Dilemmas of non-mandatory planning for tourism development: The case of Denmark

The need for non-mandatory (‘soft’) tourism planning has long been recognised in the tourism development literature, as this socio-economic activity has a strong spatial dimension in that it takes place in tourist destinations that may or may not correspond to existing borders between e.g. local authorities. ‘Soft’ tourism planning and land-use planning are in other words likely to exist in an awkward relationship, with tourism development plans agreed between key public and private stakeholders potentially subverting existing procedures for engaging citizens in inclusive planning procedures.

In Denmark the 2007 local government reform gave rise to a significant increase in non-statutory planning (Hansen, 2017), but this paper argues that the basic tensions around ‘soft’ tourism planning remain, in particular 1) inter-municipal relationships when planning for tourist destinations cut across existing political borders, and 2) relations between public, private and civic stakeholders in ‘soft’ planning processes.

The paper undertakes a review of the existing literature on ‘soft’ tourism planning, focusing especially on its relationship to other forms of spatial planning. Then a comparative analysis is undertaken between the pre-2007 and post-2007 periods, focusing on prominent examples of ‘soft’ tourism planning in Denmark. The paper concludes with a discussion of the evolving challenges of ‘soft’ tourism planning, arguing that the challenges of horizontal coordination between municipalities and engagement of relevant stakeholders may have taken new forms but remains difficult territory for stakeholders to navigate.

The paper is part of UP:DK project sponsored by Realdania, Dansk Kyst & Natur Turisme, and Aalborg University.