This paper aims to examine the direct intervention of university researchers in tourism practices in Hokkaido, Japan. The overall objective is the further understanding into the potential value of research-based evidence and scientific knowledge in tourism destination management. The paper articulates how the outcomes of structured knowledge creation were able to fundamentally change the long-held presumptions of local stakeholders about their destination, and the paper also examines how this knowledge was used to aid decision-making and the formulation of new tourism strategies.
Through an action research approach, data were collected by direct participation and interviews and then qualitatively analyzed.
The results clearly depict that the key factors for making destination management workable and sustainable are related to academic researchers’ direct intervention in tourism practices.
This paper has filled a gap in existing scholarship where empirical understanding from first-hand experiences has lacked around the important role that scientific knowledge or evidence-based research can play in enhancing decision-making in collaborative initiatives aiming to develop local tourism resources. The importance of the scientific approach and evidence-based decision-making is gaining increasing recognition in tourist destination development and management. This points to an important opportunity for academic researchers to contribute to the realization of sustainable tourist practices.
