Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744 Upskilling municipal staff competences on planning and managing sustainable tourism Module 4: Stakeholders and the tourism ecosystem Level : ADVANCED
Here are the learning objectives for this module: ✓ Identifying different types stakeholders ✓ Creating a stakeholder map ✓ Identifying win conditions ✓ Caring for the tourism Ecosystem In this module, you will learn… Photo by Frames For Your Heart on Unsplash Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744
Partnerships for the goals can be seen through many different lenses. There’s the international collaboration between nations, there is the national collaboration between government agencies within a country, but the partnerships reach all the way down to destination level where a number of different stakeholder interact with the municipality. From a destination perspective the DMO is the focal point of any tourism partnerships and in the absence of a DMO, the municipal organisation is usually seen as the DMO whether that is an active choice by the municipality or not. SDG 17 focuses on the partnerships that are needed to reach and accelerate the goals. This means that all other SDGs benefit from taking a partnership approach. In the UST project it is evident that a municipality can create policies for sustainable tourism and act to reduce poverty, preserve life on land and act with circularity in mind. However, the project has also shown how much partnerships mean for the ability to deliver on strategies, policies and plans. Each destination is unique in its setup of stakeholders, but there are groups of stakeholders that most destinations have in common. It is crucial for municipalities to identify these stakeholder groups and engage them in win-win partnerships. What winning means is different for each group, but some common denominators exist here that we can use as guidelines when we start to design our partnerships. All of these partnerships create an ecosystem that thrives when stakeholders start helping each other reach their individual win conditions. INTRODUCTION Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744
Stakeholder can be broadly be put into three categories: • Internal stakeholders • Destination stakeholders • External stakeholders Stakeholders come in different shapes and sizes • Internal stakeholders are your municipal colleagues who work in your department or some area of the municipal organization • Destination stakeholders are typical tourism stakeholders like businesses, local associations and local community • External stakeholders could be regional stakeholders or partnerships that extend outside of the destination like travel agents or international cooperation initiatives Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744
For any given municipality and destination there are a multitude of stakeholders in these three general categories. These stakeholder categories have different type of partnerships with the municipality, and they are usually looking to gain very different things from a partnership. A stakeholder map is a good toll for keeping track of partnerships in these different categories. Avoid the temptation of listing every possible stakeholder. Some are more important than others – your partnerships for the goals, the SDGs. In the center of the map is what you are trying to achieve. Your municipality’s journey toward the SDGs that you defined are unique to you. It is important that you share these goals and your ideas on how to reach them with the relevant stakeholders. When you share them it is important to emphasise that these are the municipal goals and in order to create partnerships you need to figure out the goals of the different stakeholders. Starting a partnership doesn’t mean that you have to share the exact same goal for the exact same reason and you will find that very few stakeholders will engage in partnership through altruism in order for the municipality to reach its goals without the stakeholders reaching theirs. Take reducing poverty as an example. The municipality may have a very different view on why that is important compared to a tourism business. Balancing different views or lenses on sustainability is part of creating partnerships for the goals. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET000089744 Stakeholder map External stakeholders Destination stakeholders Internal stakeholders
Stakeholder dialogue is where you let others know what your municipality is aiming to do in the sustainability space with tourism as a tool, but most of all it is where you listen to what the stakeholders are saying. Stakeholder dialogue can be an informal one-to-one talk or a group discussion with several stakeholder groups. It is important to emphasise that you don’t have to align your goals – all you have to do is respect the fact that all these goals are valid. Stakeholder dialogue Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744 “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway
Win-win partnerships are not about agreeing on a single outcome that benefits both parties – or worse – convincing the other party to abandon their win conditions and adopt yours. Win-win partnerships helps create conditions where both parties get their ideal outcome. All dialogue in the partnerships should be aimed towards creating these conditions. Some of the win-win partnerships may be between two partners outside of the municipality where the municipality acts as a broker. Win-win partnerships Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744 Identify the win conditions, collaborate to determine possible solutions and be willing to look at different options to find the best one.
The following examples were included in the basic level material for SDG 17. ✓ The municipality partners with local food producers to promote heritage and culture, while the food producers gain access to new markets and a stronger sense of place. ✓ The municipality provides infrastructure, such as biking paths, and a guide company introduces their visitors to the food producers and the landscape. ✓ The municipality and local entrepreneurs inspire and empower local residents to use the bike paths for recreation and buy local products, fostering a stronger sense of pride in their community and acting as ambassadors when meeting visitors. Let’s look at these example through the lens or win-win collaboration. What does winning mean? Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744 Helpful tip: Regularly monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the partnerships and collaborations to ensure that they are delivering the intended benefits for all stakeholders.
In the examples provided on the previous slide there are the following stakeholders: The municipality represented by politicians, internal stakeholders such as infrastructure planning and a DMO. These all have different win conditions. The politicians might want to promote local production a culture in order to attract more people to come live in the municipality, the department of infrastructure planning want more people to choose bicycles rather than driving by car and the DMO might be in charge of promoting sustainable practices through partnerships. These are already three different win conditions, based in different SDGs, and they can sometimes be in competition with each other. The second set of stakeholders are the destinations stakeholders. In the example provided these are local food producers, a guide company and local entrepreneurs. The local food producers are looking for new markets where they can sell direct to tourists ro get better margins for their products. The guide company wants to engage visitors in their product and use the partnerships to provide content for their guided tours. The local entrepreneurs could be looking to expand their season through the interest that the locally produced food and the activation of hiking and bike paths that the guide company is doing. They would like more overnight stays in periods where they have lots of free rooms. The external stakeholders in the examples include visitors but also inhabitants. Visitors want to experience true local culture in an active way. Inhabitants want entertainment and events to engage in with friends and family. When all these stakeholders and their respective win conditions have been mapped you can start to figure out what the partnerships look like. Partnering with the municipality might not get the stakeholder what they are after. The win for one stakeholder is usually related to the win of another stakeholder. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET000089744 Mapping out the wins External stakeholders Destination stakeholders Internal stakeholders Politicans Infrastructure planning DMO Local food producers Guide company Local entrepreneurs Visitors Inhabitants
Caring for the ecosystem The social economy and social, fair and responsible tourism share the same values. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg385qugL8c Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744
The ecosystems approach is different from a social capital approach. Social capital builds on the idea that networks and partnerships are built around relationships and that these relationships themselves help boost your win conditions. It is a theory that has received criticism for maintaining the status quo and for rewarding those who already have strong relationships. An ecosystems approach recognises that there is a whole system of interdependent parties already in place in the destination. It is the municipality’s role to be the caretaker of this ecosystem, listen to different perspectives and help create a balance between different and diverse parts of this ecosystem. Ecosystems vs social capital Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744 Helpful tip: Make sure your ecosystem is not made up of “the usual suspects”, meaning the same stakeholders that you always work with. Invite new voices, small entrepreneurs, community representatives and groups with less social capital and help create win conditions for them so that the whole ecosystem can thrive.
Give some relevant information that conveys the information in the table Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1SE01-KA220-VET-000089744 Ecosystem example The example of the Ecosystem shows many relationships, shown here with dotted lines. Every one of these relationships has its own win conditions and it is important to map them out and understand them and for the stakeholders in the ecosystem to accept that there are multiple ways of winning and that the ecosystem wins when everyone wins. In the example we can look at infrastructure planning. They win when they can provide infrastructure that is useful for inhabitants and visitors within a budget discussed with politicians but can also be used by local businesses like the guide company. These win conditions are different from the win conditions of the guide company. They win when infrastructure planning create beautiful walking paths that take them past the main sights. They also need local food producers and local entrepreneurs add value to the guided tour and visitors to provide pay for the experience. By discussing these win conditions through the lens of the municipality’s vision for sustainability new perspectives on winning will emerge. External stakeholders Destination stakeholders Internal stakeholders Politicans Infrastructure planning DMO Local food producers Guide company Local entrepreneurs Visitors Inhabitants
SDG 17 is all about creating partnerships for the goals. In practice this means that the tourism or destination partnerships can be seen as a system of relationships and win conditions. This is referred to as the Tourism Ecosystem. It is the municipality's role to be the caretaker of this ecosystem by mapping out the different stakeholders in a diverse and inclusive way and initiate dialogue so that the different win conditions become clearer. A very useful way to do this is to use a stakeholder map as your starting point. Make sure you introduce new and more diverse stakeholders to expand the system and challenge the status quo. Caring for the Tourism Ecosystem will lead to new and stronger partnerships, innovative ideas and sustainable solutions that encapsulates all the 17 SDGs. KEY TAKEAWAYS Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01-KA220-VET-000089744
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Pr. nr.:2022-1-SE01KA220-VET-000089744
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