BREAKING OUT OF BORING CLUSTER PATH DEPENDENCY? The Case of Tourism Development in North Jutland, Denmark Henrik Halkier & Anette Therkelsen Aalborg University, Denmark – 1.Introduction: Path dependency in tourism 2.Finding a new path? From creation towards plasticity 3.Tourism in North Jutland: Path dependency and path plasticity 4.Researching tourism cluster path plasticities

PATH DEPENDENCY IN TOURISM Limited innovation despite policy  Limited innovation an oft-repeated claim in tourism research  Small actors with limited resources  Many public policies addressing this,  Competitive pressure on European destinations growing  Cheap flights, also to far-away destinations  Internet creates new transperancy for experienced travellers  Need to stimulate change through public policy obvious  … but prospects of extensive change seems limited Henrik Halkier & Anette Therkelsen

FINDING A NEW PATH From path creation towards path plasticity  Concept of path dependency well-established  System of institutions maintaining direction  Firms, regulation, actor behaviour, discourse  Increasing unease: multiscalarity, co-existence  Traditional way out: Path creation  Sudden change, from outside existing system  Focus on big transformations  Alternative: Path plasticity (Simone Strambach)  Incremental change in institutions/system  Enabled by interpretable ill-enforced institutions  Actors within, sometimes external inspiration Henrik Halkier & Anette Therkelsen

A path-dependency perspective on North Jutland TIES THAT BIND Tourists Providers Regulators Families with kids, nature-based summer, automobile, neighbouring markets, self-catering, week-based Civil-society ownership/co-use, life-style entrepreneurs, semi- monopolitistic rental bureaus National ownership, seaside planning restrictions, marketing Henrik Halkier & Anette Therkelsen

A path-plasticity perspective on North Jutland LOOSENING UP? Tourists Providers Regulators No-kid guest, +culture-driven, also more distant markets, flying in, shorter breaks More innovative SMEs, professionalisation, service innovation, new transport links More flexible planning, ownership flexibility?, innovation focus in policy, new marketing, coordination of small providers Henrik Halkier & Anette Therkelsen

RESEARCHING tourism cluster path plasticities Henrik Halkier & Anette Therkelsen  Key challenges  Identifying central systemic institutions (clustering)  Exploring the scope for variation within system  Including role of policy intervention  Longitudinal studies to follow incremental change  Need for comprehensive approach to destination analysis  Interdisciplinary, process-oriented  Quantative, qualitative  Article in German Journal of Economic Geography 2013  More news later …  Meanwhile: