Developing regional tourism in China(5)

中国区域旅游发展

J.Jackson/TourismManagement27(2006)695–706

699

. A local context that encourages appropriate forms of Investment andsustained upgrading

. Vigorous competition among locally-basedrivals

Fig.2.Porter’sdiamond(AdaptedfromPorter,1998,p.211).

strategy,structureandrivalryasbeingcriticaltotheevolutionofcompetitiveadvantage(Fig.2).

Businessclustersareamanifestationoftherelation-shipsthatcandevelopbetweensectorsofanindustry,theexactnatureofwhichwillbein uencedbythecultural,economicandpoliticalenvironment,butgiventhenecessaryfactorendowmentincludingratesoffactordevelopment,andbothlocalandinternationaldemandconditions.

3.2.Businessclusters

Inadditiontoexistingfederal,provincialandregionaltourisminitiativesinChinathereshouldbearesponsi-bility,atamicro-economiclevel,onlocaltourismbusinessestocontributetotheirregion’sdevelopment.Apossiblewayofactivatinglocalbusinessestocontributeinthiswayisviathecreationofbusinessclusters.Porter(1998,p.197)de nesaclusteras‘ygeographicconcentrationsofinterconnectedcompa-nies,specialisedsuppliers,serviceproviders, rmsinrelatedindustries,andassociatedinstitutionsinparticular eldsthatcompetebutalsocooperate’.Clustersarebroaderthanindustriescapturinglinkages,complemen-tarities,skills,marketing,andcustomerneedsthatcutacross rmsandindustries.Thisattributeofcuttingacross,andlinkingthefortunesof, rmsandindustriesenhancestheglobalcompetitivenessof rmswithinthecluster.Suchclusterdevelopmentincorporatingcompeti-tionbetweenlike rmsfacilitatesincreasedproductivity,increasesthecapacityforinnovationandproductivitygrowth,andstimulatesnewbusinessformationthatsupportsinnovation(Porter,1998,p.213).

Theclusterapproachentailsmakingmoreef cientuseofknowledgeandonbuildingconstructiveinterac-tionsbetweendifferentpartiesinthecluster.Cluster

policiesaredesignedtostrengthencompetitionbasedondifferentiationandspecialisation,ratherthancompeti-tionbasedonimitationandcostcutting(Jacobs&deMan,1996,p.430).ThefosteringofcooperativerelationshipsbasedondifferentiatedbusinessesisalsoemphasisedbyDoeringerandTerkla(1995)andGordonandMcCann(2000)andtheapplicationofclustertheoryinthetourismindustrybyothersincludingGoandWilliams(1993),Hall(2004,2005a,Chap.6primarily,2005b),Hall,Cambourne,Macionis,andJohnson(1997)JacksonandMurphy(2002)andKonosolas(2002).

Inclusteranalysis,governmentsupportisnotfocusedonprotectionismorsubsidisationofindustrysectorsbutmoretoimprovingthebusinessenvironmentthroughinfrastructuredevelopmentofpublicandquasi-publicgoodsthatimpactacrossarangeofindustries.Thismeansthattheroleofgovernmentincludesfacilitatinginputssuchasaneducatedworkforce,physicalinfra-structure,accreditationandregulationofstandardsandprovisionofaccurateandtimelyeconomicinformation.Additionally,thegovernmentalpurviewincludesensur-ingmacroeconomicandpoliticalstabilityaswellasappropriatetaxationandlegalsystems.

3.3.Characteristicsofsuccessfulclusters(Porter,1998)

Wideinvolvementofclusterparticipantsandassociatedinstitutionsandappropriateclusterboundaries.Tourismclustersshouldincludeallelementsofthetourismmixincludingaccommodationproviders,foodandbeverage,travelandtours,attractioncoordinators,eventpromoters,educationandre-searchinstitutions.Geographicboundariesshouldalsore ecteconomic,notpoliticalreality,henceclustersshouldnotbecon nedbystateorlocalgovernmentborders.

Inadditiontoestablishinglinkagesbetweentourismandtourism-relatedsectorswithinageographiclocation,thefollowingcharacteristicsofPorter’s

modelareimportant.

Asharedunderstandingofthecompetitivebusinessethicimpliesthatclusterparticipantsallunderstandthatgainsinproductivityandinnovationwillcontributemoretocompetitiveadvantagethanwillpricecuttingunderpinnedbylowwages,lowtaxesoradevaluedcurrency.Rivalrybetween rmsproducingthesameproductismorelikelytoleadtoinnovationanddifferentiationthaniscollusiontolimitcompeti-tionorseekgovernmentsubsidies.Theheterogeneityoftheelementsoftheclusterisalsoanimportantaspectofthetheoryinthetourismcontext,asthehorizontallinkagesthataredevelopedareunlikelytocreatethesituationwherethemembersoftheclustershareauniformapproachtocompetitionthatmayinhibitinnovation.