From shareholders to stakeholders: critical issues for tourism marketers

Tony Blair's recent declaration that the British Labour Party will nurture a 'stakeholder society' in the United Kingdom if it comes to power has important implications for those with a professional interest in ethics and public relations. The following analysis looks at the potential for stakeholder management to be implemented by business organizations and draws on the recent debate surrounding the ideology and practical implications of a stakeholder society. The discussion also draws on empirical evidence concerning tourism planning, thus providing a perspective on the potential for a stakeholder approach to help 'maintain the balance' between tourism activity and social and environmental concerns. The role of public relations within the proposed moral society is examined critically in relation to the practical implications of stakeholder approaches to marketing management. One of the key moral issues of today's society, gender equality, is explored in relation to the concept of the stakeholder society. Copyright @ 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.