Author(s)

U. Jamrozy

Abstract

Small countries with exceptional natural beauty and unique cultural resources often look towards tourism development as an economic growth strategy. However, communities often disagree on the nature of development strategies. Supported by NGOs, sustainable tourism often is developed from the grassroots up. On the government side, the country’s tourism organizations are pressured to find economic resources that stimulate economic growth. The strategy calls for outside investors. This paper proposes commitment to ingenuity in marketing strategy that encourages collaboration among stakeholders. It stipulates that outside investment can be sustainable without undermining the social and natural viability of the communities in the country. This sustainable marketing strategy suggests injecting the country’s economy with external investments. The case study (e.g. sustainable eco-resort, eco-village, and arts-center) proposes major financial investments and commitment to sustainable operations. Based on network systems theory, the investments will only be sustainable if linked to other stakeholders and actors in the system. The created \“marketing buzz” needs to have a catalytic effect internally: it will provide incentives for the communities for creating a vibrant \“sustainable tourism identity” and a sustainable place branding strategy. Keywords: sustainable tourism, marketing strategy, marketing network systems, sustainable investment strategy, place branding. 1 Introduction Countries and regions with considerable natural and cultural resources look towards tourism when stimulating their sustainable development activities. Non- governmental organizations often collaborate with local grassroots companies

Keywords

sustainable tourism, marketing strategy, marketing network systems, sustainable investment strategy, place branding.