Voluntary sports clubs in collaboration with the tourism sector: Beneficial or a dead end?

Cross-sector collaboration between the tourism industry and voluntary sports clubs is a potential way to develop tourism destinations and activities for tourists. However, collaborations across sectors may be conflictual, and little is known about voluntary associations’ involvement in collaborative activities in the tourism sector.
By applying a domain-based stakeholder theory, this paper aims to investigate the potentials and barriers to collaborative activities in the Danish tourism sector. Based on studies of three collaborative cases involving voluntary sports clubs in the tourism sector, this paper shows that voluntary sports clubs can both benefit from and be an asset in collaborations with tourism organisations. By using their organised volunteers and applying their knowledge of their sport and the local destinations, they can support and develop activities for tourists and by doing so support destination development.
The study also underpins the importance of creating a mutual frame addressing issues like sectoral differences, values and clarifying organisational gains to minimise conflicts.