Co-creating value in destination management levering on stakeholder engagement

Value co-creation – an established topic in management studies – it still in its infancy in tourism and hospitality research. This paper investigates value co-creation in destination management by focusing on how DMOs create their destinations’ strategic approaches by levering on stakeholder engagement, both online and offline. Building upon a significant body of literature on value-co creation and stakeholder engagement in destination management, we provide a framework identifying four strategic DMO approaches in destination value co-creation. The evidence collected in four selected Italian regional DMOs shows that a combination of interactive digital platforms and offline stakeholder engagement defines a range of strategic approaches. The study provides new knowledge of destination value co-creation and suggests preliminary managerial implications, based on the lessons learned from the empirical analysis.