Towards a Research Agenda for Knowledge Management in Tourism

Previous research has suggested that tourism has been slow in responding to knowledge management strategies in its planning, management and development practices and, as a result, there has been limited research in this field pertaining to knowledge management. In this conceptual discussion, knowledge management (hereafter KM) is broadly used as a term to refer to any planned and controlled application of knowledge for achieving goals and missions in tourism planning, management and development. The purpose of this research is twofold. First, the article presents a review of previous research and conceptual frameworks from the sociology of knowledge and KM that are potentially applicable to tourism. Second, it proposes a research agenda to address KM in tourism from five perspectives. The discussion encompasses issues such as tourism knowledge and tourism sectors, the structure and process of KM, and the role of information and communication technology in facilitating knowledge-based strategies. Implications for future inquiries are also discussed from these distinct perspectives.