Advocacy and community leadership in destination management

Abstract

Destination management is undergoing substantial change. Recent literature suggests that current destination management practices, in the context of the global expansion of tourism and volume oriented approaches, are not sustainable. Destination managers are now expected to have a deeper social presence and maintain a balance between the interests of businesses, wider stakeholders, and the host community. Advocacy and community leadership are proposed by both academics and practitioners as destination management functions of the future, enabling the management of tourism destinations in a sustainable and resilient manner. This research builds on a conceptual framework of interdependent destination management functions, focusing on advocacy and community leadership. Two main domains from the destination management literature are reviewed: namely the connection between destinations and their regions, and destination leadership with a focus on advocacy and community leadership. The research adopts a qualitative approach, asking questions from key stakeholders implementing the National Tourism Development Plan, an overarching approach to destination management, in Estonia. Interviews focus on advocacy and community leadership, and how they interconnect with other functions of destination management. The study reveals that advocacy and community leadership act as an interface between a destination and the region it is situated in. These functions help destination managers to maintain their relationships with the host community and wider stakeholder groups. To depict the interrelations between the researched and other functions of destination management, a framework of Advocacy and Community Leadership as functions of Destination Management is developed. Implications of the study for practitioners and researchers are outlined at the end of the thesis.