Collaboration Between CVB and Local Community in Destination Marketing: CVB Executives' Perspective

ABSTRACT Using collaborative relationships to generate sustainable strategy is becoming a key paradigm in destination marketing practice and literature. However, there has been insufficient empirical research dealing with this issue. This paper examines Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) executives' attitudes toward collaboration with stakeholders in destination marketing and executives' assessment of collaborative performance levels of the various community entities. Key attitudinal and performance variables were identified through a literature review of previous empirical research in the area of interorganizational collaboration. Quantitative data were collected through a Web survey with CVB executives who have Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) membership. The results reveal that there is a varying degree of collaborative efforts between CVBs and community entities. Consistently, CVBs appear to attach the highest level of importance to collaborating with the tourism industry, which, according to CVB executives' assessment, exhibits the highest level of collaborative efforts. The results serve as a starting point for understanding the relationships between CVB and community organizations and entities through providing quantitative support for the importance of balanced partnership in the collaborative processes of destination marketing.