Bringing together various stakeholders stimulates knowledge sharing and fosters sustainable tourism development
Argument
Collaborative governance models play a crucial role in fostering sustainable tourism development by bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders to co-create strategies and share knowledge. These inclusive frameworks enable meaningful dialogue among public institutions, local communities, private actors, and experts, ensuring that tourism initiatives reflect shared values and diverse perspectives. By engaging in joint decision-making processes and pooling resources, such models build trust and accountability while enhancing the relevance and impact of tourism policies. Whether through formal partnerships, participatory dialogue platforms, or community-driven innovation events, collaborative governance encourages adaptive and resilient approaches to managing cultural and natural heritage. This collective stewardship not only supports sustainability but also strengthens local identity and innovation within the tourism sector.
Practical applications
As part of the Mont Beuvray Forest Laboratory, a local adaptation of the French Citizens' Convention for Climate, a participatory scheme based on territorial dialogue has been established to address the impacts of climate change. A diverse group of around twenty individuals, representing a wide range of stakeholder perspectives, engages in structured dialogue with the support of experts, researchers, and territorial dialogue specialists. Together, they co-develop proposals that reflect inclusive, locally grounded responses to climate challenges. These participatory research methodologies act as both transmitters and co-creators of knowledge, fostering cross-fertilisation between scientific expertise and community experience.
Agreements for ecosystem services between irrigation Heritage Communities and local administrations in the Andalusian Altiplano
The Spanish SECreTour pilot mobilized two complementary contractual legal tools to organize the collaborative governance of the heritage commons represented by traditional irrigation systems and to preserve the ecosystem services they generate. These agreements bring together Heritage Communities, public authorities, scientists, and users. The first is an administrative agreement in the form of an ecosystem services contract between the municipality and the irrigation community. It organizes their cooperation for the conservation, maintenance, and valorisation of the irrigation network, considered a “green and blue infrastructure” that provides ecological, agricultural, and social services. The agreement distributes responsibilities between the irrigation community, which manages and maintains the canals, and the municipality, which provides institutional, material, or financial support. The economic model of the arrangement relies on a logic of pooled resources, tax exemptions, and support for accessing public funding, functioning in practice as a form of payment for ecosystem services. The second mechanism is a Land Stewardship Agreement concluded between the irrigation community and the University of Granada (MEMOLab). This is a voluntary agreement for the management and conservation of the biocultural heritage, through which the Heritage Community commits to maintaining traditional practices, while the university contributes research and scientific expertise on the irrigation system, as well as heritage valorisation and support in mobilizing public funding. In both agreements, tourism is considered a tool for territorial and heritage valorisation, contributing to the conservation of traditional irrigation systems and to the resilience of local communities.
Genealogical tourism is being developed through a flexible and informal approach to heritage management, supported by close collaboration between local authorities and local action groups. These efforts are largely driven by significant voluntary engagement, highlighting the strong community commitment to preserving and sharing local heritage in accessible and meaningful ways.
In Slovakia, a strategic partnership between civil society, the university, and the European Mining Route of Saint Barbara (MINES.B) is driving the development of an innovative hybrid business model. As part of this effort, local stakeholders are organising hackathons to strengthen the creative industries by designing new products, services, apps, and games connected to cultural heritage. These activities support the promotion and development of a pilgrimage route and its associated services, combining innovation with cultural revitalisation.
Experiential and sustainable tourism initiatives are being developed with a focus on retreat and reconnection, in close collaboration with local authorities, cultural heritage institutions, and youth organizations. These efforts aim to create meaningful visitor experiences while strengthening local involvement and promoting the preservation and interpretation of cultural heritage.
Eurometropolis of Strasbourg : transforming a tourism office into a Cooperative Society of Collective Interest
Eurometropolis of Strasbourg transformed its tourism office into a Cooperative Society of Collective Interest (SCIC), to rethink its governance through a more collegial model and involve a wider range of partners (public authorities, private actors, as well as employees). The objective is to better respond to the needs of local stakeholders, the expectations of visitors, and the economic, tourism, cultural, and environmental development challenges of the territory.
Grenoble Municipal Commons Charter: public-common partnerships
This instrument is used by European municipalities, e.g., Grenoble, France, which implemented a Municipal Commons Charter for cooperative management of territorial commons in line with the public interest: public spaces, landscapes, and heritage zones. It enables shared governance between municipalities and user or Heritage Communities. The institution recognizes the commons and contributes to maintaining it by providing financial, land, technical or legal resources, while communities contribute to its maintenance through their customary knowledge and usage expertise.
"Social contract" in Viscri
Legally non-binding social contract/agreement resulting from methodical consultation and local population participation to reach consensus on issues concerning collective well-being, including tourism impacts. Applied under Faro Convention principles.
Corsale, A., & Iorio, M. (2014). Transylvanian Saxon culture as heritage: Insights from Viscri, Romania. Geoforum, 52, 22–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.12.008
Iorio, M., & Corsale, A. (2014). Community-based tourism and networking: Viscri, Romania. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(2), 234–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2013.802327
Irrigators' Courts of the Spanish Mediterranean basin
Irrigators’ courts of the Spanish mediterranean basin are customary institutions recognized by public administrations in the traditional management of water and conflict resolution. These traditional bodies are integrated into local administrative practices and constitute a form of shared governance between Heritage Communities
and public authorities for the management of a common good. These courts are inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Tālava Cidery: Transforming Cider Tasting Tours with Sustainable Digital Solutions
The initiative is managed by TĀLAVA in cooperation with local partners, tourism stakeholders, creative professionals and project contributors involved in digital content, sustainability communication and visitor experience development. Decisions are made collaboratively within the project team, combining practical production knowledge, tourism experience and sustainability goals to create an accessible and modern interpretation of local heritage.
The initiative is led by TĀLAVA, a craft beverage producer that acts as the main place of the project by combining production, tourism, sustainability and digital innovation into one visitor experience.
The project involves local employees, farmers, suppliers, tourism partners, creative professionals and technology providers. Local sourcing and regional production stories are integrated into the tourism experience, helping support the local economy and strengthen regional identity.
Creative and tourism partners contributed to visitor experience design, storytelling and sustainability communication, while digital partners supported the implementation of interactive tools.
Public and regional development stakeholders supported the broader goal of improving rural tourism quality, sustainability awareness and innovation capacity.
Over time, cooperation evolved from simple business relationships into a more collaborative ecosystem focused on sustainable tourism, local storytelling and community engagement.
Taste & Explore: From the Producer to the Table by Seaside Walks (Desafio Funcional, Unipessoal LDA)
The initiative is managed through an informal, co-creation-based governance model that places local producers and communities at the centre of tourism decision-making. Farmers, artisanal distillers, fishmongers, small factory owners, regional craftsmen, and the sustainable tourism facilitator jointly design routes, schedules, and pricing. This horizontal and participatory approach allows tourism activities to adapt to producers’ operational capacities, cultural practices, and environmental rhythms, while ensuring that local stakeholders retain control over how their heritage and products are shared and commercialised. By replacing top-down decision-making with direct collaboration and producer-defined fair pricing, the model strengthens community agency, supports equitable benefit-sharing, and fosters more locally rooted forms of sustainable tourism.
