TOURISM AND PLANNING

ASSIGNMENT III
GAURIKA GROVER
3RD SEM|M.ARCH RECREATION

What are the key points in developing sustainable tourism for any destination or
tourism circuit?
“Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions
while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to
management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can
be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and
biological diversity and life support systems.” World Tourism Organisation

Steps to Sustainable Tourism sets out an approach to help develop appropriate long term
solutions for tourism at places with natural and cultural heritage values. It also seeks ways
to support growth in the tourism industry while ensuring that conservation needs are met.

Sustainable development needs to address economic, social and environmental issues

Guiding principles –
 inclusive decision-making
 sustainable development
 tourism and heritage principles
 appropriate tourism development.

Step 1

What is the context for your region, place or project?

To help you and others better understand the context of the region, place or project, you
will need to set the scene in a brief overview statement. This statement should cover:

 social setting
 economic conditions
 current political climate
 natural environment setting and
 cultural considerations.

Step 2

Who are the stakeholders?

Determine who is, should or could be involved by listing all potential stakeholders.
Consider the following categories:
 Communities
 Visitors
 Indigenous people
 operators and businesses
 tourism organisations
 local, regional or other governments
 cultural heritage agencies (historic and Indigenous)
  environment and park management agencies
Successful tourism often requires resources that no one organisation can offer so
partnerships can be an effective tool when dealing across tourism and heritage issues.
They can help to build support, and to coordinate rather than duplicate efforts. Taking a
partnership approach early on, may help you when seeking approvals and may ensure
that you have all the right information as a project progresses.

Step 3

What is known?
 Identify existing studies or sources of information relevant to your process or
project
 Locate and summarise available information on the current and potential market
for tourism determine the heritage assets, their heritage values and themes
 Regional plans for economic development?
 Relevant local government plans?
 Expressions of community aims/aspirations?
In finalising this step, consider the information you have collected and reviewed. You
should now be able to draft a:
• summary of the key sources of information
• summary of the natural and cultural heritage assets of the region and
• summary of the current and potential market for tourism

Step 4

What makes this region, place or product special?

Need to identify the important values of your place, region or product, and the ways in
which they are understood and communicated. Places can be special for all kinds of
reasons — they may be important to the local community or to the world as a whole.
Tourism, heritage and local community interests will benefit from developing a common
understanding of what is significant so that they have a unified approach to presenting
local and regional heritage to visitors.

• Identifying natural and cultural heritage values - Natural and cultural heritage
places are often the key assets for tourism.
• Identifying other values - These may be the less tangible aspects that make a
place, region or experience special to the local community or to visitors. They may
relate to its cultural, community, recreational and economic uses.
• The tourism perspective Stories based on heritage values, particularly those
provided by local people, are often what make a place attractive to visitors.
• Understanding and communicating environment and heritage values.

Step 5

What are the issues?

Identify and understand the key issues affecting your region, place or product

• Consumer / visitor experience

• Community experience
• Environment and heritage management and impacts
• Infrastructure issues
• Market / marketing issues
 • Availability of tourism product
• Economic cost / benefit issues
• Training / building capacity
• Strategic and resource context
• Approvals and regulation

Keys to managing and resolving conflicts include:

• Having an inclusive participatory process

• Maintaining open and effective communication
• Being responsive and adaptable
• Building consensus between a majority of stakeholders.

Step 6

Analysing issues

• Further analyse, clarify and prioritise issues

• Prepare a succinct summary of the outcomes of your analysis

Key analytical methods may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Market analysis
• Heritage conservation analysis
• Swot analysis
• Situational analysis
• Cost–benefit analysis
• Priority analysis.

Step 7

Principles or objectives to guide action

• develop a clear written statement to guide future actions, such as a set of

principles, a set of objectives, or both
• seek agreement on these principles or objectives from key partners or stakeholders

Example

• To develop a regional tourism strategy focusing on key areas which are linked by
a particular theme
• To build relationships and communication between tourism operators, attractions
and regional managers of natural and cultural heritage places through regular
reporting meetings
• To improve the regional directional and interpretive signage relating to tourist and
heritage attractions
• To maintain and enhance the region’s international profile as an ecotourism
destination
• To ensure that educational materials are available relating to the values of
particular places
Step 8

What are your ideas and options?

• further refine your ideas and, develop options

• work through your ideas and options with key stakeholders and decision makers
• seek agreement on preferred option/s with necessary partners or key stakeholders

In general, ideas and options should include:

• the visitor experience
• community engagement
• care of heritage assets
• infrastructure
• marketing
• product development
• stakeholder communication
• training and capacity building and
• necessary resources and support.

Step 9

How to do it?

• This step will help you to:

• develop actions to implement your ideas, proposal or preferred option
• present them in a clear and logical form
• ensure they are included in other relevant plans and strategies
• develop monitoring and evaluation methods
• consider additional factors that will influence achieving your objectives
• Strategies for political support
• Communication
• Capacity building
• Making links
• Staging
• Influence

Step 10

Statement of directions

Prepare a brief statement summarising the outcomes of the process and your proposals,
identifying the:

• key heritage and tourism assets

• key issues
• agreed actions and future directions