“One for all and all for one” – Engaging Tourism Stakeholders for Collaborative Governance A Case Study of the Mountain Destination Whistler (Canada)

By Eva Erdmenger

OVERVIEW1. How and why collaborative Governance?2. Why Whisler?3. Reserach Method4. Results&Findings5. Conclusion

COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE“Collaborative governance is therefore a type of governance in which public and private actors work collectively in distinctive ways, using particular processes, to establish laws and rules for the provision of public goods.” (Ansell and Gash, 2007, p.544 f.)

Aim: What are the critical factors enabling tourism stakeholders to engage in collaborative governance of a destination.

Study objective

COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE

Study objective

Figure 1. Model of Collaborative Governance

Source: Ansell and Gash, 2007.

WHISTLER (B.C.)Study objective

Figure 2. Influential key events and strategies in Whistler’s governance approach

Source: Gill and Williams, 2011, p.634.

PAPER VS. VOICEContent Analysis of Planning Documents

Stakeholder Interviews

•8 planning documents and policy papers such as Official Community Plan and RMOW Council Action Plan•Code tree based on 85 code words, organized in nine categories•Manually coded in the software Nvivo•New aspects have been added •irrelevant codes have been deleted

•Interviewee 1: former Council member•Interviewee 2: Whistler Centre for Sustainability (WCFS)•Interviewee 3: University professor•Pre-structured interview guide•Average interview time 67 minutes•Transcribed interviews and coded in Nvivo

Research method

FINDINGSStarting conditions:

Findings

What? How?Need of resources Growth limit, housing, competition,

climate change

Passion & Pride Mountain resort, prestige, expenses, adoptive home, fame

FINDINGSStep-by-step implementation:

Findings

What? How?Face-to-Face Communication Learning events

Trust –Building mediators, transparency

Commitment task forces, low hierarchy

Shared Understanding WCFS, Whistler 2020

Intermediate Outcomes Monitoring, small wins

FINDINGS

Only in Whistler?• Young, small and mobile community• 2010 Olympic Games – blessing or curse?• Election 2011

Findings

2006 20110

10

20

30

40

50

Canada British Columbia Whistler

age

[yea

rs]

Figure 3. Median Age of Canada, British Columbia and Whistler in 2006 and 2011.

Source: Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, Census 2011.

FINDINGSLessons learnd:• Demographical characteristics are universal• Tourism economic drive• Trigger and initiator• Guideline built and established by stakeholders• Monitoring for success• Non-political and non-state leaders• Community events for education and empowerment

Findings

FINDINGSFindings

Figure 4. Modiefied Model of Collaborative Governance

Source: Own draft basing on Ansell and Gash, 2007.

CONCULSION “Where conflict is high and trust is low, but power distribution is relatively equal and

stakeholders have an incentive to participate, then collaborative governance can successfully proceed by relying on the services of an honest broker that the respective

stakeholders accept and trust.” (Ansell and Gash, 2007, p.555)

“Nothing truly great is accomplished alone. Much of Whistler's success is due to the power of partnership and the spirit of collaboration embedded into the DNA of the

resort community.” (RMOW, 2015, n.p.)

REFERENCES• ANSELL, C. and GASH, A. (2007) Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice. Journal of Public

Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), pp. 543-571.

• GILL, A.M. and WILLIAMS, P.W. (2011) Rethinking resort growth: understanding evolving governance strategies in Whistler, British Columbia. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(4-5), pp.629-648.

• GOVERNMENT OF CANADA (2011) Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Census subdivision of Whistler, DM - British Columbia [Online] Available from: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-csd-eng.cfm?LANG=Eng&GK=CSD&GC=5931020 [05/25/2015].

• RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER (2015) It takes a village to raise a world-class resort. [Online] Available from: https://www.whistler.ca/40th-anniversary/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-world-class-resort [09/12/2016].

exploresustainability.com by Eva Erdmenger