Developing trans-jurisdictional tourism partnerships - insights from the Island of Ireland

Due to ongoing economic and technological changes over them last two decades, partnerships have become pervasive in tourism development as they have been seen by national governments as one means of dealing with an increasingly complex and multifacted tourist industry. On the island of Ireland, partnership has been established on a trans-jurisdictional basis in an effort to maximise tourist potential and reduce duplication. However, despite this development. very little is known about trans-jurisdictional co-operation as most research to date has focused on local and regional partnerships. and the extent of community participation vis-A-vis administrative authorities. This paper aims to fill the gap in this research by examining the relationship between the two tourist boards in Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and Bord Failte (BF). By reflecting on the future of crossborder co-operation in tourism on the island of Ireland, the paper outlines important lessons for developing tourism partnerships across national, regional and local administrative boundaries. The paper concludes by arguing that co-operation can be maintained by formulating an inclusive and integrated tourism strategy, establishing partnership balance, understanding political sensitivities and developing a participative partnership approach at the local level. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.