Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Strategic options for regional products as a tool for regional development.

2009; AcademicPres; Volume: 66; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.15835/buasvmcn-hort

2457-1415

Renata Januszewska, Jacques Viaene, Chantal Gheysen, Daniël De Steur,

Cruise Tourism Development and Management

The objective of the study is to identify and delineate the strategic options for tourism development in Flanders, Belgium, through the focus on regional products promotion and utilization of Strategic Orientation Round (SOR) approach. Three steps of the strategic planning process for tourism development require application of SOR analysis, i.e. a qualitative research method focusing on the internal and external analysis of the region and its environment. The external (opportunities and threats) and internal (strengths and weaknesses) analyses are confronted in the SWOT matrix and four groups of strategic options for regional development are developed corresponding to maxi-maxi strategy (attack), mini-maxi strategy (clean-ship), maxi-mini strategy (defence), and mini-mini strategy (crisis). Three mixed focus groups interviews and brainstorming sessions were conducted with the policy makers, regional initiators, staff members of the Economic Council of Flanders, and researchers of Gent University. Results show that SOR analysis is a useful tool in identifying the challenges facing the Flanders region. A strong focus on the tourism activities in the mini-maxi field, through promotion of regional products and support to the network of SMEs, is a key element in future regional policy.