Partner selection is an important issue in alliance formation. A lot of research works have been done in developing the framework or criteria for selecting partners.  However,  research  to  date  suggests relatively little is known about how to select partners for attractive and unique image building, which is essential to the developments of tourism especially for SME owners in the tourism sector. In this paper, the authors  propose  a  systematic  approach  for  service providers in tourism industry to identify appropriate partners to form alliances and build their attractive and  unique  images.  This  approach  employs metaphors as a tool to generate innovative and creative solutions. The system architecture is then provided  and  elaborated  with  algorithms  and a system scenario. By forming better alliances, SMEs in tourism sector can gain competitive advantages and improve their sustainability and profitability.