From fragmentation to collaboration in tourism promotion: an analysis of the adoption of IMC in the Amalfi coast

The fragmentation in decision-making among different stakeholders severely influences the effectiveness of tourism promotion, in well-known destinations as well. Through the lens of Collaboration Theory, the paper empirically aims at exploring how an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) approach may be applied in a fragmented context of tourism with the objective of fostering collaboration between different players. Constructivist grounded theory is also employed to analyse interviews with tourism body stakeholders, organizations and other local government associations from the Amalfi coast region of Italy. The findings underpin the development of propositions presented not only for the purpose of guiding collaborative initiatives based on integrated communication’s principles, but also for encouraging/urging local stakeholders to attain the main benefits of creating and maintaining a multifaceted network of relationships; that network of relations could constitute an efficient way to overcome uncertainty in tourism. Thus, the present paper advances a multidimensional IMC approach in a tourism framework, supporting the need to help local stakeholders to overcome boundaries that hinder them from joining forces. This approach will allow them to attract tourist interest, build and sustain a co-developed place brand, and as a result strengthen community identity.