The impact of stakeholder relations on the sustainability of tourism development. An Indonesian case study

Abstract

Following the publication of the Brundtland Commission’s Our Common Future Report, the concept of sustainable tourism development became highly influential internationally. Yet, despite the concept being frequently discussed, what exactly it embodies has not been conclusively defined. What is generally agreed upon is, that in order for tourism to fulfill its positive potential, it must be meticulously managed and that the successful involvement of stakeholders in a destination plays a key role in this process (Gunn & Var, 2002). This thesis sets out to illustrate on the example of the destination Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesia, how the vagueness of the concept “sustainable tourism development” impacts the involvement of stakeholders and how these dynamics in turn influence the overall sustainability of touristic development in the destination. It comes to the conclusion that a lack of competent leadership in the developmental process results in an unbalanced power distribution between the stakeholders. As a result, not all stakeholders can equally contribute to the process, thereby effectively preventing a holistically sustainable touristic development. The solution proposed is the build-up of an efficient leadership-instance and the promotion of the ‘five vital elements’ of stakeholder involvement named by Nicodemus (2004) and Susskind and Cruikshank (2001).