For example, clearly a destination's loca- tion has much to do with its ability to attract visitors. A physically remote destination, one that is far from the world's major origin markets for tourism, is clearly at a distinct disadvantage to begin with.

A destination that is perhaps equally attractive to potential travellers but which neighbours the major markets is in a much stronger position to be able to convert latent interest into actual visitation because it has the advantages of familiarity and lower travel cost in terms of both monetary cost and the opportunity cost of travel time.

Although the physical location of a destina- tion does not change unless we are willing to wait a few million years for continental drift to have an effect , what can change over time, within the span of a decade or two, are the rela- tive locations of important origin markets for tourists.

We have seen, for example, in the Asian region the economies of several countries improve markedly over a short space of time. The wealth generated in these countries and the overflow effect in other neighbouring countries have created a huge and growing tourism market in this region. This has led to a shift in the competitiveness of tourism desti- nations as a result of this one factor - location - alone.

A related but nevertheless different phe- nomenon is the interdependencies that exist between destinations. We touched upon this issue briefly in our discussion of the competitive micro environment, where we noted the para- dox of competition and cooperation between destinations.

The competitiveness of any desti- nation is affected by the competitiveness of other destinations. In part, as we pointed out in Chapter 2, this is because competitiveness is a relative concept.

Critics point to the self-destructive nature of competition and the single-minded focus and reliance on economic growth.

Environmentalists, for example, would argue that as the pursuit of economic competition has led us to exceed the capacity of our environment, the phrase survival of the most competitive is an oxymoron. Nevertheless, today the notion of competitiveness is powerful and pervasive, receiving much of its expression in the business world through the writings of Professor Michael Porter and many others see, for example, Porter, , , The origins of our understanding of contemporary economic theory and the nature of competition begin with Adam Smith who, in , wrote An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Smith emphasized the importance of being the lowest-cost producer. He argued that the free market efficiently determined how a countrys resources ought to be used in meeting the needs of consumers. However, it was David Ricardo who, when in he wrote Principles of Political Economy, developed the theory of comparative advantage to explain why a country might import a good even when it is the lowest-cost producer.

The theory of comparative advantage is based on differences across countries in their endowments of the factors of production i. Such differences encourage specialization, which in turn creates the need for trade. A place possessing trading advantages benefits in a number of ways.

Industry is attracted to these places, resulting in more employment and higher wages. The increasing concentration of industry results in both infrastructural improvements and an increase in business-to-business alliances and relationships. These changes bring about improvements in living conditions and industrial productivity.

If the place is a country, the demand for the. This enables the residents of the country to purchase a greater quantity of imported products. In total, competitiveness means jobs, wealth, improved living conditions, and an environment in which residents can prosper.

Therefore, an understanding of what competitiveness is and how it is achieved and maintained is of considerable interest. An excellent reference source that examines a wide variety of perspectives and research traditions on competition can be found in Hunt Hunt develops a new theory of competition which draws upon these traditions and which he calls the resource-advantage theory of competition.

Definitions Superficially, competitiveness appears to be a simple concept about which there is little disagreement. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, to compete is to strive for superiority in a quality.

Some athletes compete on the basis of single qualities, such as speed and strength. These athletes, though, would be quick to point out that determination, the will to win, attitude, concentration, stamina, etc. Therefore, it is when we try to measure competitiveness that we begin to understand the difficulty in defining it because competitiveness is both a relative concept superior relative to what? These attributes of competitiveness were emphasized by Scott and Lodge , p.

For example, most analyses of competitiveness focus on the trade balance as the key indicator of performance. Is it, however, more important than other factors like market share, real incomes, profitability, and relative changes in productivity?

We believe it is the performance pattern measured in several dimensions that is the key, not performance in a single dimension. A further complication concerns the unit of analysis and the perspective of the analyst.

Politicians are interested in the competitiveness of the economy national, regional or local , industry or trade associations confine their interests to their own industry, and business owners and managers worry about the ability of their own firms to compete in specific markets. It is perhaps helpful to review the definitions of competitiveness employed by others before we try to decide which approach is most suited to an examination of the competitiveness of tourist destinations.

They also noted that this ability is more and more a matter of strategies, and less and less a product of natural endowments. As viewed by Newall , p. It leads to well paying jobs and to the generation of resources required to provide an adequate infrastructure of public services and support for the disadvantaged.

In other words, competitiveness speaks directly to the issue of whether a nations economy can provide a high and rising standard of living for our children and grandchildren. This definition views competitiveness as the key to national prosperity.

A competitive economy, according to The Economist , p. The World Competitiveness Yearbooks definition has varied somewhat over the years. For example, it has defined competitiveness as the ability of entrepreneurs to design, produce and market goods and services, the prices and non-price qualities of which form a more attractive package of benefits than those of competitors. It has also defined world competitiveness as the ability of a country or company to,.

Competitiveness is viewed as combining both assets and processes, where assets are inherited e. The four dimensions used are attractiveness versus aggressiveness, proximity versus globality, assets versus systems, and individual risk taking versus social cohesiveness. These definitions attend to the symptoms, results or outcomes of a competitive economy. They help to identify a competitive economy but do little to shed light on the causes of competitiveness.

There seems to be no generally accepted definition of competitiveness. It is perhaps too broad and complex a concept, defying attempts to encapsulate it in universally applicable terms. As noted by Porter , pp. Others argue that competitiveness is a function of cheap and abundant labour.

Another view is that competitiveness depends on possessing bountiful natural resources. More recently, many have argued that competitiveness is most strongly influenced by government policy. A final popular explanation for national competitiveness is differences in management practices including labourmanagement relations.

Baker argues that competitiveness is something more and broader than mere trade statistics. Competitiveness as much a cultural undertaking as an economic or political one requires changing minds as much as changing policies p.

Relative productivity performance too, is often seen as the root of competitiveness Porter, , p. Perhaps the situation is best summed up by Spence and Hazard:. The problem of international competitiveness has been defined in highly diverse ways. These definitions and the proposed solutions to the problem are partially inconsistent, and thoroughly confusing to most academics, politicians, policy-makers, and business managers.

There is good reason for this confusion. The collection of problems alluded to as competitiveness is genuinely complex. Disagreements frequently occur not only at the level of empirical effects and of policies, but also in the very definition of the problem. Well-intentioned and reasonable people find themselves talking at cross purposes; sometimes it almost seems they are addressing different subjects.

Spence and Hazard, , p. Alternative views In recent years, governments around the world have embarked on programmes designed to rein in burgeoning national debts, reduce the size of governments, and develop more competitive economies. Critics have questioned whether this all-pervasive, single-minded pursuit of competitiveness has gone too far in the light of the significant social costs.

Paul Krugman , for example, in an article titled Competitiveness: a dangerous obsession argued that bad polices have resulted from thinking in terms of competitiveness because competition between nations is fundamentally different from competition between firms. Krugman calculates that the growth rate of living standards essentially equals the growth rate of domestic productivity not productivity relative to competitors, but simply domestic productivity p.

In commenting on Krugmans views, The Economist , although accepting many of Krugmans central arguments, suggests that competitiveness is too useful a word to prohibit. Relative productivity growth is important as it affects a countrys income and well-being. However, in the service sector, of which tourism is a part, productivity has proven to be a difficult concept to measure. In a later article, Krugman went on to point out that competitiveness at the level of the enterprise is fundamentally different from the way in which national economies compete.

Companies operate as open systems. As a consequence, although an individual corporation may be quite able to double its market share in a short period, a national economy i.

Krugman , p. For companies that do enter world trade any increase in market share creating a trade surplus requires a corresponding export of capital. A framework for understanding competition It is helpful to our understanding of the concept of competitiveness to organize the principal theoretical and managerial dimensions within a coherent framework.

As should be clear from the above, the concept differs as a function of the level of analysis. Table 2. The structure The structure of competition between companies within any industry may be viewed as being driven by five forces Fig. Although we readily recognize the competition that occurs as a result of rivalry among existing firms e. Substitute products or services e. Companies also compete against the threat that newcomers might enter the industry.

For example, a hotel with high market share, an efficient operation, competitive prices and strong brand recognition deters new entrants. Competition also occurs for sources of reliable, low-cost supplies e. Porter conceived of the national diamond to explain the determinants of national advantage in particular industries or industry segments Fig.

This perspective might be useful, for example, in understanding the relative competitiveness of the US, Canadian and Australian tourism and hospitality industries. Factor conditions both inherited and created factors of production are the inputs to an industry and include human resources, physical resources, knowledge resources, capital resources and infrastructure.

National advantage in an industry is influenced by the availability of these factors to that industry, but strengths in other parts of the diamond may overcome disadvantages in factors. Demand conditions, particularly domestic demand and its internationalization to foreign markets, establish the proving grounds for the industry.

A high level of domestic demand confers static efficiencies and encourages improvement and innovation. Most national tourism industries depend upon domestic demand for the majority of their business. Foreign demand thrives more readily when domestic tourism is well established. Related and supporting industries that possess their own advantages can stimulate an industry.

For example, the leisure and recreation, retailing and entertainment industries share activities that complement the tourism industry. Supplier industries such as construction, arts and crafts, and food services that are either unique or cost-efficient confer advantages on the tourism industry. The fourth point on Porters diamond concerns firm strategy, structure and rivalry.

A climate of competition stimulates improvement and discourages stagnation. For example, the deregulation of the airline industry, inter-airline alliances and strong price competition continue to stimulate the demand for air travel. To the competitive diamond, Porter added two additional variables, chance events and government, which can influence any of the four major determinants.

Chance events that suddenly alter the circumstances introduce opportunities for some and threats for others. For example, a terrorist event may direct tourists from one destination to another.

Factor conditions Demand conditions Related and supporting industries Firm strategy, structure and rivalry Chance Government see Fig. Favourable public policies Respect Industrial strength, growth and prosperity International dominance. Goods and services Corporate strategy Market research Competitor analysis.

Political lobbyists Industry associations Strategic alliances Marketing authorities Industrial policy Cartels Joint promotions. International trade policies and free trade agreements Innovation and entrepreneurship Education and training Productivity improvement Investment Economic policy National culture. Determinants of national advantage in particular industries adapted from Porter, The outbreak of a deadly virus, the collapse of a currency or an environmental catastrophe such as a hurricane or an earthquake can create sudden discontinuities in the pattern of tourist flows.

How an industry reacts to these chance events e. The influence of government can also be significant through its indirect impact on the determinants of national advantage in an industry. In some countries governments may also exert a direct impact on an industry e.

Governments have tended to become more actively involved in tourism as the stakes have grown. They have both discouraged tourism e. The structure of competition between national economies bears some resemblance to the determinants of Porters diamond because economies are made up of industries.

However, by necessity, the determinants are more generic and less industry-specific Fig. The eight factors shown in Fig. The territory Just as the structure of competition varies as a function of the unit of analysis, so too does the territory over which competition is fought. Companies compete to attract certain segments of the market that they have targeted in their marketing strategy. In either case, these segments are willing and able to spend considerable sums of money on air travel.

Concorde clearly did not attempt to attract mainstream travellers and indeed deterred them through pricing in order to maintain an exclusive image. A national industry, on the other hand, competes over global markets against the same.

The tourism industries in France and Spain broadly covet similar global markets. At the same time, it is important to recognize that the relationships between national tourism industries may not always be competitive.

To some extent, for example, the tourism industries in Australia and New Zealand are complementary in terms of attracting long-haul visitors to that region of the world. On a more local level, tourism in the states of Maryland and Delaware in the USA are also quite complementary.

A different type of competitive territory is also relevant at this level of analysis. National industries also compete over national resources against other industries in the same country. Governments seek to allocate resources to growth industries through national strategies Scott, a. Greater allocative efficiency of the deployment of national resources produces additional national income and wealth Arndt and Bouton, Important resources include land, labour and capital, for example.

Favoured industries will find it easier to attract or gain access to these resources. The tourism industry, for example, competes against logging and mining industries for land as these industries involve largely incompatible land uses. The tourism industry must also provide an attractive return on investment if it is to capture a sufficient share of investment capital, and suitable salaries if it is to attract an appropriate mix of labour skills.

When entire national economies represent the unit of analysis, countries compete for a share of the international trade in goods and services. In the current mobile global economy, companies, capital and, to some extent, labour are free to move to locations which possess comparative and competitive advantages. So the competitive territory includes jobs, investment and trade. The stakes Whereas the territory represents the ground over which competition is fought, the stakes represent the prize that this territory brings.

For companies, the most obvious prize is profitability. Mere survival in the face of bankruptcy or a hostile takeover attempt is also a reward conferred on competitive companies.

In addition to financial stakes, market share bestows legitimacy, authority, power and respect upon companies and their managers because they are recognized as market leaders. As motivation, these social and political rewards may be as significant as those that are purely financial. By comparison, competitive national industries enjoy a level of international dominance that is shared by all national firms in that industry.

Industrial strength, growth and prosperity provide the critical mass and firm foundation for individual companies to pursue global markets.

In the tourism industry it would be difficult for a single enterprise e. Competitive, prosperous industries typically enjoy greater levels of public respect and support from policy makers.

As a result, favourable public policies may lead to some continuity in industry success. The stakes for a nation, economy-wide, are economic prosperity and the quality of the life of its citizens. Nations cannot be competitive in all industries as the factors of production are not shared equally. Every nation must make choices as to which industries provide the best cornerstones for their economy on the basis of factor endowments in which each has a comparative and competitive advantage.

Such choices should be based on advantages that are sustainable over the long term, not only economically but also politically, environmentally and socially. The tools The tools provide the means by which competitiveness can be managed. Companies use market research, competitor analysis and corporate strategy to establish a competitive position. Ultimately, a companys goods and services embody its competitive capabilities.

Although the competitiveness of an industry depends, in part, on the competitiveness of its individual firms, it is also driven by the collective actions of these firms towards the common good of the industry. For example, strategic alliances, partnerships, joint ventures or promotions, cartels, marketing authorities and industry associations represent organizational behaviours designed to advance the interests and success of the industry. It may be argued that, at times, what companies believe to be in the best interest of the industry may, in fact, sow the seeds of stagnation and decline in the long run.

Attempts to protect an industry have often stifled innovation and institutionalized uncompetitive behaviours. Governments seek to influence the competitiveness of national industries through industrial policy, and industries endeavour to shape government policy by employing political lobbyists. The tools for building and manipulating competitive national economies tend to be rather blunt compared with those available to individual companies.

Company tools are more. Companies can be managed, but national economies can only be coaxed, cajoled or nudged in a desired direction. Some tools, such as economic policy, international trade policies and freetrade agreements can be modified or tweaked relatively easily. Others, such as national culture, innovation and entrepreneurship, and education and training may take many years to change, if change is possible at all, and it is even longer before the effects on the competitiveness of a nation are felt.

Managing the framework The levels of competition form a hierarchy in which the nature of competitiveness is addressed at different levels of aggregation. Since competitiveness at each level is interdependent, strategies for competitiveness, in order to be effective, ought to be congruent.

Samli and Jacobs argue that government macrostrategies and corporate microstrategies must be congruent if a country is to develop its competitive advantage fully in the international arena. Companies, national industries and national economies require a shared vision and effective lines of communication if their strategies are to work in concert rather than at cross-purposes.

This is unlikely if the different levels do not share the same basic model or understanding of the factors that shape competition. Consequently, one of the main motivations for writing this book was to propose such a model for the tourism industry as a basis for discussion, debate and research. Competitiveness in the service sector Our understanding of competitiveness is based largely on research in the goods-producing sector.

Yet today, in industrialized economies, the service sector dominates. Although most of the service economy is driven by domestic demand, the volume of internationally traded services is increasing rapidly. It was long believed that there was little scope for international trade in services because. However, this has not prevented many industries, such as insurance, banking, education, health services, consulting, transportation, tourism and many others from operating internationally.

The Resource-based View, a relevant school of strategic thought, offers a conceptual … Expand. View 2 excerpts, cites background. The digital complexity in destination branding: the case of Portugal as tourism destination.

Tourism destinations are demanding strategic thinking and dynamic methods to address the contemporary digital challenge. The application of information communication technologies ICTs by tourism … Expand. Territorial Differentiation, Competitiveness and Sustainability of Tourism. In the long run, competitiveness of tourism destinations is linked to their sustainability. In order to preserve the characteristics that guarantee attractiveness, local natural and cultural aspects … Expand.

Tourism destination is a comprehensive definition and the key factor of tourism competitive competence. The existing marketing modes have respective advantages and disadvantages, this paper aims at … Expand. The authors analyse the concept of competitiveness and then apply this concept to tourist destinations.