An investigation of Stakeholder Relationships in the Marketing of Tourism within Northern Ireland

Tourism is a high growth industry and there is increasing recognition that it must be managed and governed in a sustainable manner (Jamal and Getz 1995; Sautter and Leisen 1999; Gilmore and Simmons 2007; Gilmore et al. 2008). Tourism planners and managers operate at national, regional and local levels, and interaction is required at inter and intra sectoral level (Sautter and Leisen 1999; Wilson, Nielsen and Buultjens 2009). Tourism has some unique and individual characteristics which result in the need for a unique form of management, such as - Fragmentation of industry and infrastructure - Involvement of both public and private sector companies - Many companies are small – medium sized enterprises - Includes a variety of services and products (Gilmore 2003). The specific Northern Ireland context adds a further dimension in that the region is emerging from a sustained period of political instability. Political instability can have a negative impact on tourism (Altinay et al 2002; Gilmore et al 2008), and as such tourism is a relatively new focus on the Northern Ireland agenda. Within the tourism industry there is much focus on interactions and relationships as a result of conflicting directions among stakeholders (Sautter and Leisen 1999; Sheehan, Ritchie and Hudson 2007; Wilson, Nielsen and Buultjens 2009). Quite often there may be disagreement as to which stakeholder view should be prominent, and as to what objectives should be met. This results in a fragmented and disjointed approach to tourism management. Tourism planners and managers acknowledge that this fragmentation can negatively impact upon levels of coordination and cohesion within the tourism industry which consequently weakens the overall value of the tourism offering (Jamal and Getz 1995; Sheehan, Ritchie and Hudson 2007; Wilson, Nielsen and Buultjens 2009)