Challenges in Tourism Strategy Implementation in Peripheral Destinations—The Case of Stewart Island, New Zealand

Peripheral tourism destinations face a variety of characteristic management challenges that differ from those experienced in more central destinations. While there is much literature addressing tourism strategy and management approaches in general, strategy implementation in peripheral destinations has not been investigated in great depth. This paper addresses this literature gap and examines tourism strategy implementation on Stewart Island, New Zealand. It is based on a qualitative investigation of implementation processes using content analysis, semi-structured and in-depth stakeholder interviews. First, challenges in tourism strategy and management in peripheral areas are presented and discussed with a specific focus of the roles and significance of various stakeholders. Implementation challenges identified include issues related to control over the implementation environments, the involvement of volunteers and low levels of government support. The serendipitous nature of planning at the community level adds to the lack of control over potential outcomes of tourism management in peripheral destinations.