The inter-organisational relationships in Irish tourism: The example of Lough Derg

The data presented in this paper are drawn from research work carried out by the author into the operation and organisation of Irish tourism at a local level. In carrying out this work 104 tourism operators were surveyed in detail in order to assess their attitudes and opinions on a number of issues. The two dominant themes which emerged from this research were the highly varied nature of the tourism operations and the multitude of service providers with whom they interact. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate this diversity of Inter-organisational Relationships (IORs) and to propose an organisational structure which may aid in minimising such complexities.