In tourism, the concept of “benefit-sharing” refers to the idea that the benefits arising from tourism should be distributed across a wide range of stakeholders. We argue that the development of synergetic interactions between stakeholders involved in governance processes is a prerequisite for effective benefit-sharing from tourism in protected areas. Our stakeholder analysis of the actors with an interest in the island of Terschelling in the northern Netherlands revealed how relationships between stakeholders enable and/or constrain the sharing of benefits from tourism. Our analysis helped to understand the governance arrangements pertaining to the management of tourism in protected areas. We ascertained that the national forest management agency (Staatsbosbeheer), a large landowner on the island, is highly influential, but nevertheless often found it difficult to gain local support for its activities. The local government was also an important stakeholder, but was considered to sometimes constrain the development of tourism and thus limit the potential for benefit-sharing. Effective communication, good collaboration with stakeholders, and an attitude of openness were identified as being important preconditions for developing synergistic interactions between stakeholders.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to look at the potential synergies between tourism and landscapes and examine the potential contribution of tourism to build social-ecological resilience in the Dutch Wadden.Design/methodology/approach: The authors reveal how a social-ecological systems perspective can be used to conceptualize the Wadden as a coupled and dynamic system. This paper is a conceptual analysis that applies this approach to the Dutch Wadden. The data used for the inquiry primarily comes from a literature review.Findings: The authors argue that the social-ecological systems perspective is a useful approach and could be used to improve the governance of multi-functional socio-ecological systems in coastal areas. Opportunities for synergies between tourism and landscapes have been overlooked. The authors consider that tourism and nature protection are potentially compatible and that the synergies should be identified.Research limitations/implications: This paper is only a conceptual application rather than an empirical case study. Further research to actually apply the methodology is needed.Practical implications: Managers of protected areas should consider applying a social-ecological systems approach.Social implications: The views of a wide variety of stakeholders should be considered in landscape planning.Originality/value: The value of this paper lies in the articulation of the social-ecological systems perspective as a way to identify and understand the complex interactions between tourism and landscape, and the potential synergies between them.

In 2011, ICOMOS published its Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessment for Cultural World Heritage Properties. By 2016, over 100 Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) had been requested by UNESCO. This paper provides an analytical critique of the HIA Guidelines focusing on their implicit assumptions. We argue that the assumptions in the HIA Guidelines derive from the ‘preservation’ discourse in heritage management, rather than from the ‘conservation’ or ‘heritage planning’ discourses. This is important because the discourse affects the way impacts and their severity are assessed within HIAs, thereby potentially affecting the conclusions reached. We also argue that this framing results in miscommunication and misunderstanding amongst the different stakeholders, about: (1) their perceptions of the nature of heritage value; (2) the perceived purpose of HIA; (3) the way impacts are assessed; and (4) the differing agendas of stakeholders. We recommend that HIA practitioners acknowledge the existence of the various discourses. This could make HIA a more effective heritage management tool. We also consider that for HIAs to be more robust that they be conducted by a multidisciplinary group and with a peer-review mechanism.