Partnerships and Network Management in Tourism

CHARACTERISTICS

TEACHING STAFF

Lecturer: Dr. Jaume Guia

AIMS OF THE SUBJECT

The competitive advantage of tourism companies depends on the satisfaction of the tourist with the overall experience of his or her journey. The complexity of the tourist experience –accommodation, food, learning, well-being, climate, transport, security, etc. etc.– makes the control of the quality of the experience by any individual business unattainable.

The high interdependence among all the relevant actors in a local tourist destination makes close co-operation between them a fundamental element of the competitive strategy of any of them. Consequently, in this course we analyze the conceptual models, the instruments and the mechanisms available to the product and/or destination members and managers to implement an effective strategy of co-operation at the level of tourism products and local destinations.

COURSE SYLLABUS

1. Clusters, networks and competitiveness in tourism
2. Network management: complex problems, uncertainties and mechanisms
3. Social Network Analysis
4. Using SNA to identify points of influence in tourism networks and to assess teams, associations and relational networks in tourism

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Borgatti, S.P., Everett, M.G. and Freeman, L.C. 2002. Ucinet for Windows: Software for Social Network Analysis. Harvard, MA: Analytic Technologies. Download free software from: http://www.analytictech.com/ucinet.htm
• Bramwell, B. and Lane, B. (2000) Tourism Collaboration and Partnerships: Politics, Practice and Sustainability. Channel View Books
• Hanneman, Robert and Mark Riddle. 2005. Introduction to Social Network Methods. Free to read on-line or to download. http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman
• Klijn, E-H. and Kooppenjam, J. (2005) Managing Uncertainties in Networks: Public Privat Controversies. Routledge.
• Michael, E. (2006) Micro-clusters and Networks: The Growth of Tourism. North Holland Publishing.
• WTO (2003) Cooperation and partnership in Tourism: a Global Perspective. WTO

COURSE COMPETENCES

Students will be able to understand the implications of effective co-operation on the competitiveness of a destination;

Students will be able to analyse and diganose the uncertainties that inhibit co-operation and to design effective mechanisms for implementing effective co-operation and network strategies with regard to complex problems of product and destination integration.

Students will have the knowledge to use Social Network Analysis software and be able to map the relational networks of a destination or tourism product chain and effectively interpret it in order to better design adequate governance structures for the integral management of tourism products and destinations.