Ecosystem of the tourism industry in Cameroon: between collaboration, coordination and partnership

Abstract

The tourism industry consists of diverse actors responsible for meeting the needs and preferences of tourists, which are continually evolving. These actors operate individually or collaboratively, fostering interactions that are essential for the sector's success. This study aims to demonstrate that these interactions among Cameroonian tourism stakeholders generate various types of relationships, including collaboration, coordination, and partnership.

To explore these dynamics, we conducted visits to ten tourist establishments and sites across the ten regions of Cameroon, using structured identification sheets and documentary analysis. Through a multi-agent qualitative analysis, we observed that the Cameroonian tourism industry encompasses a wide array of actors. These include public actors, territorial actors, private actors, direct actors, and indirect actors.

The relationships between these actors facilitate the development and implementation of a collective strategy to promote Cameroon's tourist assets, the creation of coordinated action plans to avoid redundant projects, the establishment of organized and regulated markets, the reduction of competitive pressures, and the exchange of expertise and experiences.

In conclusion, our analysis has revealed the existence of a tourism ecosystem that encompasses all identified actors within Cameroon's tourism industry and illustrates the various relationships that connect them.

Keywords: tourism industry, actorss, collaboration, coordination, partnership, ecosystem, Cameroon

Classification JEL : L83, O18, Z32

Paper type : Empirical Research