"Nobody survives alone here": Unravelling the role of a tourism network in sustainable destination development : A case study of Muonio, Finland

Abstract: As tourism continues to grow, the need for sustainable management and governance of tourism destinations becomes increasingly urgent. This arguably requires the participation, cooperation, and collaboration of a variety of destination stakeholders. Tourism networks can bring together a variety of important stakeholders and thus encourage communication, knowledge transfer as well as collaboration and cooperation for developing tourism. This thesis examines the role of tourism networks in sustainable destination development by focusing on a network in the municipality of Muonio, Finland. Unstructured and semi-structured interviews complemented by document analysis were used to explore how the investigated network operates to support sustainable destination development. The research revealed that the network has a range of activities that encourage collaboration and cooperation between stakeholders, which allows the members to work towards common goals focussing on sustainability certification, joint marketing, branding and productization with a focus on stimulating responsible behaviour, collaboration with another municipality as well as digitalization and knowledge management. While these activities bring a range of benefits, such as increased business cooperation and stimulation of learning and exchange, the progress of the network supporting sustainable destination development is considerably impeded by a lack of resources and member participation. This research highlights the importance of collective agency and stakeholder engagement to ensure successful network operations for supporting sustainable destination development.