Basic Tourism Planning Process

Study preparatio

n

Determination of

objectives

Surveys

Analysis

Policy & Plan

formulations

Recommendation

Implementation

Monitoring &

Reformation

Study Preparation Decision made by the government, in consultation

with the private sector & general public through its institutional process, to develop tourism, or expand or improve its present development, in a planned manner

Any issues relative to economic, environmental & social costs and benefits of developing or expanding tourism – then a prefeasibility assessment should be carried out

Plans should have a horizon year – indicating when the plan and its targets and recommendations are to be realized; provide a time framework for making projections, setting targets and staging development

Time framework – long range involved 15-20 years, while short range less than 5 years but should be flexible (short term vs long term)

Determination of Goals and Objectives

Goals & objectives indicate the desired results of developing tourism

Study on economic benefits, minimizing environmental & sociocultural impacts

Objectives should be decided at the commencement of the study because they will influence the types of surveys & analyses and formulation of the policy, plan and recommendations

After the analysis has been completed and during the formulation of policy, plan and other recommendations, there is feedback to the objectives – to determine whether the objectives are being achieved

If it is found that some objectives are incompatible, alternative plans to reach the different objectives can be prepared & presented to the policy makers before a decision is made on which plan & related objectives to finalize

Surveys Involves collecting data, quantitative and qualitative

Need to be carefully organized to be efficiently conducted and will include field surveys (tourist attractions, facilities and services, transportation, other infrastructure, discussion with government/private sector and any means to obtain information)

Important ideas can be gained through discussion with local persons

Although always not feasible, study team can travel together during field survey so that they can exchange ideas

Tourist market survey on tourist arrivals and characteristics

• the nationality & the country of residence (very useful for marketing purposes)

Place of Origin

• includes the categories of holiday, business, study or visiting friends

Purpose of Visit

• based on the number of nights spend in the area (important in determining the extent of facility use & expenditure of tourist)

Length of Stay

Age, sex and number of family members traveling together

Tourist market survey on tourist arrivals and characteristics

Type of employment and income levels

Where traveled & stayed during the visit

Number of times visited

Visitor attitudes and satisfaction level

Analysis and Synthesis Both quantitative & qualitative analysis & synthesis

(combination and integration of the various components of the analysis) of the survey information must be carefully done (Figure 3.1, pg 50)

An important type of synthesis is the identification of the major opportunities & problems or constraints for developing tourism in an area

These opportunities & constraints provide much of the foundation for determining future tourism development

The analysis & synthesis phase is a major activity, which usually requires considerable time & specialized capabilities

The quality & extent of analysis very much depend on the availability of adequate & accurate survey data

Policy and Plan Formulation Normally lead by the government – can be encourage

or discourage the development of tourism

Focus on domestic tourism or international tourism

The reasons of development should be stated in policy – economic reasons, social reason, to achieve environmental conservation etc

Type of tourism to be develops, location and staging development

Any recommendation on enhancement of destination areas, integration of tourist trail, improvement of tourism bases, development of entry points, promoting or marketing strategy for the destinations

The alternative plans are evaluate in terms of their potential economic - physical and sociocultural costs & benefits

The plan that achieves the most objectives while not exposing the destination to potentially serious problems is then selected and then drawn up in full

Recommendations The completed plan is submitted to the authorities

together with selection of recommendation concerning the optimum methods of developing tourism in the destination and achieving the plan’s objectives

For some types of recommendations, alternatives must also be evaluated before the most suitable ones can be determined

For some elements of the plan, no changes to the existing situation may be necessary, but that fact must be stated

Implementation

The methods of implementing the development plan will be consider throughout most stages of its construction

Thus, by the time that the implementation stage is reach, all the necessary legislation and regulation controls will be bring into effect (implementable)

Also known as action plan

Monitoring and Reformation Once the development plan is implemented, it must be

monitor closely in order to defect any deviations, which may occur from the projected path of development

Any deviations, which may occur from the projected path of development

These deviations must be analyzed in order to assess how they will affect the development plan and its objectives

Thus, any recommendation and measure can be prepared in order to stay on target

End of Subtopic