ABSTRACT
The chapter outlines the argument for an evolutionary approach to resilience as an appropriate means through which to understand and consider the requirements for the development of resilient destinations. The main assertion is that due to the multi-level, multi-dimensional nature of the tourism industry, the development of resilient destinations demands movement beyond the traditional focus on prediction and control in terms of creating fail-safe engineered solutions towards not only acceptance, but an embracement of dynamic change and the inherent unpredictability it brings. The acknowledgement of complexity in the destination system thus demands the formation and implementation of flexible governance structures that can absorb and even benefit from external disruptions and inevitable change rather than simply return to business as usual. In conceptualising how it is destination governance can and should be understood on the basis of these terms, this chapter discusses an integrated approach to destination development where institutional process concerned with dynamic stakeholder management is placed at the core of building resilience.
