Sound community tourism development is built upon cooperation not competition among closely situated communities.  Even communities that are recognized tourism sites benefit by linking their attractions, facilities, and services with those of nearby communities.  This linking is called clustering.   Clustering occurs when closely situated communities complement each other, with each providing different kinds of amenities for tourists and different facilities that support regional tourism activities.

At first glance, clustering may seem to interfere with a community's ability to establish its own market niche. The opposite is true however.  Clustering depends upon each community's ability to make a unique contribution to the whole region, that is, the overall tourism image and product.  In this way, clustering creates a critical mass of attractions and services that can attract more tourists and keep them longer than any one community could accomplish alone. Regional cooperation is a condition of effective tourism because as the public becomes more discriminating and mobile, they will more likely demand a wider range of quality attractions and amenities before embarking on a trip. 

One kind of regional interdependency that is particularly important to smaller communities may be termed the big city-small city relationship.  Certainly, larger cities with different forms of transportation, access attractions and services are capable of generating a larger mass of tourism development.  There is no question that major cities (Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston/Galveston, and El Paso) can be primary destinations on their own.

However, smaller cities accessible from large cities have an important regional interdependency that can enhance tourism for both.  Instead of being negatively competitive, a large city and smaller cities, within reasonable access, can be very helpful to each other by offering a wider range of benefits to market segments.  The larger city can expand its tourism influence by including visits outside its boundaries. 

Smaller cities can become important secondary destinations within the large city region, thereby strengthening both cities--a mutual benefit.  

All communities, large and small, benefit when tourism increases in their region.  Recognizing this, many have joined together in cooperative efforts to identify and promote regional tourism opportunities and themes. 

Cooperative efforts have included: scheduling arrangements to ensure that timing of community special events complement rather than conflict; joint funding of tourism brochures; coop-advertising; and cross-selling.  Cross selling occurs when residents of one community recommend the attractions, services, or facilities of another in an effort to keep visitors within the region.