Tourism can be an important driver of sustainable regional development in developing and emerging countries. In order to tap the existing potential, efficient organisations are needed to promote the tourism development of destinations under aspects of sustainable development.
However, many countries have had problems in this respect so far. Tourism structures are often not efficiently designed and there is a lack of awareness of cooperation. In addition, the tourism strategy is often one-sidedly oriented towards economic growth - driven by the great hope that tourism can boost the country's economic development. Ecological and socio-cultural burdens caused by tourism are partly accepted for this.
Against this background, the German International Cooperation (GIZ) has commissioned us to produce a handbook to support tourism destinations in developing and emerging economies to achieve professional and sustainable destination management.
The handbook is aimed at all those who develop and manage destinations, as well as at consultants who are involved in the necessary change processes and want to shape them successfully.
In concrete terms, it is intended to provide practical assistance in this respect,
- to sensitise the key tourism players to the need for sustainable destination management,
- derive individual destination management strategies,
- to create efficient organisational structures and secure their financing, and
- to manage the destination in such a way that current challenges are taken into account.
On March 8, the handbook was officially presented at the ITB and is now available for download:
Destination management in developing and emerging countries: mia.giz.de/qlink/ID=245633000