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Networks are an appropriate structural pattern to develop destination products among various actors. Hereby, network characteristics and specifications have an impact on the product development process and the degree of innovation. Therefore, specific network characteristics, such as the big number of actors, the tendency towards uni-dimensionality, the collaboration among similar destination actors or the concentration on marketing activities, need to be researched further. The establishment of professional network leadership might support the diversity and development of innovative product development processes in tourism destinations.

There are various contributions in tourism literature where the necessity for change in tourism destinations as well as the objective of it is discussed. So far there have been no studies on how a transformative change of organizational structure and its cooperating network partners needs to be shaped in order to create an effective structure for tourism destinations. The present article therefore focuses on the process of change taking tourism destinations of the “community model”. The different phases of the process, strategies, instruments, problems and success factors will be highlighted. Of central importance for the transformative process of change is the “governance”-approach.

Sustainability is becoming more and more important for the long-run competitiveness of tourism destinations. None of the existing models for a sustainable tourism management is suited for an application in tourism destinations. Therefore, the most important challenges are identified by a qualitative empirical survey in four Swiss tourism destinations in this article. A systematic process approach, a simple monitoring and a consequent participation of all stakeholders are, amongst others, of importance.

Recently, the cooperative landscape among South Tyrolean hoteliers has been characterized by an increase of supra-local cooperation in inter-destinational marketing consortia. In contrast, local cooperation within destinations is undergoing notably less good times. The present exploratory qualitative study attempts to shed light on the interactions between these two types of interorganizational cooperation among hoteliers. In part, the results suggest a slightly diminishing importance of small-scaled tourist destinations as units of cooperation: Due to changing market and supply conditions, complementary forms of cooperation such as marketing consortia seem to gain importance. They appear to be a means for hoteliers to (re)gain control over the value chain and widen the geographical sphere of activity by establishing inter-destinational ties.

Global tourism is a complex system within a dynamic framework that is exposed to rapid and challenging developments. An exploratory Delphi survey aimed to identify the most prominent challenges for global tourism through 2020. The results provide insights into the nature of these challenges and raise awareness of their causes and potential effects. The five proposed meta-challenges demonstrate the complexity of the interrelations and interdependencies affecting the future of the global tourism system. The meta-challenges can also be regarded as constituting a strategic road map for destination managers, but solutions must be developed situational and specifically. It appears that global challenges must be addressed in particular on the destination level in order to strengthen its competitive position.

As tourist areas strive to position themselves successfully, tourism lobbying plays a more and more important role. Especially the increasing competition between destinations, but also ongoing transformation processes on the supply and demand side, make it necessary for the economic players and the makers of tourism policy to work more closely together. In this paper Bavaria, one of the leading European destinations, serves as an example of the role of tourism lobbying in view of the conflicting priorities of makers of tourism policy and the tourism business. The background for the study includes the current challenges to the destination and the concept on tourism adopted by the Bavarian state government.

This contribution is a kind of first „work in progress report“ from an oncoming project analyzing the regionalization approaches which are undertaken in Cyprus since a few years. By regional DMOs and regionalization of the marketing the tourism potential in the hinterland of the coast which up to now is dominated by the sun and beach bathing tourism shall be put to better use. However, it seems that the chosen approaches are inadequate as yet only very partially successful.