Network Position and Perceptions of Destination Stakeholder Importance

This paper examines the organization and governance of the inter-organizational networks of key tourism organizations within the Gold Coast, Australia and how the position of individual stakeholders in a destination network is related to their perceived salience. In this study 22 key organizations identified using a reputation method were interviewed and asked about the skills and power of the 21 other organizations. Based on this data three analyses were conducted. Firstly, an analysis identified the order of the perceived salience of the organizations studied. Secondly, a k-core clustering analysis identified the organizational network as having a coreperiphery structure. Thirdly, the network salience of each stakeholders was correlated with their perceived salience resulting in a correlation coefficient of 0.51. Together these analyses indicate that the key stakeholders on the Gold Coast are located in the core of the network and form an elite that is seen as more salient while peripheral stakeholders are seen as less important and suggest that destination management is controlled by a limited number of stakeholders.