Destination Networks as a Tool for Minimizing the Risk and Improving the Performance of a Destination

Abstract The management of a tourist destination in the form of networks is considered to be one of the possible approaches to destination governance structures. The concept of destination governance is based on the cooperation between actors from the public and private sectors. It is known that public–private relationships built on trust, joint risk taking and based on informal structures have a positive impact on the level of growth at a tourist destination. The aim of this paper is to quantify to what extent each of the determinants of the DMO success participate in the total destination performance, and thus point out the factors of a potential risk. The main objective of this paper is the cooperation between the destination management organization (DMO), public sector and entrepreneurs providing tourism services. The data collection was achieved by conducting in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires. The analysed data identify the factors of successful mutual cooperation that are used as inputs for further modelling. The contribution of the paper lies in the application of the total quality management concept methodology to identify the share of each factor/determinant in the DMO performance.