Archetypal Approaches to Implementation and their Implications for Tourism Policy

Although recognized as an important area of tourism policy making, there are relatively few studies of implementation in tourism, especially with respect to relating tourism policy to the broader public policy and planning literature on implementation. Three archetypes of implementation analysis are presented that draw on the public policy field and these are discussed in relation to exemplar studies, approach to policy analysis, aims, themes, standpoint, underlying concept of democracy, and a number of other factors. The implications of these archetypes for the analysis of tourism are noted. It is concluded that implementation studies are significant not only for analyzing the gap between policy and action but also for highlighting struggles between policy interests and actors with respect to outcomes and the implications of using different policy frameworks.