Strategic cooperation as a tool for sustainable tourism 11th October 2006 Karen Winkler Institute fo

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Strategic cooperation as a tool for sustainable
tourism 11th October 2006Karen
WinklerInstitute for Tourism and Recreational
Research in Northern Europe
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Aims

• To introduce you to one of the agora toolbox
  topics
• To illustrate the concept of cooperation
• To provide the basis for the discussion in
  working groups later on about success factors for
  cooperation

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Why should one cooperate?

• Nature of the tourism product composite product
• Challenges in the tourism industry e.g.
  changing market trends, increasing competition
  etc.
• Contribution to sustainable development (SD)
• Brings together many stakeholders ?basis for
  successful SD
• Can help to overcome industry fragmentation ?
  spread sustainable practices

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Possible forms of cooperation

• Many different forms
• Typology of cooperation 6 dimensions

Formality
Organisational diversity
Purpose
Timeframe
Size
Geographical reach
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Typology of cooperation

• Purpose
• Marketing, product development, distribution etc.
  
• More than one purpose possible
• Starting point for most cooperations, all other
  dimensions are arranged accordingly
• Example Pilot Project Cooperation between
  Polish eco-tourist farms purposes include
  product development, marketing, information
  provision etc.

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Typology of cooperation

• Organisational diversity
• Horizontal cooperation (e.g. between two hotels)
• Vertical cooperation (e.g. between a hotel and
  tour operator)
• Diagonal cooperation (e.g. Pilot Project Nordic
  Walking involves tourism and health care
  sectors)
• Public-private partnership (e.g. Pilot Project
  Historical Parks development concept (Poland)
  involvement of public and private partners in
  developing the concept

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Typology of cooperation

• Remaining 4 dimensions

varying degrees in between
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Success factors for cooperation

• Three groups of success factors concerning the
  
• Intended outcome of a cooperation
• Participants/partners in a cooperation
• Set up/operation of a cooperation

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Success factors for cooperation

• Intended outcome of a cooperation
• Development of a win-win situation for all
  stakeholders
• Prospect of cost reduction or prevention of
  ruinous environment (Müller 2005)

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Success factors for cooperation

• Participants/partners in a cooperation
• Trust
• Willingness and ability to collaborate
• Willingness to learn and to understand each
  others needs
• Willingness and ability to contribute to shared
  resources
• A flexible approach by all stakeholders
• Long-term commitment (Saretzki, Wilken and
  Wöhler 2002 WTO 2001)

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Success factors for cooperation

• Set up/operation of a cooperation
• Precise task sharing and task definition based on
  defined core competencies
• Concentration on those areas that can be
  fulfilled best
• Need for a balanced structure within the
  collaboration with clear roles and
  responsibilities for all stakeholders
• A long-term commitment combining a strategic
  vision and plan with shorter-term goals and
  measurable activities all developed by involving
  all stakeholders
• The success of collaboration has to be regularly
  assessed on the basis of mutually defined goals.
• A cooperation that does not deliver results
  anymore has to be terminated (Müller 2005
  Ullmann 2000 WTO 2001)

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Conclusion

• Several good reasons for cooperation
• Many different forms of cooperation
• Purpose is usually the starting point, all other
  dimensions are arranged accordingly
• Try to cover success factors in your cooperation

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Thank you for your attention!
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References

• Müller, H. (2005) Mit Kooperationen zum
  Erfolg. fif Akzente, No. 38, pp. 1.
• Saretzki, A., Wilken, M., Wöhler, K. (2002)
  Lernende Tourismusregionen Vernetzung als
  strategischer Erfolgsfaktor kleiner und mittlerer
  Unternehmen. Tourismus - Beiträge zu Wissenschaft
  und Praxis, Band 3, Universität Lüneburg.
• Ullmann, S. (2000) Strategischer Wandel im
  Tourismus Dynamische Netzwerke als
  Zukunftsperspektive. Deutsche Universitäts-Verlag
  Wiesbaden.
• WTO (2001) Public-private-sector cooperation
  enhancing tourism competitiveness. WTO Madrid.