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SCIEX.CH - The Role of the Destination Management Organizations in Sustainable Tourism Development: A Cross-Country Analysis

Switzerland is considered as the cradle of modern tourism, in which innovative solutions in tourism management have been developed and introduced in the past 15 years. These management concepts have been adapted and used in many destinations, also on an international level and Switzerland is therefore an ideal starting and reference point for an analysis. At the same time, several Swiss destinations (i.e. Gstaad, Zermatt) have implemented standards respecting the principles of sustainable development. This is why this country will be the object of a detailed analysis before extending the focus of the study to other countries with different framework conditions.

The research will comprise 4 major work packages:

1. On the basis of determined criteria, 10-15 international case study destinations will be selected (destinations in Switzerland and other European countries as well as outside Europe) in order to study the role of destination management organizations for tourism and sustainable development. Research instruments used will be interviews and questionnaires. The following issues will be crucial in this phase:

  • - identification of the state and evaluation of efficiency of integrated tourism management in Switzerland and internationally;
  • - analysis of factors determining the development of DMOs in tourism, with special attention to learning institutional and environmental barriers in particular regions and towns that decided not to introduce this kind of management;
  • - relationship of DMOs with political authorities and their role in developing and implementing sustainable tourism policies;

2. The empirical study will be complemented with an analysis of secondary data on the evolution of tourism in the case study destinations (development factors, framework conditions, governance issues, sustainable development indicators etc.).

3. On the basis of the empirical data from phase 1 and the results of the analysis from secondary sources in phase 2, a comprehensive comparative analysis will be carried out.

4. The last stage of the research will study the possibilities and implications of implementing a 'universal DMO model' in Poland.

The results obtained will be presented in form of a final report and research papers and be disseminated in conferences in Switzerland and Poland.

Equipe de travail : Roland Schegg, Katarzyna Klimek.