Inter-stakeholder collaboration in event management: a case study of Kerala Travel Mart

Abstract

Employing the framework of inter-stakeholder collaboration in tourism proposed by Wang and Xiang (2007), this study reviews a highly successful international travel trade event that has been happening annually for the last several years in Kerala, India. In the Kerala Travel Mart, the collaboration brings together a large number of tourism firms in the Indian state of Kerala, the local state government, the tourism non-profits, the media, among others. This case study discusses the circumstances, motivations, processes, and results of the collaboration. It also introduces a new outcome, i.e., sustainable tourism, as a desired outcome of event partnerships.