Social capital at the tourist destination level: Determining the dimensions to assess and improve collective action in tourism

A tourist destination, as a collective of actors trying to act together, faces the challenges of shaping a common future and self-determining its development path. This depends on its actors’ capacity to act towards collective goals. Social capital (SC) theory explains how resources are mobilised for common purposes, representing a key notion for understanding collective action. Non-tourism- and tourism-related literature on SC were analysed, finding that SC theory is used mostly as a means to study other aspects in tourism. Little has been discussed about SC itself as the object of interest. This article, therefore (1) identifies the key dimensions and levels of scope of a tourist destination’s SC, and (2) presents a structured assessment framework as the basis to reflect upon the improvement of the destination’s capacity for self-determination. The article contributes to tourist destination’s SC theory building and as the basis for further research on the subject.