Planning for lake and lake shore tourism: complexity, coordination and adaptation

It may appear sensible for just one organisation to have sole responsibility for all aspects of planning for lake basins, including for tourism. In practice, however, many public agencies are often involved that have varying interests and priorities. This paper examines one instance of relatively complex governance arrangements in order to examine the coordination of its tourism planning. A relational approach to complexity in social science research is used, with this complexity brought about through networked relationships that have emergent properties. The case examined here is of the lake and lake shore of Windermere in the UK, this being an area that has attracted tourists for over 150 years. Consideration is paid to the differing priorities of public agencies in the area with interests in tourism planning and to whether that planning is based on a coordinated approach. There is also assessment of adaptation in this tourism planning in response to recent crises and trends that have created economic difficulties. The study illustrates the value of recognising the importance of organisational complexity, of the complexity of unexpected events, and also of emergent outcomes. It also highlights the need for flexible, adaptive responses.