Inter-organizational relations for effective policy implementation : a case study of the KwaZulu-Natal tourism implementation structure, between years 2000-2010.

Abstract

In this study I explore how effective the KwaZulu-Natal tourism implementation structure has been in the management of inter-organizational relations for tourism policy implementation using an interpretive social science methodology. This study is a culmination of an intensive observation, documentary analysis and fieldwork interviews. My findings show that the lead organizations have tried to achieve reasonable consensus as they build effective implementation partnerships, but there is very little to show for it. There is little evidence that local stakeholders’ transformation, financial support and empowerment has been effectively coordinated and achieved. As a result, there has been on-going high degree of despair and uncertainty, especially at the tourism community organizational level. I also find an increased orientation towards cooperative tourism governance and management. There is also evidence of an increase in tourism establishments whose foundation is partnerships for efficiency, effectiveness, increased revenue, empowerment and sustainability. There are still ‘silos’ within tourism cooperative management in that the lead organizations and the private sector still avoid partnering and opt to achieve their own individual goals separately. The process of facilitating cooperative tourism programmes is time-consuming. Hence success might not be achieved during the term of office of municipal councils and executive management, whose terms are normally five years without guarantee of extension. In many instances, this has resulted in tourism development programmes being an unfunded mandate. However, from 2008 onwards, there has been an improvement in stakeholder/shareholder coordination, partnering, communicating and organizational relationships for tourism programmes. I credit this improvement to cooperative tourism governance and management in the build-up towards the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. I recommend an interventionist application of a more demonstrative, participatory, transformative and facilitative kind of leadership to maximize effective inter-organizational exchanges and consensus-based decision-making for implementation.