Tourism Planning
Introduction
Tourism has become a global industry which involves hundreds of millions of people in international and domestic travel. The increase in tourism and travel has been attributed to the significant changes in technology, transportation and communication and to some degree the economic affluence of many citizens in industrialized and developing countries throughout the world.
The tourism industry has emerged to be one of the important forces in many economies and its growth has nonetheless become so dramatic. With the increase in travel, there is an increasing recognition for tourism agencies to conduct tourism planning. Such will benefit tourism in terms of planning the right destination, protecting the natural and cultural resources, developing the necessary transportation facilities and infrastructures and understanding the relationship between the demand for travel and the supply. The following section will discuss in more details the different aspects of tourism planning.
Purpose of Tourism Planning
There are several benefits that can be derived from tourism. It can enrich the lives of the people due to the potential income and employment it presents. It also expands the economy since tourism serves as an opportunity to generate foreign income. In environmental terms, it can promote the protection of natural resources while integrating it to the community. Such paved the way for the emergence of a new mindset. That is, the call for more and better planning and designs of tourism development especially how its different aspects fit together as a whole. The purpose of planning is to develop plan of actions for the future and be able to implement them.
Tourism planning can be seen to fit within the broader context of leisure planning and the planning framework for tourism can be seen to fall within leisure. The main goals of tourism planning is to ensure that opportunities are available for the tourists to gain enjoyable and satisfying experiences and at the same time providing means to improve the living of the people and the destination areas.
(1998) suggested that tourism planning can help in shaping and controlling physical patterns of development, conserving scarce resources and providing a framework for promotion and marketing of destinations (2003). Early tourism was very site specific and connected to the supply side of tourism activities. This focus on the geography explains the rationale provided for tourism planning. There is growing evidence all over the world showing that unplanned tourist destinations are associated with negative impacts.
Destination
Hundreds of millions of people are on the receiving end of the tourism activities as they live on what are called to be destination areas. The tourism destination is the major focus of tourism planning and management. It is here where the tourists interact with the local community and the environment. Such interactions results to the impacts on the local population, the environment and also to the tourists. The encounter can be beneficial to the economy but it can also bring damages to the local environment (2003).
Destination is referred to as the community-attraction complex. If the tourism is to move towards improved social, economic and environmental goals, then the destination scale including the community and the surrounding area should be as important as in the planning of regional sites. The basic elements in planning the destination includes: (1) transportation and access from travel markets to other communities (2) one or more communities with the sufficient utilities and management (3) attraction complex that meets the needs of the market and (4) efficient and attractive transportations links between cities and attractions (2002).
The destination zone includes major access and gateway, community (with infrastructures and attractions) and linkage corridors (between attraction clusters and community). When all these elements are put together, it is likely that the tourism will become successful. They must be planned with sensitivity to mitigate any social, environmental and economic impacts. Destinations zones include many sites and encompass numerous jurisdictions which require significant cooperate both form the public and private sectors. Further, the complexities of the tourism entails planners at the destination scale to encompass several interest groups such as residents, businesses, arts and humanities, cultural and natural resource protection advocates, civic leaders and professional planners (2002)
There are two approaches to destination planning that are appropriate for today’s tourism development projects: (1) destination planning projects and (2) destination continuous planning. Firstly, the destination planning projects should identify sponsorship and leadership. The focus of the destination zone is the principal community and thus good organization and leadership depends on it. Secondly, there is the need to set goals such as enhancing visitor satisfactions, protecting natural and cultural resources, improving the economy and integrating into the life and the economy of the destination area. Thirdly, the project should investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the destination area. Local people with perhaps some inputs on tourism will gave greater knowledge of the potential strengths of the area as well as its weaknesses ( 2002). Each destination has its won problems but the study of the entire zone will become useful to the following respects:
- Natural and Cultural resources: location, kinds, qualities, quantities, problems, issues, viability for attractions
- Potential impact in the environment and the need for control
- Transportation and access to the area
- Service business that will be suited to all markets
- Information about the area such as maps, guidebooks, descriptions and the hospitality of the residents
- Promotion and advertising activities
- Organizations and various sectors that are suited to lead and implement development
- Commitment and attitude of the local community towards the growth of tourism in the area
From these investigations, the project planner will be able to distinguish the positive factors and the negative issues that need to be corrected. Although the planning of the destination project can stimulate actions, the tourism development must be accompanied by continuous planning. The destination plan provides guidelines as to the time period but regular updating is also of great value. A body charged with tourism leadership and continuous planning should facilitate opportunities and represent the diversity of interest within the destination zone and also be capable of implementing specific functions in a regular basis ().
Supply and Demand Match
According to (1997) the first step in developing a destination is to understand that tourism is driven by two forces – travel demand (by those interested and capable of traveling) called the travel market and developed supply (all the physical development and programs for the tourists). Tourism functions properly if there is a balance between the supply and the demand. However, both demand and supply are not easily identifiable. Rather they are very complex and require special study of current conditions and trends by those developing the tourism destinations (). The demand influences the development of supply while the supply influences the markets. Regardless of the scale of development in the destination, the fundamental relationship pf these two forces is the foundation for the tourism.
Further, (1997) stated that most of the tourism supply developments are boosted by individual decisions such as new hotels, attractions and festivals. But this is just a piece of the whole and much more are involved in the functions of tourism. When a particular community seeks to develop tourism, it must not only avoid the impacts in the environment but also ensure that the investments provide the bets function for tourism. For instance, there is no need for developing attractions in areas where there is difficult access. There is no need developing new hotel unless new attractions are created to attract travelers in the destination. Thus, there is no point making large investments if the attractions will not meet the needs and wants of the target market.
The supply side of tourism can be defined as the physical development and programs that provides for the various needs and desires of the travelers. It is then clear that all parts of the supply side are directly related to the characteristics of demand. The analysis of the tourism demand helps in increasing the understanding of the relative importance of different economic determinants of demand for forecasting and in formulating policies.
The functioning components of the supply side of tourism are influenced by external factors. Planning must not be concerned solely with the tourism system because other aspects may be subject to outside influences as those which they can control. There are several factors that have great influence in the development of tourism. Understanding these factors will help in planning and proper functioning of the tourism system (2002).
Natural Resources
The causes of travel in a particular destination are based on the resources both natural and cultural and the attractions related to them. (2002) argued that these resources determine the uniqueness of the place which is very important for travelers and their objectives. This is why reviews of publicity and advertising of travels demonstrated a high focus on the attractions related to natural resources. Natural resources refer to five basic natural features which are very important to tourism: water, topographic changes, vegetation, wildlife and climate ( 2002).
Of these natural resources, water is probably the most developed for tourism. Surface water is magnetic and is appealing for travelers which have stimulated many kinds of waterfront development. Pools, ponds, fountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and seas continue to be appealing without substitutes. The appeal of water to the residents and the travelers is bounded in cultures throughout the rest of the world. Because of the great value to tourism, the quality of water and its protection must be ensured by all sectors of the society. It is an essential element for the success of the tourism not only in economic terms but as well as social and environmental terms.
Another physical setting for tourism is topographic changes which include hills, mountains and valleys. Hillsides and mountain tops offer spectacular views both near and far. Resorts in mountains maintain their appeal on the travel market segments regardless if it is winter or summer. Soil which is a significant element in the development of tourism in terms of construction stability, landscape modification and erodibility is also related to topography. Tourism development must also focus in the protection of these natural resources because mountainsides and slopes are prone to erosions. Also related to this is the geological foundation which affects the stability of lands and lakes, the absorptive capacity of the sewage and reliability of the supply of water.
The vegetation is also important in the tourism development. Forests create appealing sceneries, support the wildlife and aid in preventing soil erosion. Special plant areas are also important destinations for particular travel market segment. Forested and vegetated regions though are subjected to policies by owners and managers. Some harvest practices lead to the damaging of landscape sceneries and soil erosions. Tourism management thus needs to implement policies to maintain the value of this natural resource to tourism ( 2002).
Wildlife today ahs also become important especially to non consumptive travelers. Photography and views of wildlife has been popular in recent years with about $31 billion spent by travelers on observing, feeding and photographing wildlife in the United States in 1996. For instance, photo safaris have become very important in Africa than hunting. Color and digital photographs and videos have been very important part of the tourists’ travel. Because of the increasing interest in wildlife, animal habitat management is necessary to maintain the resource to tourism. There are some wildlife that needs special design and management due to their sensitivity to human intrusions.
Climate and weather are also qualities of the destination which influences tourism planning and development. Travelers may prefer sunny weather for beach activities. Undoubtedly, climate plays a significant role in places such as Caribbean and Hawaii. There is also little evidence that shows the impact of storm hazards. The quality of air is also related to the climate. Even though air quality controls lessen the pollution are some places, travelers generally object to areas where there are manufacturing gases, odors and pollution. Indeed, greater wareness has been placed on the protection of natural resources for the success Cultural Resources
Cultural resources are also sought destinations by travelers. This resource may include prehistoric sites; historic sites places of ethnicity; lore education; industries; trade centers; places for performing arts, museums, galleries and sites import for entertainment, health, sports and religion. According to (1990) cultural travelers can be categorized into aficionados (sophisticated and professional)., casual visitors (urban backyard visitors), event visitors (activities at sites) and travel tourists (historic site visitors). There are three reasons why these travelers visit historical sites: experience in a different time and place, learning and sharing the knowledge with other people (). Historic towns for one become tourist destinations that fosters leisure and cultural tourism. This cultural tourism enables the tourists to travel and experience the places and the activities that represent the generation of people from the past and at present. The challenge in this kind of tourism is planning the sites that will reflect the strengths of the place.
Among the cultural sources that are interesting to travelers are universities, colleges, institutions and research centers although these places require special access and tour guidance. The travel objectives of industry, trade and professionalism are also important for travel segments. These objectives are typically combined with leisure. Manufacturing and processing plants are of interest not only to business travelers but to pleasure travelers as well. Trade and business centers are attracting travelers for professional meetings, seminars and conventions. Despite the growth if technologies, face-to-face interaction remains to be an important aspect of doing business. Places for performing arts, museums and galleries are as important for many travelers. Additionally, cultural resources include places that provide entertainment, health, sports and religion. Travelers sought health spas, centers of physical wellness and medical treatments during their visits. Likewise sport arenas attract millions of visitors to special events such as the Olympic Games (2002)
However, tourism poses pressures on historic towns. One of which is the impact on the historic fabric as well as the pressures on the living environment. The development process includes not only the protection of the natural environment but as well as the communities inhabiting them. Thus, heritage management looks on the factors that may affect the urban environment while taking into consideration the continued appreciation for the cultural heritage (2000). The damage that may be caused by visitors may be irreversible and hence there is the need to safeguard the heritage. Such damages are brought about by hasty restoration schemes and heritage capitalization. With this respect, local authorities and the inhabitant become responsible for safeguarding their heritage. Not only are the physical heritage but as well as the intangible ones such as local culture, traditions and beliefs.
Transportation and Infrastructure
In the context of tourism planning, investments in new and expanded transportation facilities supports the operation and development of attractions. Travel modes are very important for tourism development although only a few planning specialist focus on the community level. Most of these planners are concerned about the needs of the residents because their taxes support many physical developments within the area. However, the need to plan and design transportation services both for the travelers and the local needs must be given adequate attention. Communities are crucial in destinations and perform major roles for tourism. The result of the growth in mass market travel and rapid expansion of transportation affected communities that have exceeded their ability to accept masses of tourist and travelers (2002).
(2004) argued that tourism activities pose many travel considerations which are different form commuter travel and commercial transport. The relationship between tourism and transport is derived from the idea that tourism generates travel demand and transportation is the key to access major tourists’ attractions. Thus, transportation is a critical component of the operation of the attractions and of supporting activities such as gateway communities to national parks. Effective planning of transportation can produce the necessary solutions to acquire the balance between traffic needs of travelers during peak seasons or special occasions. The key to addressing this issue is to develop processes to facilitate coordination between transport agencies, tourism agencies, planning organizations and other private sectors ().
Transportation infrastructure provides visitors with access for enjoyment. In many parks such transport will be as important as a service to the local community. However, this would mean motorized transport which can have negative impacts as well. Noise pollution and dusts can affects wildlife, damage vegetations and affect the quality of water. Transportation infrastructures such as roads, tracks, airstrips, boat landings often has great impact on protected areas although the purpose is to allow better access. Infrastructures of such kind can be expensive to develop and may also fragment ecosystems. Because of this, the design, routing and management must be carefully planned especially since there is great pressure for public use.
Conclusion
The recent years have shown dramatic increase in the travel activities of people all over the world. It is for this fact that tourism agencies are developing destinations in various communities. It is a means of capitalizing on natural and cultural resources but also a threat on the natural and cultural heritage if not managed well. Because of this, tourism planning becomes important not only to gain substantial returns from tourism investments but to promote sustainable tourism for all the stakeholders.
Tourism planning in the widest sense is composed of all the policies and strategies that guides and shapes the development of tourism in particular destinations. The main focus of planning is the destination since it is where the tourist interacts and encounter with the local communities. Finding the right destinations is very much related to the supply side of the tourism systems. It is the physical and development programs that shall be implemented on the destination. However, locating the right destination and developing it into a tourist attraction would entail great consideration of the natural and cultural resources and the protection of these resources. Also, the commitment and attitude of the residents towards the tourism must be considered. Lastly, the appropriate infrastructures and transportation must be in place to provide more and better access for tourists. All of these factors need to be considered in the planning if the tourism development is to become successful.
0 comments:
Post a Comment