Tourism micro-clusters

This paper presents an approach to regional development policy that may serve to stimulate the growth of tourism-based industries. The context for this discussion lies in the experiences of Australia's rural towns, but the applications seem broadly international. The paper explains the concepts of clustering in a model for micro-markets that is consistent with the global demands for competition. The focus is on the creation of economic and social opportunity in small communities through the development of clusters of complementary firms that can collectively deliver a bundle of attributes to make up a specialized regional product. Micro-market clustering theory offers one alternative for enhancing regional economic growth, but it seems suited to tourism development when the regional product requires a combination of many services to deliver the single experience the tourist seeks.