Rethinking destination success: An island perspective

Abstract

The global tourism industry has shifted due to COVID-19, with tourism-dependent islands facing a dire need to realign and reconstruct their tourism offerings to remain competitive. The traditional mass tourism model that has dominated island development has to be re-examined in this new tourism environment with new mindsets regarding the current conditions for destination success. This paper aims to promote an understanding of destination success in an island context and to identify which determinants are critical during this period to achieve optimal destination success. The findings from this study suggest that island destinations are at a critical turning point, and key strategic shifts are necessary to enable future destination success as defined by the Destination Management Organisations. There is a need to shift from management to stewardship, from product to experience, from quantity to quality, and from stakeholder presence to engagement. Core to these strategic shifts is an incorporation of locals as central to the quality of the overall experience, with less reliance on the natural resources (sun, sea, and sand) to which these island destinations have been beholden to for decades.