Centralized and decentralized tourism governance in Turkey

In many developing countries governance is highly centralized. The considerable potential benefits of decentralization for such countries are widely espoused, but less attention is paid to the potential difficulties and dangers. This paper develops a framework of issues to consider when evaluating the decentralization of tourism governance, including its potential benefits and shortcomings. There is examination of the transfer of authority and the distribution of power, legitimacy and accountability. The framework is used to assess tourism governance in the Turkish coastal resort of Belek, notably the involvement of central and local government, a privatized company, and a nongovernmental organization. The difficulties and threats linked to decentralization in Belek warn against an uncritical adoption of such policies.     

Tourism and information technologies

The apparent mismatch between tourism and technology can be reconciled by a closer examination of the tourism production system (TPS) and the technologies likely to affect it. It is found that a whole system of information technologies (SIT) is being adopted by all segments of the travel industry. The SIT, however, will not attack the human content of tourism. Rather, it will affect the core information-intensive areas of management, organization, product blending and packaging, marketing, distribution and industry linkages. Factors likely to affect the diffusion of the SIT in tourism are identified. Implications of technology adoption for future organization, management, and distribution of tourism services are drawn out.