Abstract
This paper examined public sector tourism in Northern Ireland, a small country on the periphery of Western Europe which is notorious for being over governed. The authors found that its complex web of public sector tourism bodies created confusion and duplication within the industry. There was a lack of coordination and clear policy guidelines and many of the organisations were suffering from ‘partnership overload’. To make matters worse for Northern Ireland its National Tourism Organisation, faced with a reduced remit and shrinking budget, was not capable of making decisions and providing the strategic leadership that is required to drive the tourism agenda forward. Northern Ireland, and indeed any small country involved in tourism, could learn valuable lessons from Northern Ireland’s Celtic neighbours, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, countries which have taken action to remove some of their layers of administration and bureaucracy and make public sector tourism more streamlined and manageable.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1253-1261 |
| Journal | Tourism Management |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 1 Dec 2011 |
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Keywords
- Public Administration: Planning: Development: Bureaucracy: Coordination: Lessons: Streamlining