TOURISM DESTINATION-COMPETENCY AS AN ANTECEDENT TO TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS’ ENGAGEMENT AT THE DESTINATION

Abstract

Stakeholders in tourism are broadly classified as players of supply-side and demand-side. The comparative and competitive advantage that a destination possesses over similar other destinations heighten the engagement and commitment of supply-side stakeholders for further investment in the tourism sector and thereby business enlargement at the destination. Thus, framing proper stakeholder management policies and strategies are important for any tourist destination to enhance and sustain its competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. This article presents an analytical framework to explore whether tourism destination competitiveness with a mediating effect of destination-supplier fit lead to supply-side stakeholders’ engagement at the destination which could facilitate a clearer understanding of the nature of tourism stakeholders’ reactions to tourism, so that the results could help tourism planners and policy-makers to develop more appropriate destination products as well as to enhance competitiveness in tourism markets in turn.