ABSTRACT
It is an incontrovertible fact that these groups, even though they are not mentioned at all
in the constitutions of democratic states, play an important role in the political process as
intermediaries between voters and parties or politicians (Kavanagh, 2006). The relation-
ship between interest groups and political decision-makers is thus a reciprocal affair
with fluid boundaries. Power plays an important role in this context (Coles & Church,
2007), because power is the dependent resource; it is not static and varies depending on
the resources that interest groups and political decision-makers are willing to introduce
into a decision-making process on a given issue. Ultimately, the interest groups that
have the most power in the decision-making process are those who have the most
resources and also know how to use them in the most prudent manner. With regard to
tourism policy, power is the dominant factor, as Hall (2003) demonstrates. Power influ-
ences the interaction between individuals, organizations and third parties and has a
direct influence on the formation of tourism policies and the manner in which decisions
on tourism policy are implemented.
