Introduction

Tourism is an industry characterised by high degrees of inter-dependency where the evolution or creation of collaborative relationships such as networks is more than a natural outcome; it is a managerial imperative. From the perspective of tourism marketing (which is the focus of this chapter), the high cost of tourism promotion and advertising, coupled with the economic benefits to be gained from increased tourism into regions, obliges governments of all levels to commit financially to the marketing of their destinations. The benefits of collaboration are no less significant for private tourism operators (Robson & Robson, 1996; Halme & Fadeeva, 2000; Björk & Virtanen, 2005; Novelli et al. , 2006). The imperative for cooperation is particularly true in regional areas where, arguably, the dependence on successful tourism marketing and management requires a far more collaborative approach by local communities, small businesses and individual operators than is required by their counterparts in the large commercial, metropolitan areas of Australia. This is due to the large numbers of small enterprises, the absence of experience in the tourism industry, and the lack of tourist icons that underpins much of tourism demand for major costal destinations in Australia for example.

This chapter specifically examines networks constructed to achieve marketing outcomes for individual actors, outcomes which are also contingent on and intertwined with marketing initiatives aimed at promoting the overall destination. Of these, collaborative marketing alliances between public and private sector organisations have become increasingly popular in regional Australia. Attracting more tourists can benefit not only the narrow financial objectives of tourism operators, but also the more diverse social objectives of the public sector. The benefits of collaboration in tourism have been investigated for two decades (Boivin, 1987; Gunn, 1988; Stevens, 1988).