TOURISM

PLANNING
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Define planning;
2. Explain the reasons for tourism planning;
3. Discuss the consequences of inadequate or poor planning process;
4. Compare tourism in developed countries with that of developing countries;
5. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of tourism planning;
6. Explain the barriers to planning; and
7. Analyze the tourism planning process.
MEANING OF
PLANNING
MEANING OF PLANNING
Planning is a dynamic process of determining goals, systematically
selecting alternative courses of actions to achieve those goals,
implementing the chosen alternatives, and evaluating the choice to
determine if it is successful. The planning process regards the
environment which includes political, physical, social, and economic
elements as interrelated and interdependent components which should
be taken into account in considering the future of the destination
area.
REASON FOR TOURISM PLANNING
● Tourism planning is greatly needed.
● The stagnation and decline of destination or attraction may be
due to the lack of planning or poor planning.
PLOG’S DESTINATION LIFE CYCLE (1973)
● Destinations rise and fall based on the psychographic profiles
they attract.
● Follows a pattern similar to the product life cycle and adoption
curve.
TRAVELER TYPES IN PLOG’S MODEL
● Allocentrics: Innovators seeking unique, uncrowded destinations.
● Midcentrics: Majority travelers, drawn to popularized areas.
● Psychocentrics: Prefer familiar, commercialized destinations.
STAGES OF DESTINATION GROWTH
1. Allocentric Appeal – Early stage; niche, adventurous travelers.
2. Midcentric Appeal – Maturity stage; mass market popularity.
3. Psychocentric Stage – Decline; loss of broad appeal.
PLOG’S KEY WARNING
● Destinations may “carry with them the potential seeds of their
own destruction.”
● Over-commercialization and loss of uniqueness lead to decline.
A. PHYSICAL IMPACTS
1. Damage or permanent alteration of the physical environment;
2. Damage or permanent alteration of historical/cultural
landmarks and resources;
3. Overcrowding and congestion;
4. Pollution; and
5. Traffic problems.
B.1. LessHUMAN IMPACTS
accessibility to services and tourist attractions for local
residents resulting in local resentment;
2. Dislike of tourists by local residents;
3. Loss of cultural identities;
4. Lack of education of tourism employees in skills and hospitality;
and
5. Lack of awareness of the benefits of tourism to the destination
area.
C.1. Failure
MARKETING IMPACTS
to capitalize on new marketing opportunities;
2. Erosion of market shares due to the actions of competitive
destination areas;
3. Lack of sufficient awareness in prime markets;
4. Lack of a clear image of destination area in potential markets;
5. Lack of cooperative advertising among individual operators; and
6. Inadequate capitalization in packaging opportunities.
D.1. Fragmental
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACTS
approach to the marketing and development of
tourism, often involving "competitive splinter groups";
2. Lack of cooperation among individual operators;
3. Inadequate representation of the tourism industry's interests;
4. Lack of support from local public authorities; and
5. Failure to act on important issues, problems, and opportunities
of common interest to the industry.
E.1. LackOTHER IMPACTS
of sufficient attractions and events;
2. High seasonality and short lengths of stay;
3. Poor or deteriorating quality of facilities and services; and
4. Poor or inadequate travel information services.
TOURISM IN
DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
 IMPORTANCE
COUNTRIES OF TOURISM IN DEVELOPING
● Tourism brings much-needed foreign currency.
● Examples: Mexico and Spain have greatly benefited.
Countries like Malta, Morocco, Tunisia, and Cyprus rely heavily on
tourism receipts for national income.
ECONOMIC & INFRASTRUCTURE
● Increases employment opportunities.
BENEFITS
● Develops infrastructure: roads, water, sewage.
● Infrastructure for tourists also supports local industries.
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN TOURISM PLANNING
● Government involvement is essential for:
○ Infrastructure development
○ Managing cultural and environmental impact
● Poorly planned tourism leads to:
○ Visual monotony
○ Uniformity
○ Landscape degradation
NEED● Governments
FOR GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION
must be involved from:
○ Preliminary planning
○ To market promotion
● If private investment is lacking, the state should step in.
CULTURAL IMPACT OF TOURISM
● Tourism can strongly influence local culture especially in fragile,
—
developing societies.
● Locals may adopt tourists’ lifestyles, changing:
○ Clothing
○ Food
○ Customs
● Result: Significant alteration of local culture.
ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES FOR
TOURISM PLANNING
PLANNING STRUCTURES IN DIFFERENT SYSTEMS
● In communist countries, planning is done entirely by the national
government.
● In democratic countries, both government and private sector are involved.
● Joint participation and close cooperation between public and private
sectors produce the best results.
● Plans are more successfully implemented when the private sector is actively
involved.
LEVELS AND FRAMEWORK OF TOURISM PLANNING
● Tourism planning should occur at multiple levels within a country.
● The starting point is a national tourism policy.
● This policy serves as the foundation for:
○ Goals
○ Strategies
○ Objectives
○ Specific plans
PLANNING GUIDELINES
● All tourism plans should:
AND TIMEFRAMES
○ Be complementary to the national tourism policy
○ Have defined time spans
○ Be reviewed and modified at the end of their time span
DYNAMIC NATURE OF TOURISM PLANNING
● Change is inevitable, so planning must be dynamic.
● Policies are broader and typically last longer than specific plans.
● The life span of a tourism plan is usually no more than five years.
BARRIERS TO PLANNING
1. Many people are against planning in principle, particularly within the free-
enterprise system. Many businessmen view tourism planning as an
encroachment into their domain and are skeptical of its real value;
2. It is expensive. Effective tourism planning must be based upon detailed
resource analysis and market research;
BARRIERS TO PLANNING
3. The tourism industry is complex and diverse. A large number of government
departments have activities that impinge on tourism. Unlike the automobile
manufacturing business, the tourism industry cannot be readily identified.
4. Tourism is characterized by few large businesses and various smaller
processes. There is also a tendency for individual operators to consider
themselves as being in the hotel industry or restaurant industry rather than
accepting their broader role in the tourism industry.
BARRIERS TO PLANNING
Despite these barriers to tourism planning, an increasing number of
plans are produced each year around the world. There are
indications that tourism planning will be given a higher priority in the
future, and that more destinations will become involved in this
important process.
BACKGROUND ANALYSIS
● The first step in the tourism planning process is a
situational analysis that provides the basic direction for the
succeeding steps. This is the logical launching point for most
tourism plans since most destination areas, whether they are
countries, states, provinces, regions, or local communities,
have some existing tourism activity and regulatory/policy
framework for the industry.
CATEGORIZATION OF TOURISM RESOURCE COMPONENTS
COMPONENT SUBCOMPONENT
Landscapes
Scenery
Natural Features Unique features
Flora and fauna
Buildings
Sites
Historical and Cultural Themes
Communities/subcommunities
Features Attractions
 Accommodations
Tourist Operations and Food service
Facilities Events
Information centers
Reservation systems
Commercial stores and services (banks,
Hospitality Services retail stores)
Transportation systems (road, rail,
airport)
Underground services
Attitude toward tourism
Human Resources Employment/unemployment
Industries
 Economic conditions
General Socioeconomic Social problems
Land ownership

Present Land Uses Planning and zoning regulations

Future growth and development
1. Visitation volumes and patterns by month or season;
2. Geographical origins of tourists;
3. Geographical destinations of tourists;
4. Tourists demographics such as age, income, education, occupation, and
travel party composition;
5. Trip purposes;
6. Activity participation;
7. Market segments (families with children, singles, tour groups, business
groups);
8. Lengths of stay in the area;
9. Tourist expenditure within the area; and
10. Usage of facilities such as accommodation, attractions, events, and
recreational facilities.
DETAILED RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
● A valid tourism plan cannot be formulated without research.
Research should be concentrated in four distinct areas, namely:
resources, markets, activities, and competition.
SYNTHESIS
● The third step of the tourism planning process is where
conclusions regarding the previous work arje formulated. It is one of
the most important and creative steps in the process. A
comprehensive tourism plan will produce conclusions on the five
distinct subjects
SYNTHESIS
1. Tourism development;
2. Tourism marketing;
3. Tourism industry organization;
4. Tourism awareness; and
5. Other tourism support services and activities.
● The first step in the synthesis phase is the preparation of
position statements on each of the five subjects, The position
statement indicates 'where we are now with respect to
development marketing, industry organization, awareness, and
other support services.
GOAL SETTING, STRATEGY
AND OBJECTIVE SETTING SELECTION,
● The fourth step in the tourism planning process is to define the
planning goals, strategies, and objectives. They must be
complementary to policy goals and objectives
● In Ontario, Canada, the major policy goal for tourism was "to
stimulate employment, income, and economic development through the
systematic improvement, development, and marketing of Ontario's
tourism industry." This can be classified as an economy-oriented
approach to tourism.
THE TOURISM PLAN OBJECTIVES COME LOGICALLY FROM THE SELECTED STRATEGY.
Planning No. 1
To increase the economic benefits of tourism within the Atikokan area
STRATEGY COMPONENTS
1. Attach a high priority to tourism as an economic activity;
2. Broaden the market appeal of the area and increase
visitation to the area;
3. Spread demand more evenly throughout the year;
4. Diversify the range of activities/opportunities available to
visitors;
5. Make the area a primary destination point for a greater
number of visitors;
THE TOURISM PLAN OBJECTIVES COME LOGICALLY FROM THE SELECTED STRATEGY.
Planning No. 1
To increase the economic benefits of tourism within the Atikokan area
STRATEGY COMPONENTS
6. Encourage stopovers by other visitors who might
otherwise pass by;
7. Decrease the dependence on US pleasure travel markets;
8. Increase the penetration of Canadian and overseas
markets;
9. Encourage one or two new developments of an intermediate
scale; and
10. Improve, modernize existing businesses.
THE TOURISM PLAN OBJECTIVES COME LOGICALLY FROM THE SELECTED STRATEGY.
Plan Objectives Related to Goal No. 1
STRATEGY COMPONENTS
1. To create new images of what the Atikokan area has to offer to
visitors, that is, much more than fishing and hunting;
2. To develop and promote new attractions, facilities, and events
that appeal to a broad range of interests;
3. To develop and promote new travel/recreational opportunities
associated with the major activities of destination and pass-through
visitors;
4. To increase the visitors market's awareness of the area's
facilities, services, activities, attractions, and events
THE TOURISM PLAN OBJECTIVES COME LOGICALLY FROM THE SELECTED STRATEGY.
Plan Objectives Related to Goal No. 1
5. To increase awareness of the activities/opportunities
afforded by the Atikokan area;
6.To develop means of communicator so recreate visitors already
within the area to take advantage of its tourism/recreational
opportunities;
7. To increase per capita visitor expenditures by capturing those
segments of the visitor market that have higher-than-average
expenditures on vacation travel, by increasing average lengths of
stay and providing more “spending opportunities;
THE TOURISM PLAN OBJECTIVES COME LOGICALLY FROM THE SELECTED STRATEGY.
Plan Objectives Related to Goal No. 1

8. To improve the quality of existing tourism facilities/services in

order to increase repeat patronage and to enhance positive
word-of-mouth advertising;
9. To develop facilities and services that can used during off-peak
periods; and
10. To develop vacation packages that can be sold year-round or
during a specific season.
PLAN DEVELOPMENT
● The last step of the tourism planning process is the development
of the plan. The plan includes the actions needed to achieve the
objectives, implement the strategy, and satisfy the planning goals.
A comprehensive plan deals with the development, marketing,
industry organization, awareness, and support services. It takes
each of the plan objectives and specifies the following:
PLAN DEVELOPMENT
1. The programs and actions required to achieve each plan objective;
2. The roles and responsibilities of the public and private sector in carrying
out these programs and actions;
3. The specific development and marketing concepts and opportunities that
will help achieve certain objectives;
4. The funds required to carry out specific programs and actions;
5. The sources of these funds;
6. The timetable for carrying out specific programs and actions within the
plan;
7. The Method for monitoring the success of the plan on a periodic basis
during its term.
THANK
YOU