CONCEPT OF VISITOR MANAGEMENT

Visitor management is defined as a set of managerial techniques and tools (from

basic, like log books, to more advanced software systems that can be integrated with
options like surveillance cameras, biometric scanners) used by private and public
bodies of tourism (mainly by destination management organizations and in
protected areas by their management) for directing visitor flows and visitor
behavior. It refers to the practice of welcoming, processing and monitoring guests at
worksites or other facilities. Thus, helping an organization to keep track of the
people that visit their location.

Some of the advanced tools used by visitor management system, can track when
guests arrive, limit where they are allowed to go, control the length of their stay and
even screen them against publicly available background data.

Visitor management is a part of destination management mainly in protected

areas and destinations that systematically build sustainable tourism. Ideal model of
the context of visitor management, destination management, participative
management and other managerial approaches is introduced in Figure 1. It also
shows that visitor management reaches maximum effectiveness if it is developed in
relation with other managerial approaches.

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 When analyzing admissions to an area, it is key to take into account the visitor’s
motivation, visitor distribution in time and space (spatial movement behavior of
tourists from the place of departure to the destination and the experience of
traveling inside the destination and returning to the place of departure) as well as
long-term impacts of their visit (see Figure 2). Visitor motivation is based on the
potential of the area for travel and tourism, on the degree and method of their
activation (the ability to provide experiences and adventure in a wide range of
activities) and possibly on its degradation by travel and tourism development and by
other activities in the destination. Destination potential may be related, in a
simplified way, as it is stated in Figure 2, to the set of tourist attractions and their
time-space distribution and the aggregate of services offered in the given
destination. For a more precise evaluation of tourism development potential it is
necessary to consider their activation(the ability to provide experiences and
adventure in a wide range of activities) for travel and tourism in the destination and
also the factors decreasing the potential of travel and tourism.

Visitor motivation creates the structure of their segments for the given
destination and also kind, extent and time course of visitor activities in the
destination. The impact of admissions is a complex result of mainly the number of
visitors and their time-space distribution, the portfolio of their activities and their
will to respect the set limits of admissions. Impacts are also determined by variable
particularities of the visited area and the readiness of local community and
infrastructure of travel and tourism for the influx of tourists. In relation to the
carrying capacity it is suitable to distinguish long-term and short-term impacts of
admissions and their reversibility or irreversibility ( their ability to be restored to the
original conditions or it is impossible to be restored)or similar to the original, (see
Figure 2) in connection with many dimensions of carrying capacity of destination in

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relation to impacts on different components of destination environment as well as
on its visitors themselves.

MANAGEMENT PLANNING FOR COMMERCIAL TOURISM AND INDIVIDUAL

VISITORS

Protected areas need to manage the planning, development, operation and

decommissioning of tourism activities in order to ensure that development is
sustainable. This means that the integrity of the natural resources is not undermined
by tourism infrastructure or activities, the livelihoods of local people do not
deteriorate (and are in fact enhanced), and the local economy is strengthened.
Managers of protected areas may address two main areas of management:
commercial tourism and individual visitors.

Commercial Tourism Management

Commercial tourism is one kind of tourism that is done with business objectives. The
traveler will participate in gatherings, conferences, exhibitions, councils, missionary
religious planning, professional or technical work and the commercial tourist will
travel in all seasons of the year because his work is not dependent on the seasons
and he will prefer to stay in hotels more.

A commercial open to the public without a limit on numbers. In the preparation for
tourism activity will require a permit if it is a routine or standard activity in/to areas
of reserves that are generally inviting commercial tourism operations into protected
areas, park management authorities may wish to identify and outline the
commercial opportunities that exist. The protected area agencies may also
undertake pre-feasibility studies to establish the viability of concessions ( business),
and any areas that need analysis.

The process of commercial tourism development involves three main constructs:

a. Policy and legal framework for contracting commercial operations outlines

best practices for how programmes are defined and regulated; - meaning all
transactions and practices must be legally binded. Must follow all the
processes intended by the law. So commercial tourism businesses must
ensure that they are not just profit business, they must sustainably
contribute to the environment, to the economy and the community.
b. Prospectus development process outlines how commercial opportunities are
defined, structured, priced and brought to the market and how suitable
operators are selected; and – it is a legal document that provides detailed
information of all activities, processes and transactions made by the business.

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 c. Contract management and oversight outlines best practices tor how
contracts are managed once an operator is in place.- all contracts should be
verified and reported to ensure compliance with the requirements of the
contract.

Elements that can be included in such tools include the following principles:

 Contract terms (including obligations, rights, term, options for renewal,

transfer of rights, risks, conflicts, intellectual property)
 Project life cycle - The project management life cycle is usually broken down
into four phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure. These phases
make up the path that takes your project from the beginning to the end.
 Communication channels
 Environmental and conservation requirements (including integrated
environmental management; environmental control officers; cultural and
natural resources; biosphere manipulation, game control; monitoring and
research: patrols; numbers of beds; water; fire management, traversing;
problem animals: alien biota: firearms; staff issues; aircraft and vehicles;
game drive procedures: off road driving; guided walks; codes of conduct;
safety)
 Technical infrastructure management (including construction and design;
power; water extraction; communications infrastructure; waste
management; roads and tracks)
 Environmental and technical monitoring mechanism (construction and
operation)
 Social and empowerment requirements (including shareholding, training and
promotion, business opportunities for local communities)
 Financial and contractual requirements (including concession fees, minimum
rental, fixed tees, annual tees, monitoring)
 Breaches (including financial, empowerment, and environmental breaches,
and processes tor remedial action - contact, final letter, performance bond,
formal notice and termination).
 Fixing fines and penalties
 Code of conduct (including working relationships with concessionaires,
permanent and temporary residents) A code of conduct defines how a
company's employees should act on a day-to-day basis. It reflects the
organization's daily operations, core values and overall company culture.
 Background information: Protected area policies and regulations; Templates
for reporting; Templates for applications

Individual Visitor Management

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 Managing independent visitors also requires attention from protected area
managers. Who are these protected area managers?

Certain basic facilities need to be in place to support visitors . Ofcourse,

whenever a tourist visit a destination he/she expects that there are important and
adequate facilities that a destination offers. (e-g. information, signage, roads and
trails, ablutions, waste disposal facilities, and rules or codes of conduct). Why are
these things important? If you are building an identity, you must ……….

The quality of visitor experiences can be monitored easily through feedback

forms, which can be provided through cards that visitors complete during their visit,
or through online questionnaires. There are various ways to identified how satisfied
the customers are or not. PAs can use this information to highlight any areas that are
underperforming (e.g. in terms of maintenance, cleanliness etc.) and also to invite
suggestions for how the visitor experience can be enhanced (e.g. with improved
interpretation, facilities etc.). Furthermore, if adequate personal information is
collected for each visitor, they can be integrated into marketing and promotion
campaigns, for example by sending information to them on special offers, new
attractions and experiences.

Of course, errant behavior by visitors also needs to be managed and monitored,

to ensure that tourists do not damage the environment, for example through
littering speeding, trampling off trails, or illegally harvesting flora and fauna.
Managers may wish to establish a series of checks and balances to identify, correct
and penalize behaviors that are contrary to the rules and regulations of a protected
area. By ensuring that tourists have enjoyable experiences, that exceed their
expectations, protected areas can improve their opportunities for word-of-mouth
advertising among the friends and family of those who visit.

VISITOR FLOW MANAGEMENT

Managing visitor movements and influencing visitor behavior are critical aspects
of developing sustainable tourism. However, it difficult to balance conserving
biodiversity, providing recreational opportunities and growing flow of visitors in
destinations. ( Explain how it is difficult to balance) – recreational then , flow of
visitors

– verge of overtourism - Overtourism happens when conditions on the ground

(e.g., visitor numbers, visitor behavior, ecological impacts) exceed our limit of
acceptable change or our ability to receive the experience we seek, or management
seeks to facilitate. Why is there overtourism? The world is getting richer! An ever-
growing middle class is emerging in developing countries, and people are spending
their income on travel.

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 Tour groups do not usually visit low use sites

Visitors can disturb the natural environment or other visitors. Visitor impacts are
not always negative. But in case of a risk for the natural development, particularly
the disturbance of sensitive species or habitats in protected areas such influence has
to be observed and managed. However, each protected area has to find its own
successful way of managing visitor flow. By managing visitor flows, you can minimize
the negative effects on the host community and maximize the opportunities for
them to benefit.

Visitation and use of sites changes over time, so site managers require a monitoring
system that will track these changes and respond as necessary.

Visitor Monitoring Instruments

 Visual monitoring and counting of tourism sights and objects

 Digital photo or video monitoring
 Electronically or mechanical registration of visitor numbers
 Counting of total number of visitors to a concrete territory
 Self-registration of visitors
 Surveys (questionnaire-based, face-to-face interviews)
 Analysis of secondary data and statistics
 others

Visitor Guidance and Information Instrument

 Access points, visitor centers, observation facilities and resting places

(environmental education + information + establishment of highlights)
 Network of accessible hiking paths, cycle tracks, waterways
 Specific theme-oriented hiking routes, cycling routes and water tourism
routes
 Information boards
 Information materials such as maps, brochures, route descriptions (print
media and online)
 Information and visitor navigation by offering GPS- based IT-solutions
 Public transport access to certain starting points
 The existence or non-existence of parking places > access to certain starting
points
 Guided tours offered by rangers of the protected area
 Limited licenses to tourism companies or to freelance- guides to offer
organized guided tours

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  Specific visitor guidance and visitor facilities for disabled

TYPES OF TOURISM OPERATORS

Working with tourism operators within protected areas is a critical part of achieving
sustainable tourism outcomes. Every protected area tourism operation is different,
and while all operations are typically respectful of their lease or license
requirements, protected area management experience has shown that operators
deal with the protected status of the tourism destination in different ways. Three
paradigms of tourism operator approach to protected areas have been recognized.
Understanding these differences is especially important for protected area managers
who may be negotiating legal agreements with tourism operators.

Ecotourism Operation

An ecotourism operation within a protected area:

 is licensed to operate
 Provides basic services such as accommodation, access, transport and food
 runs on a commercial basis; some profits may be returned to the protected
area and to local communities has a corporate policy that affirms a
commitment to the environment, society, culture and the local economy
 has appropriate industry (or other) sustainable tourism credentials
 has a pro-environment focus
 provides high-quality environmental education to visitors, and also to local
 residents
 employs local people and purchases local products and services to support
the local economy
 invests in environmental management improvements
 works closely with managers to help protect the protected area.

Routine Tourism Operation

A routine tourism operation within a protected area typically:

 is licensed to operate
 provides basic services such as accommodation, access, transport and food
 is professional in working with the protected area organization
 runs a 'for profit operation
 provides some basic support information for visitors
 is not necessarily pro-protected area or pro-environment
 may make some occasional positive contribution to the protected area
 has no permanent staff with environmental qualifications.

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Development-Oriented Tourism Operation

A development-oriented tourism operation within a protected area typically:

 has a lease or license to operate

 provides basic services such as accommodation, access, transport and food
 has a pro-commercial and profit-centered ideological approach
 provides lease or license payments and undertakes mandatory (legal) works
 utilizes high-level legal and political support to facilitate pro-commercial
decisions within a protected area views protected areas as a destination
property for the purposes of commercial gain only
 has low tolerance for environmental management considerations and
requests for conservation actions
 provides tourism-based employment
 provides an efficient service for visitors
 has no permanent employee expertise in environmental management.

Tourism operations (businesses) within protected areas are typically bought and sold
over time. When negotiating longer-term leases for tourism operations, protected
area managers must always negotiate terms and conditions as if they are dealing
with a development-oriented tourism operation.

NUMBERS AND TYPES OF TOURISTS

There is a wide range of tourism sectors that relate to protected areas including
mass tourism, nature-based tourism, adventure tourism, ecotourism, conservation
tourism, cultural tourism, volunteer tourism, educational tourism and religious
tourism. Mass tourism is synonymous with large numbers of visitors undertaking
activities with limited differentiation and limited immersion in authenticity. Visitors
typically ‘Switch off' and become ambivalent to their surroundings and any host
expectations. Consequently, mass tourism is less likely to achieve protected area
management objectives than some of the niche tourism sectors outlined.

Nature-based tourism is described as all forms of tourism that 'use natural

resources in a wild or undeveloped form including species, habitat, landscape,
scenery and salt and fresh-water features. Nature tourism is travel for the purpose
of enjoying undeveloped natural areas or wildlife.

Adventure tourism is a form of nature tourism that incorporates an element of

risk, higher levels of physical exertion and often the need for specialized skills.

Ecotourism is a subset of nature tourism with stronger ethics. It is a responsible

travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the wellbeing
of local people as 'all forms of tourism in which the tourists main motivation is the

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observation and appreciation of nature, that contributes to the conservation of, and
that generates minimal impacts upon, the natural environment and cultural
heritage'.

Conservation tourism takes some of the ethics of ecotourism even further, and
has been defined as tourism that operates as a conservation tool making an
ecologically significant net positive contribution to the effective conservation of
biological diversity. Conservation tourism involves the tourist in conservation activity
for part or most of their experience.

Any type of holiday that includes voluntary service in the destination is

considered volunteer tourism. The tourist does not receive any type of financial
compensation while undertaking various types of work, and in many cases, must
provide financial contributions

Educational tourism involves travel to participate in educational experiences

locally and overseas, but not enrolment in a study program abroad for credit, Many
volunteer organizations that are mission driven offer learning trips for school groups
in which they gain practical experience in some cultural, scientific or community
development fields including protected areas.

DOMESTIC VERSUS FOREIGN TOURISTS

Internal tourism comprises domestic tourism plus inbound tourism, encompassing

the activities of resident and non-resident visitors within the country of reference as
part of domestic or international tourism trips. Outbound tourism includes the
activities of a resident visitor outside the country of reference, either as part of an
outbound tourism trip or as part of a domestic tourism trip. Finally, international
tourism comprises inbound tourism plus outbound tourism, including the activities
of resident visitors outside the country of reference, as part of either domestic or
outbound tourism trips and the activities of non-resident visitors within the country
of reference on inbound tourism trips.

Same-Day versus Overnight Tourists

Overnight tourists and day visitors will engage in different types of activities in
protected areas, depending on their time availability and the facilities or products
offered by the destination. Knowing how many visitors are same-day, or overnight is
important to help assess the types of accommodation, infrastructure and services
that should be provided outside protected areas and for day destinations within
parks.

Organized Tours versus Independent Travelers

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 Tourists can be part of organized tours or independent travelers. Potential
protected area visitors could purchase a tour package from a local tour operator or
travel agent, or through their hotel or all-inclusive resort or increasingly via the
internet. Protected areas offer tourism companies the opportunity of adding value to
the excursions they offer, and for many specialist tour operators, visits to high-
quality sites with global recognition can be important for sales. Organized group
tours will usually be led by licensed tour operators who are often responsible for
clearly conveying to traveler’s information about their rights and obligations when
visiting a protected area.

Some visitors may be free independent travelers who have made arrangements
based on word-of-mouth, online social network recommendations or suggestions
from a local hotel, guidebook, tourist information office and/or official websites. In
some cases, it can be harder to manage the actions of individual tourists than those
on organized tours in protected areas.

TOURISM POLICY AND PLANS

At a more advanced level are tourism policies and plans for protected areas.
These shift management from reactive to proactive management by introducing
strategic approaches to making tourism more sustainable. These can be integrated
within management plans for a protected area or may be stand-alone documents.

Tourism policies can address:

 the rationale for permitting tourism in protected areas

 the types of tourism and activities permitted
 sustainable tourism elements, including conservation and local economic
impact
 preferred types of tourism and activities
 contractual requirements
 fee collection.

Tourism plans can address:

 current and forecast visitation

 current visitor profiles and desired target markets
 current tourism impacts and ways to minimize them
 improvements to tourism infrastructure and services
 improvements to interpretation
 zoning for different forms and levels of tourism development
 locations for new tourism investment, facilities or activities

TOURISM REVENUE

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Many protected area management agencies lack the funds to properly respond to
tourism needs and management. Protected areas have traditionally relied on
support from the government, but the costs of conservation while relatively low,
represent a significant amount for governments. Revenue from government sources
is now in short supply, and the need to balance environmental and economic
requirements is becoming increasingly pressing. There is an urgent need to find ways
for protected areas to be able to generate sufficient funds to make a contribution to
their operating costs. If they do so, Funds are typically larger in developed than
developing countries, and often funds are greater where tourism activity and
development are concentrated. The cost to manage these areas is, however, higher-
typically cancelling out the gain. Under the principle of user pays, funds to manage
tourism can be raised from direct and indirect sources.

Entry Fees

The most common revenue from tourism is a direct entry fee to enter the
protected area, though revenue is also raised from activity fees. Entry fees are
sometimes literally collected at the point of entry to the protected area, with a set
amount per car or per individual at another administrative center. They can be
charged directly to the visitor or, tour operator companies may purchase tickets in
advance so that visitors on organized tours have the fee included in the total cost of
their tour package.

Protected areas with significant tourism concentration areas can attract 40-60
per cent of their funds from user fees. A major challenge is ensuring that the funds
are reinvested into protected area management. Many governments transfer the
collected funds into their centralized revenue management and do not equate
redistributions to original income, so at best, one protected area pays for another,
and at the greater extreme, protected area revenue may contribute to unrelated
whole-of-government services, such as defense. Other governments use the fees to
reduce their traditional allocation to the protected area, so if visitor fees decrease,
management is left significantly underfunded. Park agencies permitted to manage
their own funds are typically more autonomous, entrepreneurial and efficient.

The second major challenge with collecting entry fees is to ensure the cost of
collection is significantly lower than the revenue generated. It is often uneconomical
to collect fees in remote areas, while in seasonal areas, it is often economical to
charge in the peak period and not in the low season. Many protected areas have
begun with a single level of admission fee and gradually developed a differential
(domestic citizens are typically charged considerably less than foreign visitors) or
tiered pricing system. This more sophisticated pricing approach allows protected
areas to charge visitors according to a number of factors including the time of year,
the level of service provided and the income or place of origin of the visitor. For

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example, a lower price may be charged to domestic visitors to encourage their
interest in conservation, and to reflect the ability of domestic visitors to pay, while
enabling higher fees to be charged to international tourists from high income
countries.

Also:

 Residents of a destination country are already paying, through taxes, for PA

conservation;

• Environmental education and recreation objectives of PAs will normally seek to

encourage visitation by

local people, which would be discouraged with higher user fee rates; and

• Foreign tourists from developed countries are generally willing and able to pay
more for access to PAs

The third challenge is to set fees that reflect levels of use and subsequent
management costs. A flat entry fee (a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of
usage.) is often not seen as fair, because some visitors use the area more than
others, create greater negative impacts than others or create more demand on
management than others. Some alternatives to a standard entry fee are provided.
Though more complex to manage, a user tee is more effective than an entrance fee
because the price is better matched to use and subsequent management. (User fees
– fees charged to visitors for undertaking specified activities or for use of specified
facilities within protected areas, subject to compliance with protected area
regulations (eg. for parking, camping, fishing, hunting, boating, diving, hiking,
recreational programmes, sports, photography, etc.)

Operator Charges

Tourism businesses operate within and make money from using protected areas.
Protected area managers, therefore, have a legitimate right to charge the operator
for their use of the area. They may also need special permits to work within the site,
for which a fee is usually charged. Some of the ways that revenue can be drawn from
operator charges. Many operators Will gladly consider shared agreements to reduce
costs they would otherwise pay to the protected area manager. Greater use of this
approach would jointly benefit tourism and protected area management. Most
tourism businesses accept charged, but like visitors, they expect to see the funds
reinvested in protected area management and services where the revenue is raised.

VISITOR SERVICES AND FACILITIES

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Before providing visitor services and facilities for a protected area, managers must
be sure why they are doing so. Service and facility provision should depend in large
measure on desired visitor experience opportunities, which in turn emerge from
underlying management objectives. Such objectives include protection,
conservation, education, public relations, research, fundraising and recreation,
among others. While most managers recognize that tourists require a range of
services and facilities to experience a site, other kinds of visitors also must partake of
visitor services and facilities to experience the same site. School children need food,
bathrooms and a place to eat; scientists need guides, laboratory facilities, food,
trails, library resources and internet connections; reporters need to be attended by
knowledgeable park staff; politicians obtain VIP attention and highly skilled
information managers. Not only do visitors increasingly seek authenticity in the
marketplace (for example, experience that is more primitive than or different to
their lifestyles), but also the see of authenticity varies significantly, affecting the
quality of their experience.

Types of Services and Facilities

 Support Services and Facilities

These are the types of services and facilities provided to help support, maintain and
restore the "basic needs of visitors. What constitutes a 'basic' need is obviously
context - dependent, with the 'basic' needs of some seen as 'luxuries' by others, or in
or contexts. Therefore, basic support services and facilities could be a pit toilet and
‘luxury’ could be access to water that is safe to drink. Support services and
appropriate facilities can be complex and encompass a diversity of services and
facilities, as seen in some visitor centers. It is important for managers to know what
types of needs, desires and expectations Visitors might arrive with and how to match
them to the reality of what appropriate facilities can be provided. This is why
Recreational Opportunity Spectrum-based planning and zoning are so important in
protected areas. (Recreational Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) is a means of
identifying and determining the diversity of recreation opportunities for a natural
area or a group of natural areas. It is based on the idea that visitor services quality is
best assured by providing an array of opportunities suited to the full range of
expected visitors. However, not all visitors seek the same experience or want to join
in the same tup of activities when they visit a natural area. Also, the activities must
be scheduled, otherwise conflict results when too many activities can occur at the
same site at the same time)

 Orientation Services and Facilities

It is essential for managers to know what types of orientation services and facilities
tourists may require. These types of services and facilities could include directional

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signage, informational brochures (prices, operating hours, procedures, ticketing,
contact information, and so on), rangers and guides, designated meeting points,
websites, maps, information hotlines, apps and other techniques that can help keep
visitors oriented (directed) in time and space.

 Security Services and Safety Facilities

This category of services and facilities allows people to access places they would
otherwise avoid due to danger and physical or social impediments. Often, they go
unseen and undervalued by visitors-such as the provision of park guards and
perimeter controls-yet they must be calculated into overall costs. Examples include
electronic security systems such as surveillance cameras, signage that explains rules
and safety recommendations and visitor educational materials.

 Interpretation Services and Facilities

Interpretation is a communication approach that connects people intellectually and

emotionally with interpreted objects to deepen their appreciation of that object. In
the context of protected areas, the object is a site's heritage. With deeper
appreciation emerge caring and a disposition to assist in the fulfilment of
management objectives. Interpretative services and facilities include all educational
and other services and facilities that enhance and maintain the visitor experience not
already mentioned. Examples include interpretative guides, signage, exhibitions,
videos, educational printed materials, automated guides, and theatre performances,
radio shows, living history demonstrations and roving interpretation.

 Multiple Services and Facilities

Frequently, the services and facilities provided overlap and occur in the same media
and spaces. Example: visitor centers often combine all areas by offering
interpretative exhibits (interpretation), information desks (orientation), bathrooms,
and food sales (restorative), disabled facilities (ex: trails for the blind or wheelchairs),
shops (interpretive and restorative), and access to staff.

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