Contribution of Network Approach to Tourism Destination Governance

Abstract

A tourism destination is a prototypical complex phenomenon and an ideal object of study of network science. Thanks to recent advances in computer science, this approach is capable of providing the baseline needed to design and govern tourism destinations in a dynamic environment. Although there have been some major contributions to this phenomenon, their scarcity has brought a rather fragmented contribution to tourism destination governance. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to conceptualise the contribution of network approach to tourism destination governance. Based on 10 real and virtual networks of mature tourism destinations in a Central Europe, the article provides areas where the network approach can help the tourism destination governance. Furthermore, it suggests managerial implications from the application of the network approach in the practice of governing a tourism destination.