Collaboration in local tourism policymaking

Collaborations among stakeholders to develop policies for a destination are the subject of growing interest among researchers and managers. This paper presents an analytical framework to assess whether local collaborative arrangements are inclusionary and involve collective learning and consensus-building. The framework considers whether or not specific collaborations reduce the power imbalances between stakeholders, and it develops the concept of partial consensus. The practical value of the framework is suggested in an examination of local collaborative arrangements to develop a visitor management plan for the Hope Valley in Britain's Peak District National Park. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.