Innovative organisation approach to sustainable tourism development in rural areas

Abstract

Purpose

To work out an innovative organisation model for tourism destinations in rural areas.

Design/methodology/approach

By outlining the problematic of tourism development in rural areas and implementing the concept of network management and the systems theory, we developed an innovative approach to destination management for non‐urban areas.

Findings

Network management means a new lesson for destination management. Our model has been conceived to systematically deal with different subsystems and both systemic and non‐systemic entities in a rural destination.

Research limitations/implications

The focus is limited to destination management in rural areas only. Although several methods suit different types of destinations, some seem to be less adequate for rural areas. The model was intended to search an optimal organisational model only.

Originality/value

The model introduces an original approach to the destination management and allows its application in a wide range of real situations. It can help achieving a better organisation and thus an improved competitiveness of a rural destination.

Citation

Sibila Lebe, S. and Milfelner, B. (2006), "Innovative organisation approach to sustainable tourism development in rural areas", Kybernetes, Vol. 35 No. 7/8, pp. 1136-1146. https://doi.org/10.1108/03684920610675139