Destination management and sustainable tourism development through the common lens of the commons

Abstract

This study combines three interconnected streams in tourism literature: analysis of the utilisation of common pool resources (CPR) in tourism, studies on sustainable tourism development and theoretical contributions to the articulation of roles, missions and strategies of a destination management organisation (DMO). Starting from an integrative literature review, our aim is to explore the symbiotic relationships between these approaches in order to design a conceptual framework for opening new research opportunities. The operational application of such a conceptual model depends on the resources of each destination, the type of tourism dynamics observed, the specific stakeholders involved and the power balance between them. Our objective is to define and to discuss the critical conditions for the integration of sustainable development principles into the strategic role of a DMO through the management of CPR via participatory processes of destination management. An exploratory illustration of this framework for the rural destination of Kushiro-Akan (Hokkaido, Japan) is presented. Policy and managerial implications as well as the needs for further research are discussed.