Tourism Partnership Development

We are specialists in tourism management consulting for both public and private sectors — facilitating the creation and management of destination partnerships, tourism associations and collaborative working arrangements that deliver real results for member businesses and destinations.

Who We Work With

  • Tourism associations and consortia
  • Not-for-profit tourism companies and trusts
  • Voluntary tourism organisations
  • Accommodation providers, attractions and activity operators
  • Food and drink businesses and retail destinations
  • Chambers of Trade and Commerce
  • Local authorities and public sector tourism teams
  • Destination management organisations

What We Do

  • Facilitating the creation of new destination development partnerships
  • Chairing and facilitating board and steering group meetings
  • Developing partnership governance structures and constitutions
  • Income generation and membership development strategies — linked to our DMO consultancy service
  • Stakeholder engagement and consultation
  • Partnership performance review and restructuring
  • Mediation and conflict resolution between stakeholders

Why Independent Facilitation Matters

Partnerships often struggle when facilitated by one of their own members — existing relationships and competing interests get in the way. An experienced independent facilitator creates the conditions for honest conversation and genuine progress without any party feeling managed or outmanoeuvred.

We bring direct experience of running a county destination management organisation for over 20 years, which means we understand the real pressures tourism businesses and public sector bodies face from every angle. Our marketing strategy and visitor research expertise means partnership work is always grounded in evidence about what visitors actually want — not just what stakeholders think they want.

Frequently Asked Questions

A destination development partnership is a formal or informal collaboration between tourism businesses, local authorities, destination management organisations and other stakeholders working together to improve and promote a destination. Effective partnerships pool resources, co-ordinate marketing, share intelligence and advocate collectively — achieving things that no individual organisation could do alone. We have experience creating and facilitating these partnerships at local, area and county level.

Tourism partnerships often struggle when facilitated internally — existing relationships, competing commercial interests and established hierarchies make it difficult to achieve genuine consensus. An experienced independent facilitator creates the conditions for honest conversation and real progress. We bring no commercial agenda of our own to the table beyond helping the partnership succeed, which makes it easier for all parties to engage openly. Our 20+ years of experience running a county DMO means we understand the pressures every stakeholder faces.

We can provide advice and consultancy on tourism-focused BIDs — including feasibility assessment, stakeholder engagement, ballot preparation and governance design. BIDs that include a significant tourism dimension benefit from specialist input to ensure the levy and project plan reflect the needs of accommodation providers, attractions and hospitality businesses as well as retail.

A tourism association is typically a voluntary or membership organisation that represents tourism businesses in a geographic area. A destination management organisation (DMO) has a broader remit — managing the destination's profile, marketing, visitor information and often its digital infrastructure. In practice, many destinations have a blurred line between the two, and we often help organisations clarify their role, governance and funding model as part of a partnership development process.

Related Services

DMO Consultancy
Tourism Business Advice
Marketing Strategy
Market Research