| dc.description.abstract | This study was conducted to empirically analysis tourism destination
competitiveness from the tourism stakeholders’ perspective. The study provides the
structural relationships among the following five strategic constructs through a series
of analyses:-1) perceived tourism development impacts, 2) environmental attitudes, 3)
place attachment, 4) development preferences about destination attractions/resources,
and 5) support for destination competitive strategies. The principle guideline of this
study was that the support of tourism stakeholders for tourism planning and
development is a key element for the successful operation, management, and longterm
sustainability of tourism destinations. Tourism stakeholder’s solid knowledge
and experiences in tourism management and industry, professional involvement and
participation in tourism planning and development, and long-term community
observation and interactions have played an important role in tourism destination
management. Structured questionnaires were used to collect empirical from randomly
selected tourism stakeholders in the county of Isiolo. From the results, tourism
stakeholders’ preferences about tourism attractions/ resources development are a
function of perceived tourism development impacts as well as place attachment. The
more stakeholders’ preference for developing tourism attractions/resources, the more
likely they were to support destination competitive strategies such as marketing
efforts and activities, and destination management organizations’ role. An additional
finding that was not hypothesized indicated that tourism stakeholders, who have
perceived benefits from tourism development, particularly in its economic and
cultural aspects, are likely to support enhancement strategies for destination
competitiveness. The implications of these findings can be applied to the
enhancement of tourism destination competitiveness. Results also showed that a
firm’s competitive advantage comes from its resource capacity (superior resources,
unique capabilities and solid relationships) and a mix of activities that respond to the
competitive context. Stakeholder management can thus have significant influence on
resources advantages as stakeholders play important roles in the process of value
creation. They are the providers who supply valued resources to the firm and, as such,
can act as catalysts or hindrances that either facilitate or impede the generation of
valued resources. Successful stakeholder management strengthens a firm’s resource
profile and thus enhances its resource advantages, as stakeholders are relevant
activities and drivers that determine cost and differentiation. Moreover, stakeholders,
as stated above, are key players in the competitive context, who help to shape
competitiveness of the firm. In a global climate of increased competition and greater
visitor demands for professionalism and service, planning emerges as one of the most
valuable tools that attractions can use to differentiate themselves from competitors.
Planning can provide competitive advantages by allowing attractions to manage their
strengths and weaknesses and to anticipate opportunities and threats in the
environment.. | en |
