From disruption to normalcy: Co-production public service and destination competitiveness

Abstract

Drawing upon the interdisciplinary integration of co-production approaches of public service rooted in the public administration science, this study presents a retrospective analysis of the impact of public service and identifies key co-producers of tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) during uncertain periods. Utilizing the mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis of the policies implemented in Macao from 2020 to 2023 and the data from 1109 questionnaire surveys involving stakeholders, this study identifies 22 dimensions of the four types of co-production public services. This establishes the internal casual effects between the co-production public service and the TDC, which are achieved through diverse combination of co-production public service dimensions and specific co-producers, considering both their asymmetric and symmetric aspects. Our findings offer new insights into the tourism literature on TDC, exploring the conditions facilitated by co-production public service and providing valuable guidance for destination governments in developing public services to enhance TDC.