A Critical Analysis of how events contribute to destination community development.
Chapter 2 Destination Planning
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Learning objectives: Chapter 2
Describe how current tourism planning processes are organised.
Explain the benefits that come from doing long-term tourism planning.
Detail the desired outcomes from completing a tourism plan for a destination.
Identify the contents of a tourism plan for a destination.
Outline the main current/traditional approaches
Benefits of long-term tourism planning
Every destination needs long-term tourism planning; however not every place has such a plan.
Conducting tourism planning exercises can be costly.
Some destinations just decide to focus on the short term.
DMOs must justify spending time and money on long-term tourism planning, and need to articulate the major benefits of having a plan.
Major Benefits of
Long-term Tourism Planning
Benefits of Tourism Planning
Clear Future Directions
Vision and Goals for Tourism
Identification of Opportunities
Shared Plan Ownership
Implementation and Evaluation Guidelines
Greater Attention and Emphasis for Tourism
Time frames for and naming of tourism plans
Tourism plan or tourism master plan: a long-term plan for 10 or more years.
Tourism strategy: a medium-term plan for 5-9 years.
Tourism action plan: a short-term plan for 2-4 years.
In actual practice, there is no clear agreement on how long a period a tourism plan should cover.
Also, these plans are given many different names.
| Identifying alternative approaches Marketing Development Organization of tourism Community awareness of tourism Support services and activities Transportation and infrastructure | Adapting to the unexpected General economic conditions Energy supply and demand situation Values and lifestyles Performance of local industries Government legislation and regulations Technological advances | Maintaining uniqueness Local cultural and social fabric and traditions Local architecture and heritage Historical monuments and landmarks Local festivals, events, and activities Natural features and resources Parks and outdoor sports areas |
| Creating the desirable Sustainable tourism development High level of community awareness of the benefits of tourism Clear and positive image of area as a tourism destination Effective organization of tourism High level of cooperation among tourism organizations and businesses Effective marketing, directional sign and travel information programs | Avoiding the undesirable Friction and unnecessary competition Hostile and unfriendly attitudes of local residents towards visitors Damage or undesirable permanent alteration of natural features and historical resources Loss of cultural identities Loss of market share Stoppage of unique local events and festivals Overcrowding, congestion, and traffic problems Pollution High seasonality |
Outcomes of Tourism Planning
Mill, R.C. and Morrison, A.M. (2012). The Tourism System, 7th ed.
| 10 As | Plan Content Topics | Detailed Content Topics |
| Awareness | Marketing and promotion | Destination branding Marketing strategy |
| Attractiveness | Product development | New and improved attractions |
| Availability | Marketing and promotion | Distribution channels Information communication technologies (ICT) |
| Access | Transportation Infrastructure Tourism zoning | Airports and airline services Road, rail and water access Touring corridors and pathway systems |
| Accommodations | Accommodation | Hotels and resorts Specialist accommodations |
| Appearance | Tourism zoning Product development | Entry point beautification Arrival zone planning |
| Activities | Product development Programming | Festivals and events Individual activities |
| Assurance | Quality standards of tourism services Safety and security Infrastructure Legislation and regulation | Quality assurance program Public health and food safety programs Public security programs Regulations on operating practices |
| Appreciation | Human resources Community attitudes | Hospitality skills training Foreign language training Community tourism awareness |
Content Areas for a Tourism Plan
Based on the 10 As model and UNWTO recommendations.
| 10 As (Continued) | Plan Content Topics | Detailed Content Topics |
| Action | Statistics and research | Long-term tourism plan Marketing plan |
| Accountability | Institutional framework Statistics and research | Organizational structure Performance evaluation Tourism market statistics and economic impacts |
| Additional As | Plan Content Topics | Detailed Content Topics |
| Accommodations | Accommodations | Hotels and resorts Specialist accommodations |
| Actors | Stakeholder roles and responsibilities | Programme implementation responsibilities |
| Agenda for sustainability | Policies Tourism zoning | Sustainable tourism policy Sustainable tourism programmes |
| Allocation | Budgets | Budget requirements Funding sources |
| Attainment | Timelines/timeframes | Timetable for implementation and achievement of goals |
Content Areas for a Tourism Plan
Tourism planning processes
Step-by-step planning designed specifically for tourism (e.g., Mill & Morrison, 2012)
Meet-analyze-report-approve process used in tourism (e.g., Maldives Third Tourism Master Plan)
Strategic management and planning techniques (e.g., environmental scanning)
Balanced Scorecard approach
Scenario planning & destination visioning
Tourism Planning Process
Model (Mill & Morrison)
Background Analysis
Detailed Research and Analysis
Synthesis and Visioning
Plan Implementation and Monitoring
Plan Development
Goal-setting, Strategy Selection, and Objective-setting
Plan Evaluation
Planning Process for Maldives Third Tourism Master Plan (TTMP)
(meet-analyze-report-approve process)
Environmental Scanning for a Tourism Destination (Strategic Planning)
Tourism Destination
Technological
Economic
Natural Environment
Social and Cultural
Competitive
Tourism Sector
Tourism Market
Political and Legal
Balanced Scorecard Approach
Vila, Costa, and Rovira, 2010:
Infrastructure and resources
Activities and processes (tourism planning; marketing strategies, etc.)
Relationships (residents; tourists and visitors; and organizations)
Economic results
Social results
Environmental results
The Balanced Scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and non-profit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals.
The BSC was designed for corporations and other types of organizations, and was not originally intended for tourism destinations. However, there have been some recommendations about adapting the BSC to fit with destinations.
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Scenario planning
Scenario planning is the capability of organisations to understand their business environment, to think through what this means to them and then to act upon this new knowledge. Scenarios are a range of pictures and stories of the future that are constructed using drivers and trends that shape the future. Scenarios provide alternative views of the future. They identify some significant events, main actors and their motivations, and they convey how the world functions. On a practical level, it is just about crystal ball gazing and estimating the future (Prof. Ian Yeoman).
Destination visioning
A long-term planning process that has gained greater popularity about the early 1990s.
A different type of process than previously described for long-term tourism planning.
Long-term planning is more prescriptive and follows a fixed, step-by-step process; visioning is more creative and dynamic, and the process is more fluid.
Long-term and strategic planning start with the present and build to the future. Visioning starts with the future and then works back to the present.
A vision is a clear and succinct description of what the destination should look like after it successfully implements its strategies and achieves its full potential. It is an expression by the people about what they want the destination to be – a preferred future, a word or picture of the destination the stakeholders choose to create.
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Specialized forms of destination planning
Sustainable or responsible tourism development plans: focus on sustainable tourism development principles as applied to specific geographic areas. The emphasis is on the long-term sustainability of natural, social, heritage and cultural resources.
Spatial master plans for tourism development: physically-oriented tourism plans for destinations with a particular focus on the proposed functions of specific geographic areas within the destination. Broadly this can be called “tourism zoning.”
Specialized forms of destination planning (Continued)
Workforce development plans or strategies: plans focus on tourism human resources with a view to ensuring that there will be sufficient supply and quality in the future to meet the destination’s needs.
Summary
Long-term planning for tourism is crucial and DMOs must take a leadership and coordinative role to ensure that these planning processes are as successful as possible.
One of the major requirements of successful planning is that all tourism stakeholders are involved as this gives the plan a sense of shared ownership.
Done in the correct way, there are many benefits to be derived from tourism planning for destinations.