Development of a Tourism Destination: Exploring the Role of Destination Capabilities

This article aims to identify the key elements underlying a destination capability (DC) and to examine what the genesis of these factors is and how they interact to foster the destination development. The article explores a specific development process—the creation of a new product in an alpine destination (Livigno, Italy)—making use of a theoretical framework structured around four major dimensions: DCs, coordination at the destination level, inter-destination bridge ties, and destination development. The results help clarify the genesis of a DC in the context of new product development. First, the dynamics underlying the creation of a DC show that coordination at the destination level constitutes the heart of the process, whereas the integration of scattered resources in the new product plays a more limited role. Second, from a dynamic perspective, the analysis has identified three patterns (scouting, implementation, and involvement).