A Governance Model for Resource–Stakeholder Collaboration in Tourism Destination Management: Design and Implementation Framework for Uzbekistan

Destinations in transition economies often grow faster than the institutions that coordinate the actors controlling their resources. This article develops a governance model for collaboration between resources and stakeholders in tourism destination management and an implementation framework for its introduction in Uzbekistan. The study follows a design-oriented approach: it combines a review of destination governance literature, an analysis of network governance modes, a diagnosis of the Samarkand region based on official statistics and normative documents, and conceptual modelling. Comparing four governance modes — hierarchical, market-based, participant-governed and network administrative organisation — the article argues that a lead network organisation in the form of a non-profit public–private destination management organisation (DMO) best fits destinations characterised by a large number of small actors and state control over heritage resources. The proposed three-level model consists of a destination supervisory board, a regional DMO with four functional units, a destination development fund and six thematic working groups organised by resource type, linked by a balanced-scorecard monitoring system. A resource–mechanism matrix specifies, for each type of destination resource, the controlling stakeholders, the dominant collaboration mechanism, the instruments and the key performance indicators. A four-stage implementation roadmap is also proposed. The model contributes to destination governance theory by linking governance structure to resource type and offers policy makers a practical instrument for institutionalising stakeholder collaboration.