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International Handbook of Skill, Education, Learning, and Research Development in Tourism and Hospitality pp 1–16 Cite as

Understanding the Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability of Travel and Tourism Industry: Future Prospects

  • Anukrati Sharma 2 &
  • Shruti Arora 2  
  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online: 12 December 2023

Part of the Springer International Handbooks of Education book series (SIHE)

Without the support and dedication of stakeholders, success might seem improbable for any business or industry. Working together, stakeholders can make sure that travel and tourism has a positive impact on the economy, environment, and society. Properly involving stakeholders in the tourism industry could also result in better decision-making, increased cooperation, and a greater understanding of the industry’s effects. All parties involved in the planning of sustainable travel and tourism must be included, especially the local community. Despite not often having a direct connection to the project or even the industry, stakeholders are nonetheless influenced by the results. Future generations are frequently regarded as tourism stakeholders, including both visitors and residents. In order to maintain sustainability, the chapter explores the role of stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector. The goal of this study is to better understand how stakeholders’ perspectives might affect business decisions on the development of sustainable tourism initiatives at diverse tourist destinations. This research will focus on the role of stakeholders in the sustainability of the travel and tourism sector and future prospects through a review of the literature from the previous 15 years.

According to the authors, locals or the host community have a greater responsibility to preserve the local culture and to sustain it for the future of the region. This is based on a review of the literature that demonstrates how stakeholders, including national and local government, the host community, individual shops, professionals working in tourism, tourism educational centers, tourists, and destination management organizations, all enhance or limit progress in travel and tourism. A few other issues were also noted during the study, such as poor education, inadequate financing and publicity, and rapid changes in infrastructure and technology.

  • Sustainability
  • Tourism industry
  • Stakeholders
  • Host community

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Sharma, A., Arora, S. (2024). Understanding the Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability of Travel and Tourism Industry: Future Prospects. In: Sharma, A. (eds) International Handbook of Skill, Education, Learning, and Research Development in Tourism and Hospitality. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3895-7_44-1

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STAKEHOLDER THEORY AS A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ECOTOURISM

Francisco Orgaz Agüera ( CV )

INTRODUCTION Tourism is an economic sector which must be approached in a special way due to the interlinking of all the stakeholdersinvolved in tourism activities (Castellanos Verdugo and Orgaz Agüera, 2013), both those based in the tourist destination and the tourists who travel to such places. Tourists are currently looking for new experiences away from mass tourism spots, where they can discover the "authenticity" of a destination (Yeoman et al, 2007). This is mainly due to improvements in infrastructure and technology, which have led to an increase in trips being organised to such places (Castillejo Canalejo et al, 2011). In addition, tourists largely prefer to go on shorter trips but more frequently during the year (López-Guzmán et al, 2013), in order to better meet their expectations. As result of this, new tourist typologies have emerged and shaped themselves around elements connected to culture, nature, gastronomy, industry, heritage etc, opening up new sources of income to local communities, in the form of jobs and the setting up of new companies in tourist destinations. These types of tourism have adopted the concept of sustainable tourism, or in other words, the aim of establishing these new forms of tourism is to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to respond to their own needs". These new types of tourism include ecotourism, a tourism that occurs in and aims to conserve natural areas and contribute to the development of local communities (Jalani, 2012). Accordingly, referring to ecotourism in particular, Butler (1991) puts forward the defence that sustainable tourism promotes “ecological balance”, when referring to a tourism which occurs in a location and is viable for an indefinite period of time and does not harm or otherwise alter the environment. The objective of this study therefore is to analyse the importance of stakeholders for the sustainable development of ecotourism in the destination. The methodology used to compose this article involved a review of scientific literature, interviews and participant observation in various ecotourism areas within an international framework, both in developed and developing countries, as part of field work conducted for different research projects on ecotourism. The field work was conducted in 2011, 2012 and 2013 on visits to various natural areas in Andalusia (Spain) and the Dominican Republic. In order to meet the objectives using the specified methodology in this research project, this article is divided into two main parts following this introduction; one part addresses stakeholder theory, while the other section presents the conclusions of the research. Finally, an alphabetical bibliography of works used in the preparation of this study is provided in the seventh section. STAKEHOLDER THEORY AS A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ECOTOURISM The concept of the stakeholder in a tourist company.

Tourist companies are becoming increasingly important in economic terms due to the number of jobs that they create and to the fact that their business activity is conducted in places which belong to local society. In this respect, the responsibility that companies have to society, the natural environment and other elements at play in the surroundings must be identified, and this is where stakeholder theory may be applied.

According to Brønn and Brønn (2003), Freeman was the first author to articulate the stakeholder perspective, which focuses on searching for proactive ways to change the way in which the world of business operates in relation to its surroundings. According to Freeman (1984), the term stakeholder refers to key players that can affect or be affected by a company's activities. For Sautter y Leisen (1999), this term requires a tourism planner who has a complete picture of all those people or groups who have a stake in the planning, processes and results of tourism services.

Different definitions of stakeholders have nevertheless been proposed over the years. For other scholars, a stakeholder implies any person or group with interests, rights, a claim or ownership in an organisation (Clarkson, 1995; Weiner, 1996; Jefkins, 1997). Special mention should be made of authors who have followed Freeman's initial definition (Hallahan, 2000; Miguez González, 2007).

In all cases, the term stakeholder implies that a company is responsible in its management not only for shareholders but also for other individuals and/or groups which have stakes in the shares and decisions of the organisation (Lozano, 1999).

It may therefore be said that a company's obligations are not limited to its shareholders but that they extend to a wider group, namely the stakeholders or all those that benefit or are affected by the company on the basis of its operations. In this respect, the local population has a major role to play as one of the key players that affect a company's development, given the fact that good planning would result in sustainable development in the destination (Massari, 2004).

This theory suggests that is impossible to separate a company's economic problems from wider social problems. According to Harrison and Freeman (1999), for example, economic effects are also social effects , and social effects are certainly also economic. In the light of this, one of the original ideas behind the stakeholder management approach is to try to identify a path that makes it possible to incorporate both economic and social aspects. For this reason, extensive criticism was levelled at this theory by a number of scholars, to which Freeman (1994) responded by offering a new definition that redefines the term as a series of voluntary agreements between adults who voluntarily affirm their commitment to the objectives and purposes of the corporation, as well as entering into cooperative agreements with other individuals or groups.

Ultimately, if the concept of stakeholders in a company is explored in detail, it emerges that there is general consensus in research spheres about Freeman's important contribution to the development of stakeholder theory (Mitchell Ronald et al , 1997). However, the various authors specialising in this topic have occasionally put forward different definitions of stakeholders. On the one hand there are some very broad definitions, for example, that a stakeholder is any player (person, group, entity) that has a relationship or interest (direct or indirect) with or in the organisation (Thompson et al , 1991; Donaldson and Preston, 1995), and on the other there are more restricted definitions, such as that primary stakeholders are players (or categories of players such as employees, managers, suppliers, owners/shareholders and clients) which have interests in or expectations of the organisation, without which the organisation could not exist (Savage et al . 1991; Hill and Jones, 1992). This term has not therefore been used in exactly the same way as by Freeman, since each author has adapted it to their own philosophies.

Classification and types of stakeholder.

In terms of an organisation's interest groups, the Spanish Association of Business Accounting and Administration (AECA, 2007) suggests that identifying stakeholders concerns the existence of two major approaches corporate governance, namely the financial or shareholder model and the pluralist or stakeholder model. For other authors, the list of an organisation's stakeholders may include all groups with have an interest in it (Bussy and Ewing, 1997; Clarke, 1997; Harris, 1998).

Bussy and Ewing (1997), argue that organisations depend on a wide range of audiences or groups of stakeholders in order to realise their objectives and that these specific groups vary from organisation to organisation and from situation to situation; they typically include clients, end users, investors, employees, suppliers, governments, pressure groups, local communities and the media, and each one plays a decisive role in a company's future.

For Mazo del Castillo (1994) stakeholders are audiences, although this complicates the matter somewhat. The distinction between stakeholders and shareholders is adopted from business literature in the English-speaking world, where the latter are defined as audiences that have vested interests in the company's ownership mechanisms, such as directly involved financial institutions, majority or minority shareholders, top-level directors, etc.

However, Baskin and Aronoff (1992) suggest that analysing stakeholders as a method for distinguishing between the different groups provides a realistic model that enables an organisation to visualise its surroundings.

According to the suggestion made by Mitchell Ronald et al , (1997), stakeholders are players (whether internal or external) that affect or are affected by an organisation's objectives or results to a varying extent, which depends on the level to which they have one of three basic attributes: power, legitimacy and urgency. Players that do not possess at least one of these attributes are non-stakeholders. In this light, Mitchell Ronald et al. (1997) proposed a typology (Figure 1), which implies that there are different levels of supremacy in an organisation.

Figure 1. Typology of stakeholders according to Mitchell Ronald et al., (1997).

stakeholder theory tourism

Source: Mitchell Ronald et al, (1997)

By analysing the possible combinations of one, two or three of the stakeholder attributes, Mitchell Ronald et al, (1997) proposed three classes of stakeholder, each containing specific kinds of stakeholder:

  • Class 1 are latent stakeholders and include dormant stakeholders (which have power but lack legitimacy and urgency), discretionary stakeholders (which have legitimacy but no urgency or power) and demanding stakeholders (which have urgency, but lack power and legitimacy).
  • Class 2 are expectant stakeholders and include dominant stakeholders (which have power and legitimacy, yet lack urgency), dangerous stakeholders (which have urgency and power but no legitimacy) and dependent stakeholders (which have urgency and legitimacy but are powerless).
  • Class 3 are definitive stakeholders, which possess all three attributes, and are made known when on acquiring the missing attribute they present themselves to the directors.

Other authors have made a distinction between primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders imply those groups which have a formal, official or contractual relationship with an organisation, and without which the company could not survive (Clarkson, 1995; Freeman 1984). According to some scholars, it is possible to include shareholders or owners, managers, investors, employees, clients and suppliers in this group (Savage et al , 1991; Hill and Jones, 1992). Some studies recognise the importance of the various primary stakeholders (Hillman and Kein, 2001) in achieving a company's mission, but meeting their demands or requirements is only considered if this would be beneficial to the company. All other groups which do not fall under this classification of primary stakeholders make up part of the secondary stakeholder group (Carrol, 1993). The latter include non-governmental organisations, activists, communities, the media and public administrations, among others (Garriga and Mele, 2004).

With regard to primary stakeholders, shareholders are one of the groups which have most power among the different stakeholders making up a company, given that this term refers to the legal ownership of one or more shares of capital stock (or shares) of a company, and who play a decisive role in the development of the business activity. In contrast, investors are any physical or legal person that buys or sells marketable securities with the aim of entrusting their assets and obtaining the maximum return on this investment. Clearly these are two groups which have a very significant role to play in decision-making and raising capital for the company.

Employees are those who carry out their work in the organisation under a work or professional contract and receive remuneration and/or payment in kind for their work. Depending on the kind of work performed, the sector and a company's own features, various working categories may be identified. Nevertheless, it is possible in general terms to divide employees into two main groups: directors and non-directors. Non-Executive directors and Executive Directors are included in this group of stakeholders.

By the term "clients" it is understood that this includes consumers or users of products and services produced by companies. Consumers are the social group towards which the business operation is targeted, and revenue generated by sales of these products and services must be sufficient to cover production costs and the desired margin. Clients are, therefore, an essential component of a company and are vital to a company's survival. Attracting and understanding clients and customer satisfaction and loyalty are key priorities in business management.

Suppliers are people or organisations which provide work, products and services to the company without belonging to it. This relationship may be formalised in a contract, laying down the obligations assumed by the contracting company and by the external supplier. The most common clauses stipulated in such contracts are the price, delivery time, product or service specifications and their guarantees and payment methods. Suppliers may be more or less integrated in the value chain, meaning that they may occasionally be companies or professionals that work exclusively for a specific organisation, to which they provide essential components for their products.

With regard to secondary stakeholders, the local community or population is part of the group of public or private enterprises existing in the local context surrounding the company’s activity, and with which it interacts closely. People, organisations and consumers in general, which although they do not have a direct relationship with the organisation, may influence it by expressing their opinion concerning specific actions, which may, in their view, be positive or negative for society as a whole. This group, therefore, is of particular importance.

Public administrations, which fall under the authority of the Government in the tourist destination, are those entities with powers to shape the legal framework under which organisations and companies must conduct their activities. This framework sets out rights and duties, as well as laws and other official provisions for organisations.

Competitors are companies operating in the same sector that offer similar products and services to those produced by another company to potentially the same clients or consumers. With the aim of attracting new clients or being able to meet current clients’ new needs, temporary partnerships may arise between competitors, which may make it possible to reach quality standards that are not always achievable on an individual basis.

Financial institutions are those responsible for providing the finance necessary to develop and construct new infrastructures that will help to promote ecotourism in a specific destination.

Another important group within the secondary stakeholders are social agents, which refer to public interest groups whose action can have a decisive influence on the way in which companies are managed and may even determine a company's future.

Consumers also fall within this group and this label refers to the demand generated by experiencing the ecotourism activity or service and which, after it has been experienced, results in a positive or negative opinion of the activity/service being given.

It is important to consider the environment or the natural surroundings in the capacity of a stakeholder, although by their nature they should not be included in the groups of stakeholders, in that these interest groups may dramatically alter their relationship with a company depending on the company's treatment of nature and the respect it shows towards it or the conservation efforts it makes.

Stakeholders in ecotourism activities.

In the light of the points addressed previously, stakeholder theory makes it possible to take the view that a company is conceived on the basis of the range of actors involved in it and by those that are affected by it. Furthermore, in view of this theory the existence of social responsibility in companies can be easily discerned (González Esteban, 2007).

This theory also means that a company can be viewed as a series of relationships understood not only from the perspective of a legal or social contract but also in terms of a moral contract (García Marzá, 2004). It therefore, demonstrates that stakeholder interests are not only economic interests, but that they may have other types of interest.

In this regard, for a company to become more competitive in the market and to be able to develop management strategies that are in line with this point, it must base itself on its dialogue with all its stakeholders and try to determine which interests and values are shared by them all, as well as which interests and values are unique to each group. González Esteban (2002) states that a corporation which wishes to manage its responsibility must take into account that this responsibility is defined on the basis of its dialogue with all of its stakeholders. This will help a company to define its short, medium and long-term objectives and strategies. Accordingly, Donaldson and Preston (1995) claim that attending to stakeholders' interests and complaints may increase a company's profitability.

This theory has been applied to the tourism sector on many occasions, based on identifying key players to collaborate and participate in planning and tourism development, thereby making these processes more participatory and entailing a higher level of mutual agreement (Sautter and Leisen, 1998; Williams et al , 1998; Medeiros de Araujo and Bramwell, 1999; Yuksel et al , 1999; Cheyne and Barnett, 2001; Álvarez et al, 2001; Cespedes et al, 2003; Sheenan and Ritchie, 2005).

Some authors state that tourism is a complex phenomenon which occurs due to the presence of different stakeholders, each of which has different types of interests in the market (Sheehan et al , 2007; Jamal and Getz, 1995; Pike, 2005). In terms of this theory, therefore, a tourist destination may be viewed as an open system with multiple and interrelated actors, from both the private and public spheres (Pulido Fernández, 2008).

For many scholars, collaboration between the different stakeholders in a tourist destination is vital for sound planning in the destination (Simmons, 1994; Mandell, 1999; Ladkin and Bertramini, 2002; Pforr, 2006).

Other scholars have focused on analysing the advantages and disadvantages of collaboration between stakeholders in a tourist destination (Bramwell and Sharman, 1999; Medeiros de Araujo and Branwell, 1999; Aas et al , 2005). Although, in line with Buhalis and Licata (2002), tourist destinations are difficult to manage due to their size, complexity and stakeholder diversity.

The term "stakeholder" has also been applied to ecotourism and to activities conducted in natural environments (Jamal and Eyre, 2003). By focusing on ecotourism activities, and assuming that a stakeholder is any individual or group that is affected or may be affected by an organisation achieving its objectives, the major stakeholders would be those in national, provincial and local governments; accommodation, catering, and transport companies and agencies, etc; the local community; ecological groups; clients; suppliers; investors; employees, universities; other companies; tourists and NGOS etc.

Governments have an important role to play, since many of those in developing countries have stated that they are committed to conserving world natural heritage in a large number of Protected Natural Areas (PNA), the size and legal situation of which vary considerably depending on each country. This institution indicates in which protected areas in the country tourism activities may be conducted and which laws and rules apply to them (Blaikie, 1999; Bryant, 1997).

Other stakeholders, represented by local tourism and non-tourism companies, the local population and tourists who visit the area, also affect the development and evolution of ecotourism activity in a protected area. Colonising ecologically fragile areas, expanding agricultural borders, deforestation, pollution, the exploitation of raw materials and energy sources and, in some cases, a high number of visitors all represent a growing threat in these natural areas.

Within the protected areas and the surrounding areas, the local population who have a very low standard of living and a lack of cultivated land, put growing pressure on the available natural resources, which harms the natural environment (Dixon and Sherman, 1990). Ecotourism conducted in protected areas is considered accordingly as an instrument which provides financial resources to manage the area more effectively and to increase the local population's standard of living (Ceballos-Lascuraín, 1996). According to Boo (1990), ecotourism also promotes conservation and sustainable development efforts.

External sectors, represented by intermediary companies or travel agencies, as well as non-local companies, control the most lucrative parts of the market, namely transport and accommodation (Chapela and Barkin 1995).

Accommodation companies are the most important in ecotourism, as they offer ecotourists accommodation which allows them to be in contact with nature (hotels, rural houses, hostels, bungalows, etc.), and this gives them the option to stay in the protected areas of the destination they are visiting for a longer period of time. According to Alvarez, Burgos and Cespedes (2001), the most important stakeholders for tourist accommodation companies are shareholders, the public administration, travel agencies and tour operators, the hotel chain or company to which it belongs, clients, suppliers, competitors and employees, as well as NGOs and other groups and/or associations.

According to Weizenegger (2003), stakeholders will only accept sustainable usage of protected areas if this also improves their standard of living and does not contravene their economic and political interests. In order to ensure a more comprehensive vision, the ecological and economic approaches to sustainable development which often emerge from the analysis of natural conditions or the capacity of the area must be complemented by the cultural, social and political aspects of the protected areas (Bryant Raymond, 1997).

Natural parks are one of the protected areas that enjoy the highest level of protection and various ecotourism activities can be conducted in these locations. For this reason, managing the resources of any natural park and planning how to manage the park itself entail taking decisions which affect human activities and which often cause social conflicts to arise among the different stakeholders in the area (Pulido Fernández, 2008). Corraliza et al. (2002) state that sustainable and efficient management of natural parks requires achieving an optimal level of social consensus.

With regard to the environment, it may be suggested that stakeholder theory sets out an appropriate theoretical framework for analysing environmental management, considering the fact that environmental issues are specific objectives for some particular stakeholders, whether these are secondary stakeholders, such as NGOs or other members of society in general, or primary stakeholders, such as investors, employees, etc. (Fineman and Clarke 1996). This has come about due to the recent increase in the global society's concern for the environment. Stakeholders have therefore concentrated on studying interest groups which could affect companies, and by doing so have made it possible to determine the type of reports which should be drawn up to explain their impact on the environment (Azzone et al. 1997; Grafe-Buckens and Hinton 1998).

There are therefore many stakeholders to consider when designing, planning and implementing ecotourism activities in a destination. CONCLUSION Tourism is one of the major global industries. Tourist attractions are currently becoming more diverse and new alternative types of tourism to mass tourism are emerging. These alternative kinds of tourism both help to conserve the environment and boost the socioeconomic development of local communities.

Ecotourism is an example of one of these new types of alternative tourism. However, in order to develop it, policies, strategies, processes and even a unique business culture must be established, which will make it possible to create procedures and solutions to changes that occur in the surroundings (Engel, 1997; Röling and Wagemakers, 1998).

A destination must inform all its stakeholders as to what is happening (Massari, 2004), considering that if information flows freely and everyone collaborates with each other, the results achieved for the destination may be greater.

The term stakeholder must include all those players that are affected or may be affected by ecotourism activities in the destination, namely Governments, the local population, companies, administrators of protected areas, NGOs, etc.

Among these stakeholders, special attention must be paid to local communities. This group, which is part of the local population, must be made part of ecotourism planning, given that this activity may improve the local population's standard of living, especially in under-developed countries, where this could help to reduce the poverty rate.

If all those local stakeholders are not taken into account when setting up ecotourism in a destination, it could have many a negative impact on the location, arising from social, environmental or political problems. In particular, the local community and NGOs are currently positioning themselves as groups with particular influence in certain countries, and excluding them from territorial planning could have many adverse consequences in the destination in question.

Therefore, when it comes to developing ecotourism in a location, it is essential to take into account the idea that planning must be conducted in coordination and with the collaboration of all the agents that can affect or may be affected by this economic activity, putting particular emphasis on local communities, since they should be the first to benefit from ecotourism through the creation of new companies and new jobs, which will help to increase the local population's living standards at all times.

The last point is much more important in underdeveloped countries, such as the Dominican Republic, where socioeconomic development of local communities has been boosted in some ecotourism areas, thanks to the tourism planning involving all stakeholders in the tourist destination. A clear example of this is the Saltos de la Damajagua Natural Monument in Puerto Plata province.

There are also good examples in developed countries, such as the Doñana National Park in Andalusia, Spain, which has benefited from the stakeholders' careful planning of the destination, resulting in economic resources being generated for all players involved in tourism activities in the area, including the local communities.

In conclusion, in order to achieve sustainable development in a location through ecotourism, all stakeholders must work together in a coordinated manner and in search of common benefits for the destination, with the aim of enhancing the socioeconomic development of the area’s population and promoting the conservation of natural resources, in order that they may be used by future generations.

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Tourism Teacher

Stakeholder theory + Stakeholder analysis: A simple explanation

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What is stakeholder theory and stakeholder analysis? There are theories applicable in all areas of life, and business is no different. In this article I will look at stakeholder theory, as well as stakeholder analysis and how they relate to one another.

What is stakeholder theory?

What is stakeholder analysis, what (or who) is a stakeholder, how stakeholder analysis works, why is stakeholder theory important, further reading.

Stakeholder theory is an organisational management and business ethics theory. It was first proposed by Dr. F Edward Freeman. This theory is in opposition to that of the economist Milton Friedman, who proposed ‘shareholder theory’ – this says that a company’s sole responsibility is making money for their shareholders.

Stakeholder theory, which Freeman proposed in a book in 1984, is different. It accounts for everyone impacted by a business: its employees, the suppliers, customers, local communities, creditors and more. Stakeholder theory is concerned with the morals and values that come alongside managing an organisation : market economy, corporate social responsibility, and social contract theory are some examples of this.

Viewing and implementing strategy or strategies from the stakeholder’s perspective adds a socio-political element to a business. It takes a resource-based and market-based view, focusing on what is best for ALL people who have some sort of ‘stake’ in the business – rather than only doing best by the shareholders…

Freeman says: “If you can get all your stakeholders to swim or row in the same direction, you’ve got a company with momentum and real power. Saying that profits are the only important thing to a company is like saying, ‘Red blood cells are life.’ You need red blood cells to have life, but you need so much more.”

So what is stakeholder analysis, and how does it relate to the theory? Stakeholder analysis is the actual process of assessing (or analysing) the system in place – in business, usually, but in conflict resolution and project management too, sometimes – and any potential changes in terms of how they relate to stakeholders. The information born from this analysis is used to assess how the interests of these people should be taken into consideration as things progress.

The point in stakeholder analysis is to look at all of the stakeholders of a business or situation, and examine how a particular issue is or will be affecting them. Stakeholders have different demands and feelings depending on who they are, and it is important that people in a managerial position take all of them into consideration. There is rarely a way of making *everybody* happy, but good stakeholder analysis ensures that everybody is considered and the best overall option is taken forward. 

We shouldn’t go any further in terms of examining stakeholder theory and analysis without first completely understanding what a stakeholder actually is – who counts, who doesn’t, and why.

The ISO 26000 is a really helpful tool for businesses and organisations, especially when it comes to having any form of social responsibility. It was published in 2010 by the International Organization for Standardization. Despite being over a decade old, the ISO 26000 is still relevant and used by businesses across the globe. It was written by a unique group representing governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), industry professionals, consumer groups, labour, and academic/consultancy organisations around the world. 

But why does that matter? Well, the ISO 26000 is useful for us when we come to look at who or what is a stakeholder. They define a stakeholder as an: “individual or group that has an interest in any decision or activity of an organization.” This may include (but is not limited to):

  • Internal staff
  • Freelancers
  • Shareholders
  • Regulations 
  • Local communities
  • Regional communities
  • Trade associations

As you can see, there are many examples of a stakeholder. Pretty much anybody can or will have some sort of stake in a business. This is why stakeholder analysis is so important – it gives businesses the best chance to consider and do right by as many people as possible who have some sort of vested interest in their company.

A real-life example of stakeholder analysis

It is all well and good examining stakeholder theory and analysis in theory, but how does it work in reality? Below you’ll see how stakeholder analysis works, and how it is done.

Creating a stakeholder analysis matrix is a great way to get started. This can be done as a table, where you list the stakeholders themselves (individual people or wider groups) alongside sections for how much impact the business or project has on the stakeholder, as well as how much influence they have over it.

Also in this grid, there are additional sections for how the stakeholder could or does contribute, as well as how they can or do ‘block’ the project or make things difficult for the business. It also gives space to examine what is important to each stakeholder, as well as what strategy can be used to engage each stakeholder.

Once this matrix has been laid out and the organisation has established who its stakeholders are, it is time to ‘map’ the stakeholders. This is a way of ‘prioritising’ the different people or groups, to ensure the most effective outcome is reached.

Stakeholder theory + Stakeholder analysis

There are different ways and techniques of mapping stakeholders during analysis. You can see some brief information about each below.

  • Cameron et al – a process of ranking stakeholders based on their needs, and by the relative importance of stakeholders to others stakeholders. 
  • Fletcher et al – mapping stakeholder expectations based on value hierarchies and key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • Mitchell et al – a classification of stakeholders based on their power to influence business as well as the legitimacy of each stakeholder’s relationship with the organisation, and the urgency of the stakeholder’s claim on the organisation. 
  • Savage et al – a way to classify stakeholders according to any potential threat and also any potential for cooperation.
  • Turner et al – a process of identification alongside assessment of awareness, support, and influence which leads to strategies for communicating and assessing stakeholder satisfaction. It also determines who is aware or ignorant, and whether their attitude is supportive or opposing.

Let’s look at a tangible example of stakeholder analysis using a hypothetical construction company. There will be various people who are considered stakeholders, given their ‘stake’ or vested interest in the company. These include shareholders, employees, suppliers, environmentalists, the local community and more.

The people at the top of the construction company would create a matrix including all of these groups of people, and work out how much their next project (for example, building a new airport) would impact the stakeholders as well as how much influence these people might have on the project. For example, building an airport would have a big impact on the local community as it would cause more traffic to and from the nearby area as well as increased noise pollution . Environmentalists would have a big influence on the project, being able to examine plans (which, according to stakeholder theory, they should have access to) and advise on any environmental issues which may arise during the building of the new airport.

The construction company can use their analysis to form a plan of action. This plan might include meeting with certain groups of people, or offering compensation to particular stakeholders for whatever reason.

If it works properly, stakeholder theory – and analysis – ensures a fair business model which continually strives to improve itself. It allows businesses to be considerate, and focus on things other than making money. When done right, it should allow for the implementation of corporate social responsibility factors, sustainability, compensation for those affected negatively and so on.

There are tangible benefits of stakeholder theory, too. These might include:

  • Employee satisfaction leading to more productivity and lower staff turnover rates
  • Better ideas coming from people you (as a business) might not speak to otherwise
  • Increased funding if investors are happy with how things are working out
  • A more sustainable and/or eco-friendly way of running a business which provides benefits for the local and wider community
  • Better mental health of all stakeholders involved
  • More attractiveness as an ethical company leading to further business, happier customers and so on

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Tourism Stakeholders: Towards Sustainable Tourism Development

Profile image of Theodosia Christhe Nathalia

2017, 15th APacCHRIE Conference

Purpose: Tourism is becoming increasingly more important in economic development. Aware of this potential, organizations, governments, professionals, and scholars that are involved in tourism development recognize the need and right for stakeholders to be included and involved in the tourism development process. The focus on more stakeholder participation emphasizes its ability to handles multiple perceived issues. The purpose of the paper is to identify stakeholders of Central Sumba who is responsible for the development of a tourism destination and how they have been applied in relation to sustainable tourism development. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research method was chosen. The data are based on the interviews of tourism stakeholders in Central Sumba. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 25 representatives. In order to capture the widest variety of local, regional and national viewpoints on the implementation of sustainable tourism development situation, local residents, governmental, non-governmental and private sectors were included. Findings: The level of leadership among the stakeholders in Central Sumba varied, yet still depends on the public sectors which is local government. The public sectors seem to have a greater role and more responsibility in developing the destinations. Originality/value: The paper discusses the roles of tourism stakeholders.

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Halima Begum , A S A Ferdous Alam

The purpose of this study has to discover if differences in tourists’ perceptions of sustainable tourism development in Melaka existed between three stakeholder groups: government, local residents and private entrepreneurs. The paper analyzes based on the primary data which is collected through interviews among 735 respondents. The findings indicate that the government, private and local community has played a major role for satisfying the tourists’ in shaping the development of sustainable tourism in Melaka. The study emphasizes on scale methods in analyzing and reviewing the role of government, private and local communities. To the distinct stakeholders’ facilities, the majority of tourists’ generally were welcoming of sustainable tourism.

stakeholder theory tourism

Halima Begum

This paper studies the role of stakeholders for tourism development in Malaysia based on the perceptions of tourists who come to the Melaka city. Even though the tourists are satisfied by the existing facilities available presently, there are a few shortcomings that need to be addressed such as neglected traditional issues, bureaucratic barriers, definition of sustainable tourism and communication problem with the local communities. The purpose of the study is to find out the roles of public, private and local community stakeholders of the historic city of Melaka for meeting the needs of tourists for tourism development. The findings indicate that the government, private and local community stakeholders have played positive roles for satisfying the demands of the tourists in shaping the development of sustainable tourism in Melaka. The primary data were collected through survey via interviews with 135 respondents based on their responses to a set of questionnaires which looked into the tourists’ perceptions in connection to the facilities available for sustainable tourism. The Likert scale data analyzing and reviewing the role of stakeholder’s towards perceptions of the tourists. The implication of the study is that majority of the tourists were positively satisfied and receptive towards tourism in Melaka.

Journey : Journal of Tourismpreneurship, Culinary, Hospitality, Convention and Event Management

I Wayan Kartimin

Munggu Tourism Village is one of the villages developed as a community-based tourism village or known as Community Based Tourism (CBT), which is a tourism activity that involves the participation of local communities in the management and development of tourism villages. This study analyzes the role of stakeholders in the development of Munggu Tourism Village and the steps taken in preparing the right strategies and programs for maintaining the sustainability of tourist attractions in Munggu Badung Tourism Village. This study aims to determine the role of stakeholders in the development of Munggu Tourism Village as a sustainable tourist attraction. The approach in this study uses a qualitative descriptive approach. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of this study show that the involvement of stakeholders in the planning and development of Munggu Tourism Village is the main thing to realize sustainable tourism both in the economic, soc...

European Scientific Journal

Rezarta Brokaj

The purpose of this study has to discover if differences in tourists' perceptions of sustainable tourism development in Melaka existed between three stakeholder groups: government, local residents and private entrepreneurs. The paper analyzes based on the primary data which is collected through interviews among 735 respondents. The findings indicate that the government, private and local community has played a major role for satisfying the tourists' in shaping the development of sustainable tourism in Melaka. The study emphasizes on scale methods in analyzing and reviewing the role of government, private and local communities. To the distinct stakeholders' facilities, the majority of tourists' generally were welcoming of sustainable tourism.

Jasna Potočnik Topler

This article examines the role of local inhabitants in developing sustainable tourism in rural areas. Recently, when planning the sustainable local spatial, economic and social development, experts have been faced with the problem of integrating stake holders. In the concept of sustainable regional development, the basic democratic premise that everyone should decide on matters that affect them has gained an equal position to that of environmental and social awareness. In compliance with this principle, the development of local communities which are also responsible for tourism development in a certain area should include the widest possible group of representatives of the local population. Lively tourist activities not only affect the economy, but also have impacts on the spatial development of the town, its social structure, social life, and psychological imprint. The analysis of the structured interviews conducted with more than 20 individuals who are employed in the fields of to...

Tourism International Scientific Conference Vrnjačka Banja - TISC

Biljana Pejoska Risteska

Fatimah Hassan , Alaa J Kadi

A lot of studies recently considered the Sustainability as an effective tool to reach the best status a tourism destination can reach, and by taking a look onto the most important three elements of the sustainable tourism; Environment, Economy, and Society, and surely the last element is an effective element dealing with the multiple component of the society; “the stakeholders”. Multiple with so many different interests, authorities, responsibilities, and level of contribution. This review paper will look into the significance rule of the stakeholders in sustainable tourism destination and the main issues and challenges the faces the collaboration in-between these stakeholders, by inspecting the related literature review to enhance the significance relation between the stakeholders‟ collaboration and reaching the sustainability in tourism destination.

Developing Country Studies

HAIRUL NIZAM ISMAIL

vijay anand

Tourism is a socio-economic activity and has evolved into one of the largest and fastest growing industries of the world. While the economic benefits of tourism are well known, the research evidence indicates that the benefits of tourism are rarely equitably distributed among the key stakeholders. In this context, sustainable tourism development (STD) as a long-term approach development aims to balance social and economic objectives with environmentally sound management. The sustainable development as a strategic tool requires a process of planning and management that brings together a series of interests and stakeholders ‘concerns in the form of planning and development. Therefore, keeping in view the importance and relevance of stakeholder cooperation for sustainable tourism development, and the residents being the key stakeholders, this research examines the rural residents’ attitudes towards the impacts of the Stakeholders and public private partnerships role in tourism management. The result of the research points out that the sustainable development is important for responding to the current problems caused by tourism development, as well as to address the needs of future generations.

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Stakeholders’ Synergies in Developing Smart Tourism Destination. A Phenomenographic Study

  • Nurdin HIDAYAH NHI Bandung Tourism Polytechnic, Indonesia
  • Herlan SUHERLAN NHI Bandung Tourism Polytechnic, Indonesia
  • Fajar Kusnadi Kusumah PUTRA NHI Bandung Tourism Polytechnic, Indonesia

This study aims to investigate the stakeholders' synergies in realising smart tourism destination. This study uses a qualitative method with a phenomenography approach. We adopted stakeholders' theory to valued stakeholder roles and perception in pursuing sustainability, competitiveness and managing smart tourism destination in Wonosobo, Indonesia. In-depth interviews with five main stakeholders' namely local government, media, tourism business, tourism community, and travel bloggers followed by three phenomenography qualitative data analysis stages. The findings have revealed some obstacles in implementing smart tourism from stakeholders' perspectives, such as human resource's ability, stakeholders' synergy, and government support. This study has also revealed six factors: public system development, digital promotion, Internet infrastructure, public and private sectors partnership, and human resources development to support smart tourism. This study has proposed the strategic plan for the local government to support smart tourism destinations, namely: partnerships, government support, human resource’s ability, and tourism business competitiveness, that will lead to smart tourism destinations. This study has provided a framework and managerial implication accordingly.

stakeholder theory tourism

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  1. Stakeholders in tourism: Who are they and why do they matter?

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  2. 21 reasons why tourism is important

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  3. Stakeholders in tourism development

    stakeholder theory tourism

  4. Stakeholders in tourism: Who are they and why do they matter?

    stakeholder theory tourism

  5. Stakeholders in tourism: Who are they and why do they matter?

    stakeholder theory tourism

  6. Tourism Stakeholder Map (Adapted from Freeman (2010))

    stakeholder theory tourism

COMMENTS

  1. Stakeholders in tourism: Who are they and why do they matter?

    Stakeholder Theory in tourism . Stakeholder Theory is all about the way in which stakeholders should be taken into account when making business decisions. Most of the world nowadays is built upon a capitalist society, within which there is a complex web of interconnected stakeholders. From customers through to suppliers, employees, investors ...

  2. Identifying stakeholder perspectives and worldviews on sustainable

    Stakeholders in sustainable tourism development and their roles: Applying stakeholder theory to sustainable tourism development. Tourism Review, 62, 6-13. doi: 10.1108/16605370780000309 Google Scholar. Canavan, B. (2013).

  3. Stakeholder theory and the sustaninable recovery of the tourism sector

    Abstract. Stakeholder theory has been applied in the traditional disciplines of business, as well as, in tourism research. This article presents a review of stakeholder theory, putting emphasis on ...

  4. Stakeholders in sustainable tourism development and their roles

    Stakeholders in sustainable tourism development and their roles: applying stakeholder theory to sustainable tourism development Erick T. Byrd (Assistant Professor, Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402‐6170, United States of America)

  5. Sustainability

    The utilization of the Stakeholder Theory is relatively novel and restricted to a great extent in the area of tourism. On the whole, matters such as stakeholders' recognition and the extension of cooperation in the process of planning and development in regard to tourism are mainly concentrated on [ 32 , 33 ].

  6. Quality of Life and Stakeholder Involvement in Sustainable Tourism

    Abstract. In recent years, the study of quality of life (QOL) in tourism destinations has increased. This chapter reviews some of the primary research on QOL in general and specific to tourism. It also provides an overview of stakeholder theory and its use in tourism research. Tourism has the potential to impact the QOL in a community resulting ...

  7. Stakeholder Engagement in Tourism Planning and Development

    Stakeholder participation has roots in the business ethics/management and public administration fields (Byrd, 2007). Freeman, in his 1984 seminal work, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, pioneered the concept for applications in organizational management. A central theme of stakeholder theory is its normative aspects. As Byrd (2007 ...

  8. Stakeholder contribution to tourism collaboration: Exploring

    Todd, Leask, and Ensor (2017) explain that the management of stakeholder relationships and collaboration is of key importance in tourism academia: "appreciating how and when these engagements occur is relevant to building upon existing stakeholder theory and is pertinent to the tourism management and studies literature" (p. 495). Even ...

  9. Mapping stakeholders' roles in governing sustainable tourism

    In pursuing sustainable tourism, Byrd (2007) argued that stakeholders (i.e., present and future visitors, present and future host community) must be involved in the process. Hence, a multi-stakeholder or value chain approach is obligatory (Rivera & Gutierrez, 2019). According to Koscak and O'Rourke (2017), "the most successful models of multi ...

  10. Stakeholder role in tourism sustainability: the case of Kwame Nkrumah

    Using the stakeholder based theory and resource based theory (RBT) the study addresses how sustainable competitive advantage can be developed.,Results shows how stakeholders involved such employees, government, community/society, private sector and individual shop owners perceive factors that enhance or limit progress in tourism.

  11. Sustainable Development in Tourism: A Stakeholder Analysis of the

    Based on stakeholder theory, the article aims to investigate how the business model in tourism that is used in Italy's Langhe region is aligned to the promotion of a "sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work," in accordance to the United Nations General Assembly 2030 agenda for ...

  12. Full article: Stakeholder ecotourism management: exchanges

    Stakeholder ecotourism management: exchanges, coordination's and adaptations. Ecotourism presents itself with various opportunities, yet the management of tourism in protected and/or unprotected areas represents great challenges (Ullenberg, 2015, p. 34) one of which is the concept of stakeholder management. According to Backman and Munanura ...

  13. Understanding the Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability of ...

    One of the most important economic sectors in many developed nations has been recognized as tourism. The World Travel and Tourism Council reports that in 2018, the travel and tourism industry grew by 3.9%, exceeding the global economy's annual growth rate of 3.2% for the eighth consecutive year.The industry has produced one in five jobs over the last 5 years, making travel and tourism the ...

  14. Stakeholder theory, strategy, and organization: Past, present, and

    Stakeholder theory was originally developed as a theory of, or perhaps rather a perspective on, strategic management (Freeman, 1984).However, subsequent work remained largely disconnected from developments in the strategy field because strategy scholars became increasingly concerned with grounding their work in economic theories and concepts (e.g. Rumelt et al., 1991), while stakeholder ...

  15. Stakeholder contribution to tourism collaboration: Exploring

    Todd, Leask, and Ensor (2017) explain that the management of stakeholder relationships and collaboration is of key importance in tourism academia: "appreciating how and when these engagements occur is relevant to building upon existing stakeholder theory and is pertinent to the tourism management and studies literature" (p. 495).

  16. Stakeholder theory and the sustainable recovery of the tourism sector

    Stakeholder theory has been applied in the traditional disciplines of business such as strategic management and business ethics, however, the application of stakeholder theory in the tourism sector has been scarce. This article presents an explanation of descriptive, normative and instrumental stakeholder theory, putting emphasis on this last one.

  17. Stakeholder theory as a model for sustainable development in ecotourism

    STAKEHOLDER THEORY AS A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ECOTOURISM. Francisco Orgaz Agüera ( CV) INTRODUCTION. Tourism is an economic sector which must be approached in a special way due to the interlinking of all the stakeholdersinvolved in tourism activities (Castellanos Verdugo and Orgaz Agüera, 2013), both those based in the tourist ...

  18. Stakeholder analysis: A simple explanation

    Stakeholder theory is concerned with the morals and values that come alongside managing an organisation: market economy, corporate social responsibility, and social contract theory are some examples of this. Viewing and implementing strategy or strategies from the stakeholder's perspective adds a socio-political element to a business.

  19. Stakeholder theory

    Stakeholder theory (ST) is a profound theory in business ethics and organizational management. Though several ST reviews are available, they remain restricted to functional or niche areas. ... Annals of Tourism Research: 280: Cluster 2: Stakeholder theory and organizational performance (TP: 238, TC: 23,773, and APY: 2014.72)

  20. Tourism Stakeholders: Towards Sustainable Tourism Development

    Stakeholder Theory A stakeholder is identified as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by tourism development in an area (Freeman, 1984). Stakeholder theory focuses on the relationships among and management of stakeholders within a destination (Freeman, 1984; Sautter and Leisen, 1999; Ryan, 2002; Heitmann, 2010).

  21. Stakeholders' Synergies in Developing Smart Tourism Destination. A

    This study aims to investigate the stakeholders' synergies in realising smart tourism destination. This study uses a qualitative method with a phenomenography approach. We adopted stakeholders' theory to valued stakeholder roles and perception in pursuing sustainability, competitiveness and managing smart tourism destination in Wonosobo, Indonesia.

  22. Stakeholders in sustainable tourism development and their roles

    Sustainability has become an important topic and concept in relation to tourism planning and development. For sustainable tourism development to be successful stakeholders must be involved in the process. The questions that should be considered though are: (1) who should be considered stakeholders in tourism development, and (2) how should planners and developers involve stakeholders in the ...

  23. [Pdf] Stakeholder Theory As a Model for Sustainable Development in

    STAKEHOLDER THEORY AS A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ECOTOURISM. Tourism has been characterised by mass tourism, although new types of alternative tourism have emerged in recent years, one of which is ecotourism. The introduction of ecotourism has had a varying impact, both positive and negative, on tourist destinations.