Alexander SchulerManagement der Bildung und Veränderung von Destinationen

Rezension

[…] Insgesamt legt der Verfasser einerseits ein fundiertes Grundlagenwerk zum Stand der Diskussion im Destinations­management vor, in dem andererseits der aktuelle Diskussions- und Kenntnisstand erweitert und voran geführt wird. Damit ist das Buch sowohl für denjenigen geeignet, der Grundlagen­informationen sucht als auch für denjenigen, der aktiv in der Analyse und Weiterentwicklung von Destinations­management­konzepten involviert ist.

About this book deutschenglish

Increased academic attention has been paid to the necessity of change in tourism destinations and the aims behind it. Yet, implications on how to manage the process of change in tourism destinations are still missing. Research on how to manage transformational process of change from cooperating network partners to a competitive (organizational) structure of a tourism destination is needed. Based on the community model of destinations, the publication focuses on the process of change and its different phases, strategies, instruments, problems and success factors.

A single case study (Eisenhardt, 1989) of the German destination Sauerland will analyse the process of change ex-post. Using the Grounded Theory Method (Corbin & Strauss, 2008), central aspects of the so called “Sauerland Process” are identified and a theoretical model of change management of destinations has been developed. As a result, a model for destinations is developed combining a planned approach with an emergent approach. Different types of perspectives must be distinguished:

• a time and process level
• a level of instruments and specific measures
• a level of “stakeholder”-participation

The destination governance approach and leadership is of central importance in this transformative change management process. As a huge number of stakeholders from those so called community type of destinations and their diverging interests need to be integrated. It is therefore necessary to link the change management approach with destination governance. This applies not only to structuring and managing change, but also to developing a strategy and instruments as well as rules and mechanism for implementing the strategic concepts. The role of the political actors and bodies is stressed at the local, regional and provincial level. This can not only be applied on the possibilities of using pull and push instruments of the federal state through tourism directives and fundings. It can also be used for the strategic and operative tasks within the organizational structures of tourism destinations.

This research helps to better understand a process of change and implement it with regard to the local and structural characteristics of regional destinations. It provides other starting points for further research and also guidance for practitioners.