1. Conceptualising and aligning leadership
style to successful
performance in sustainable tourism
(Cases from Wales)
Dr Andrew L Jones & Dr Silvio Debono
ITTC
UNIVERSTY OF MALTA
European Summer School “Leadership and
Governance for Sustainable Tourism” Naples, 8-
12 July 2013

2. Research parameters
Research background
The research - Case Studies
Research Outcomes
Research Conclusions

3. The Research Background
The Alternative Tourism Model
(Mieczkowski,1995: 495)
Mass tourism
conventional or standard tourism
nature tourism
eco tourism
cultural tourism educational tourism scientific tourism adventure tourism agri-tourism
Alternative Tourism
sustainable tourism development
niche tourism or tourism micro markets
TOURISM
3

4. 4
Wales

5. 5
WALES’ TOURISM
PRODUCT
 SMALL COUNTRY
 CELTIC HERITAGE & LANGUAGE
 RICH IN NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
 DOMESTIC orientated tourism
 SMALL INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
 FRAGMENTED PRODUCT Smes
 DOMINATION SMALL BUSINESS
 ACCOMODATION MAINLY SELF-CATERING
 10% of GDP
 9% ALL EMPLOYMENT

6. 6
DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE
TOURISM IN WALES

7. 7
Visit Wales
Sustainable Tourism Strategy
PRIORITY STRATEGIES
Policy Focus
 Economic sustainability
 Environmental
sustainability
 Coastal and resort
regeneration
 Cultural Tourism
Strategy
 Historic town programme
 Country holiday
marketing
 New product
development
Food and Gastronomy
Examples
 Kite Country Project Mid
Wales
 Landsker Borderlands
 Festival of the
Countryside
 Makers of Wales

8. Swansea Bay
festival UNESCO
Historic Seaside
resorts
Tenby
Wales Rural
Forum
Industrial
Heritage
S Wales Valleys
Urban
Regeneration
Swansea
CYMRU Y GWIR
FLAS
Wales True Taste
Wales Coastal
Tourism Strategy
The research cases studies
2001-2011

9. The research premise
The concept of
sustainability
 ‘Sustainable tourism tends to be a
kinder gentler form of tourism that is
generally small in scale, sensitive to
cultural and environmental resources
and impacts and respects the
involvement of local people in policy
development’. (McCool and Moisey
2001:3)

10. Research Questions
1. Is sustainable tourism and its associated
markets a kinder or gentler form of tourism?
2. Are such forms of tourism more sensitive to
cultural and environmental resources?
3. Do such forms of tourism have less impact,
particularly on the environment?
4. Are local people genuinely engaged in the
policy and decision making processes and
gain positive benefits ?
5. What makes a good sustainable tourism
project?

11. Key Findings
1. “The results highlighted that both positive and
negative impacts were largely influenced by , for
example,
a) the scale of the attraction
b) its location and
c) its type.
2. “As well as these, there are more critical operational
factors associated for example with
a) the sophistication of organisational structure
b) financial support and funding and
c) variety of product market focus particularly the tensions
associated between conservation or
commercialisation”

12. Key Findings -support
1. “there are significant imbalances in the
support mechanisms available to the small,
medium sized public, private and voluntary
sector attractions”
2. “ some correlation does exist between strong
public support and positive effects on levels
of community engagement and cultural
capacity building.”
3. “levels of public funding and support available
to smaller public, private, and voluntary
sector attractions can be a major determinant
of broad success or failure within their
respective communities.”

13. Key findings -strategy
1. “research clearly shows that the key
message for tourism and economic
policy makers is one that requires a
more strategic inclusive and
government led approach if such
attractions are to be sustained and
evolve into cultural assets for the
regions and communities in which they
are located”.

14. Key Findings - strategy
1. “Without an over-riding strategy it is not
possible to plan and implement cohesive
initiatives which benefit the nation”
2. “Nonetheless, it could be contended that lack
of momentum and lack of focus with regards a
strategy have created perceptual gaps.
3. “there is also a perception that there is not an
over-riding strategy but only a large quantity
of short-term peace-meal initiatives.”

15. Key finding – long term
1. “Ensuring strategic long term
agendas have also become
progressively more difficult as
evidence from the cases shows
high incidences of failed strategic
planning and poorly co-ordinated
community led responses.”

16. Key Findings – sustainable concepts
1. “There is a failure to optimise the use of
natural and built environment, the local
community and local businesses - the co-
ordination of which is fundamental to the
concept of sustainable development”
2. “critical problems and implementation issues
which arise also concern perceptual gaps.
These not only relate to the gaps between
public sector and private sector, previously
mentioned, but also relate to the gaps
between the perceptions of the consumer and
those of the producer”

17. Key Findings – economic development?
1. “Destination management priorities appear to
remain largely focussed upon economic
development objectives”
2. “The compatibility between resource
conservation and economic development also
appears to remain fundamentally at odds”

18. Key Findings - malaise
1. “evidence from the cases demonstrates that
despite much positive debate during the early
1990s progress on implementation and
understanding has been marginal with
increasingly negative attitudes and more
resigned pragmatic responses”
2. “the growing paradox between the need to
ensure public support for such strategies
against a back drop of ever decreasing public
funding and an increasing reliance on the
private sector to deliver socially and
economically balanced initiatives has been a
somewhat perplexing phenomena “

19. Key Findings - complexity
1. “The key findings from the cases support the
notion that sustainable concepts associated
with the conservation of heritage and the
environment, the promotion of urban renewal
and rural regeneration and the development
of cultural tourism markets are becoming
increasingly complex with little evidence of
real achievement or progress being made in
attaining wide spread long-term growth.”

20. LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES
the creation of sustainable tourism markets -
Conceptually Speaking - More Questions than Answers!
Top Down – Bottom
Up Policy Directions
Strategic Leadership
Role of strategic
planning?
Regulating Tourism
Access
Managing finite sensitive
resources with social and
environmental
responsibility?
Strategic Priorities
Balancing economic
development vis a
vis social and
conservation
needs?
Tourism Dependency
on Natural
Resources
resource auditing &
priority for
conservation ?
Diverse Stakeholder
Interests
Getting agreement
consensus through
enablers?
Meeting Community
Capabilities &
Expectations
measures for
community capacity
building?
Funding Sustainable
Projects
Relying on private
finance in a world of
ever decreasing public
funds
THE PARADOX
Leadership
Challenges

21. 21
Successful performance for
sustainable tourism?
1. Securing Balanced & Sustainable Funding?
2. Organisational infrastructure and co-
ordinated strategies - Strategic planning?
3. Statutory regulation – Protecting Resources?
4. Capacity building - Dissemination of good
practice – Building Consensus?
5. Distinctiveness and valuing authentic regional
identity?
6. Education & skills development?
7. Understanding the concepts and reality -
Research?

22. Key Findings
“When integrated with properly
balanced approaches to
regeneration such tourism
initiatives can show great benefits
and sustain pride in once proud
communities”,

23. Thank you
GRAZIE