Potential contribution of collaborative forms in Tourism: a focus on tourism cluster

International audiencePurpose: As competition among destination becomes fiercer, tourist destination need to be more innovative to stay attractive and adapt to global change. Innovation do not only consider product, but also the way stakeholders are involved and willing to co-create the destination into a dynamic way. This shift generates new and complex interactions between different players and worth to be analysed.Design/methodology/approach: For most of tourist destination, the challenge is to rely on tourism whilst simultaneously to deepen the economic and social fundaments by introducing new functions. The cluster analyse seems to be a good analytical entry to challenge this shift. Theory explains us more “why” a cluster, eventually with “whom” but barely “how” to become a cluster. Findings: We present the concept of "tourism cluster" as a mode of organisation, not as a governance system. In that sense, it is a form of innovation. We also demonstrate that the tourism cluster is the way to develop linkages between tourism and related and local sectors backward and forward (education, health, agriculture, creative and smart industries, commerce and advanced services, etc.). However, every destination may not ne elected as a cluster. Other possibilities can occur. That is what we call the "clusterisation process" that relies on a deep cooperation between actors.Originality/value: Our chapter aims to understand the “making off” of a destination as a place to be experimented for tourists and for actors in a cooperative way