Tourism strategy through partnership: Rhetoric or reality?: A case example from Australia

Abstract

In December 2002, the Northern Territory (NT) Labor government in Australia released a new tourism plan, Northern Territory Tourism Strategic Plan - 2003-2007. The turbulent events of 2001 that had a significant impact on the tourism industry in the NT and included the collapse of the Australian carrier Ansett Airlines and 'September 11' provided the impetus for the new strategy. Purportedly, this plan was designed to direct and guide the NT tourism industry's future development based on sound research and extensive consultation with key stakeholders. Such a partnership approach was regarded as crucial for the success of future tourism in the Territory. This paper specifically focuses on the formulation process of this Tourism Strategic Plan. In particular, it explores the effectiveness of the underlying consultation process. A closer examination, however, shows that the government's claims to having prepared the tourism plan in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders are not justified.