Policy networks and the local organisation of tourism

Networks spanning public and private sectors are increasingly important in shaping tourism planning and development. In many destinations, the formal and informal relationships between local government and industry have a considerable effect on the capacity of the destination to harness these public-private partnerships. By way of a case study of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, this paper investigates relationships between local government and industry to critically discuss the role of networks in fostering or inhibiting public-private sector partnership building. The findings suggest that fostering an environment in which innovative public-private partnerships can emerge, requires careful management between state and societal dominance be achieved and that the relationship between the active tourism network and the wider, passive community be explicitly managed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.