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Discusses the training and development programme run by Granada Studios Tour, a UK urban theme park, which had contributed largely to achieving business objectives and gaining a competitive edge. Outlines three specific action points given to the management committee for completion after the introductory seminar. Declares the importance of investment in human resources.

To migrate from traditional business planning, which confines itself to analyzing the current situation, to planning an innovation strategy, which incorporates innovation and uncertainty, you need more than a map—you need an atlas.

This paper argues that the foundation for a new economic order has been laid. It is one that rests on the value of human potential and how it might be systematically leveraged for the benefit of mankind. The challenge is to determine the integral linkage between human potential and economic performance. This will be accomplished by creating a worldwide innovation vision and culture, supported by innovation tools, techniques and metrics.

Anyone can argue that great knowledge management benefits the business. But how do you measure the results?

Leaders of successful organizations are consistently searching for better ways to improve performance and results. Frequent disappointments with past management initiatives have motivated managers to gain new understandings into the underlying, but complex mechanisms ‐ such as knowledge ‐ which govern an enterprise’s effectiveness. Knowledge Management, far from being a management “fad”, is broad, multi‐dimensional and covers most aspects of the enterprise’s activities. To be competitive and successful, experience shows that enterprises must create and sustain a balanced intellectual capital portfolio. They need to set broad priorities and integrate the goals of managing intellectual capital and the corresponding effective knowledge processes. This requires systematic Knowledge Management. With knowledge as the major driving force behind the “economics of ideas”, we can expect that the emphasis on knowledge creation, development, organization and leverage will continue to be the prime focus for improving society.

Society is entering into an era where the future essentially will be determined by people’s ability to wisely use knowledge, a precious global resource that is the embodiment of human intellectual capital and technology. As people begin to expand their understanding of knowledge as an essential asset, they are realizing that in many ways the future is limited only by imagination and the ability to leverage the human mind. As knowledge increasingly becomes the key strategic resource of the future the need to develop comprehensive understanding of knowledge processes for the creation, transfer and deployment of this unique asset are becoming critical. Educational institutions and training organizations and businesses and knowledge‐based organizations in the public sector are in need of an integrative discipline for studying, researching and learning about the knowledge assets ‐ human intellectual capital and technology. An international society of knowledge professionals is proposed which can provide the necessary focus for fostering collaboration among the best minds and organizations on study, research and learning dedicated to the underlying disciplines and their integrative evolution into the emergence of Knowledge Management as a new discipline.

This exploratory research opens a new avenue of tourism destination enquiry for Dhofar Governorate, Oman. It examines the relationship between the food tourism landscape in the country’s southernmost region and the Government’s stated economic development goals. Tourism is a new industry here and in need of sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to identify how the natural and human resources of the region may be harnessed to expand food tourism pathways and achieve sustainable economic development e.g. maximising stakeholder benefits.

The literature review highlights many new developments in food tourism for this baseline study. Qualitative and quantitative (i.e. mixed) methods are used including a case study, a pilot survey of key Government stakeholders in Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, food factory tours and interviews with their executives in Dhofar, direct and participant observation at food establishments and events, visits to popular roadside and market food stalls in Salalah and tourism trend analysis.

Some recent trends in food tourism elsewhere may be adapted in Salalah and spark interest in the food culture and heritage of Dhofar. This, in turn, may bring multiple benefits to the destination’s stakeholders. The governorate’s environment yields a rich variety of agricultural and other food products that may be used to provide new forms of food tourism and increase the region’s appeal to tourists beyond the Khareef season. Further possible benefits include safeguarding local food knowledge, production, culture and heritage, developing SMEs, creating new jobs and increasing visitor stay and spend.

The study is conducted solely in English, whereas Arabic is the mother tongue in Oman. Dhofar is the country’s largest governorate occupying a vast area, not all of which is covered by the study. More data are needed to inform tourism development, policymaking and planning in Dhofar.

Improving tourism’s sustainability profile, creating successful food tourism products and services and achieving Dhofar’s economic development goals require concerted effort. All are in the best interest of the tourism stakeholders concerned.

This paper provides a foundation for future research on this topic. It highlights the importance of placing food tourism development on a sustainable footing to protect and preserve Dhofar’s unique food culture, heritage, traditions and environment, extend the main tourism season and maximise benefits to stakeholders.

Recent trends in food tourism are investigated to gauge their applicability in this dynamic region of Oman. Ideas are presented demonstrating possible food tourism pathways to sustainable economic development that benefit a wide range of stakeholders e.g. food tours, food factory tours and shops, food festivals and cookery-school holidays and/or classes.

Innovation is the core competency of the industry research consortium. The ability to capture the tacit or fugitive knowledge of participants and apply it to a business issue to create an implementable solution is the practical application. The cost management systems (CMS) program of the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing ‐ International (CAM‐I) is currently exploring innovation as a research project. The first step was the use of Debra Amidon’s innovation assessment to evaluate the innovation capacity of the CMS program. This article focuses on the results and learning from the assessment.