TOURISM

CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

It is comprised of goods and

services that are provided by entities
in the tourism value chain. The value
chain refers to the series of public
and private entities that convert
resources into value-added tourism
products that are sold to tourists.
Tourist satisfaction can be sabotaged
by a weak link in that chain. Thus,
one of the rationales for tourism
planning is to identify, organize, and
integrate entities along the tourism
value chain to ensure the delivery of
consistently high quality tourist TOURISM POLICY
experiences. PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

which means that potential visitors

cannot try them prior to purchase of tickets,
rooms, or tour package. Potential tourists base
their decision on images and expectations.
These expectations are produced by
information provided by both personal and
non-personal sources. Word-of-mouth
endorsements and social media reviews are
some of the most popular references for
tourism product decision-making. Research
has shown that many tourists tend to be silent
when they are satisfied with a tourism product
but tend to publicize their dissatisfaction over
& quote; lousy & quote; services. Furthermore,
comments by family or friends are given a lot
of weight by potential tourists. You, as tourism
planner, should incorporate strategies for
managing expectations and for maximizing TOURISM POLICY
visitor satisfaction. PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

Very few destinations achieve

overnight success. Even Boracay and
Puerto Princesa took several years to
reach their present status. As such,
your tourism plan must com horizon,
and tourism entities should give it
their enduring commitment. TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

at the incipient stage of development

when a lot of money is required to build
infrastructure, facilities, and human expertise.
Some tourism projects like airports involve
land reclamation and construction of gateway
facilities that resemble new towns.
Furthermore, many technologies associated
with tourism are extremely expensive and
have to be imported. Your plan must be able
to present realistic estimates of the financial
requirements, identify sources of financial
assistance, and find ways to avail of fiscal and
non-fiscal incentives from government.
Feasibility studies can help potential investors
to firm up their decisions whether to venture TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
or not into tourism.
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

While it is true that they are free, they

are also finite resources that have to be
protected for posterity. Tourism plans must
therefore incorporate strategies for natural
and cultural protection at the pre-
development stage, including legislative
controls on setbacks, building heights,
architectural designs, preservation of historic
towns, density limits, and waste management.
In a built-up area, your plan must include
strategies for revitalizing or rejuvenating the
sites, or blending with the character of a
heritage destination.
TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

that are largely uncontrollable, such as the

political situation, weather, natural calamities,
currency fluctuations, and international relations.
Tourism Planners must be able to spot key drivers of
tourism growth or decline, and identify strategies that
will help a destination exploit opportunities, and
prepare contingency measures for worst case
scenarios. Tourism planners must temper their
optimism with pragmatism. Sometimes, they have to
accept that tourism may not be the best option. Or
tourism must be developed only as a supplementary
economic activity to already established sectors in an
area. In some cases, tourism may not be an option at
all due to land use conflicts, lack of outstanding
tourism assets, opposition from the stakeholders, or
incompatibility with existing industries such as TOURISM POLICY
mining. PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

These impacts are intertwined; there is a

correlation between poverty and environmental quality,
for example. Many destinations suffer from permanent
environmental damage due to wanton abuse. Planners
help avoid undesirable changes from occurring by
drawing up precautionary measures at the earliest stage
of tourism development. Due to the multidimensional
character of tourism, planners must also deal with
numerous agencies at various levels of governance to
register business name, apply for environmental impact
assessment, obtain a business license, secure
accreditation, and get a loan and financial incentives,
among others. Planning becomes even more detailed after
a tourism product concept is approved.

TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

Tourism planners must always keep

track of the latest trends in tourism product
development, as well as the changing customer
profiles, and adjust accordingly. Planners
must also devise competitive strategies and
collaboration strategies at the same TOURISM POLICY
time. PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

Finally, you should not disregard the

stakeholders such as local community residents, donor
agencies, tourism associations, government offices,
indigenous peoples in some areas, and already existing
tourism businesses. Stakeholders provide valuable
inputs in planning in terms of knowledge, experiences,
and insider information. Their support is critical in
securing the approval of tourism plans.

TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEIR PLANNING
IMPLICATIONS

TOURISM POLICY
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT