Assessment of destination performance: a strategy map approach

Purpose. Notwithstanding a growing interest on destination management, little is known about the formation and evaluation of destination managers’ strategies. Strategy assessment is essential to understand whether, and how, destination managers allow the reconciliation of the diverse stakeholders’ interests within an integrated destination plan, pursuing the development of the destination. The purpose of this article is the exploration and building of a strategy assessment approach. Methodology. A qualitative methodology is adopted, to identify key dimensions of strategy assessment and their combination within an integrated destination plan. Data come from the city of Turin, and the destination management organization developed for 2006 Olympic Games. Value of the paper. The paper offers a novel approach for developing a strategy map, and contributes to prior research on strategy assessment in meta-management. Research limitations/implications. The use of balanced scorecard approaches points on how a financial dimension is key in meta-management contexts, notwithstanding the public interests of the destination supply system. Also, this work discloses the formative process that characterizes strategic planning within supply networks of tourism destination. It describes the hierarchy of strategy assessment, taking into consideration externalities emerging from integrated supply systems developed at the destination level. Limitations are intrinsic to case study methods, and points on findings generalizability. Practical implications. The paper offers insights on developing analytical capability within meta-management organizations, to diagnose value creation and competitiveness gaps. Also, it gives insights on developing co-ordination capabilities, allowing to draw different strategic goals into an integrated design.