Collins Redmond

ABSTRACT

Tourism destinations no longer compete simply on scenery, heritage, or price. Increasingly, they compete on experience — and specifically, on how much agency they hand the visitor to shape that experience. This shift is at the heart of "creative tourism," a model in which travelers move from being passive spectators to active co-creators of what they consume. The study under review, which examines the organizational capabilities of local Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) in this context, offers a useful — if densely worded — attempt to map how internal organizational dynamics translate into external tourism value. This commentary unpacks the study's core argument, evaluates its methodological choices, and considers what its findings mean for destinations trying to make this transition in practice.