Fifth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

Stakeholders’ engagement in the making of policy and its processes and practices is vital to tourism success in regional tourism destinations. However, studies focusing on how to actively engage such stakeholders remain scarce. There is limited understanding of the reasons behind tourism success in regional Western Australia and this research attempted to fill this gap by examining where policy is generated and implemented. This study examined five tourism destinations that had special stories to tell in terms of attributes, characteristics and success as a tourism destination, past and present. The findings suggested the State Government had made people aware of the need to develop tourism and that government and non-government organisations felt tourism policy was essential, but was a State responsibility. However, there was little understanding of the State Government’s tourism strategy, policy-making processes, policy content or the possible effects these might have on their destinations. Destinations stakeholders were unaware of who was responsible for tourism in their destination and there were varying perceptions of policy priorities. Government groups valued policy and strategy that benefitted community and felt tourism needed more status in local government, while non-government groups valued policy that benefitted the tourism industry. The State Government should consider institutional innovation and an analysis of policy environments to enable successful policy transfer and interpretation. The case studies highlighted a need for local government to engage with tourism and manage destination tourism in ways that engaged stakeholders in meaningful dialogue, supporting such dialogue with workable plans and policies.