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    Gunn Regional Planning Concepts

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    Chapter 5 Regional Planning Concepts «Introduction Even after gaining new understandings about the many characteristics of tourism—its functioning system and components—the question remains How can tourism plans and planning be made and implemented? Are there techniques and processes that nations, provinces, and states can follow that will assist them in reaching their tourism development objectives? Experience is demonstrating that planning is taking place and producing results. Worldwide there is an increasing awareness that tourism can no longer rely only on heavy doses of hucksterism. Greater planning and care must be exercised to avoid negative social, environmental, and economic impacts and reach the positive objectives desired. It must be emphasized that the ideas put forward here are more con- ceptual than proven processes. Experience well demonstrates that plan- ning for tourism is more art than science. Certainly the results from scientific inquiry should be utilized. Logical sequences—the discursive aspects should be incorporated into planning whenever possible. However, equally important, and perhaps in greater need, is intuition. Conscious reasoning needs to be tempered by intuitive perception. Leaders of tour- ism planning and development as well as local constituencies must allow feelings of rightness as well as facts and logic to influence plans and decisions. However, experience is also showing that there is no right way to plan especially at so large a scale. And, probably no one should look for such an ideal model, Rather, any process that can respond to needs should be applied. The purpose of this chapter is to suggest some planning anteced- ents, some planning models, and ways of discovering zones of potential and processes for regions in their desire to create and implement tourism plans. Planning concepts for destinations and sites follow in Chapters 7 and 9. 109 110 Tourism Planning PLANNING ANTECEDENTS For most areas today, tourism development means encouraging an investor to make a study of economic feasibility of a project. Such projects are focused on sites. Too frequently there is no guidance at the regional scale’ on whether the site and project are suited to regionwide resource foun- dations, the social and economic milieu of the area, public policy, and transportation and access as related to market sources. As a consequence, even if well built and managed, the business is likely to be less successful than anticipated and to result in environmental, social, and economic stress on the area. Planners would respond to such situations by advocat- ing better planning. But merely creating a plan in the traditional sense may not have solved these issues. Before initiating specific planning pro: cesses, there are several issues that should be addressed. Actually, these antecedents may be considered a first step in a revised planning process... The following are put forward for consideration by tourism leaders and ~ stakeholders of regions. Early Implementation Considerations Because planning is often considered the process of creating plans and then implementing them, too often they are aborted. This two-step pro- cess—plan, implement—assumes that there are implementing agents ready, willing, and able to follow through with completion. Although this process functions well at the site scale with one owner, it encounters many obstacles at larger scales with a multiplicity of owners and developers. The reason is that the greater the number of implementing agents involved, the more difficult it is to cooperate, reach consensus, and acti- vate a plan. At the destination and regional scales, plan concepts are often initiated by only one agency, organization, or individual. Many action and affected constituencies are omitted in this process, inviting opposition or apathy and resulting in inaction. Instead of thinking of plan implementation as a two-step process, there is value in integrating implementation at the outset. Unless the several involved parties see the need for planning, there is little likelihood of action taking place only because a study and report were prepared. Con- versely, premature plans that appear to be too costly, grandiose, and complicated may even stimulate polarization of conflict. This may set back many years the opportunity for planning new development. The motivation for planning tourism development can come from many sources. Each community and region has a different history, tradition, Regional Planning Concepts IL politics, leadership, and aspirations. No kind of development is any more complicated socially, economically, and environmentally than tourism. ‘These fundamentals make it difficult to generalize the initiating principles that can be applied universally. Improved tourism planning may be sparked by a national tourism office or nationwide tourism organization. Impact Considerations Plans will bear little fruit unless those most affected are involved from the start. All three implementing categories—commercial enterprise, non- profit organizations, and governments—must be committed to a regional plan. Representatives of public and private tourism organizations must be given a voice in the preparation of regional plans if there is to be any hope of implementation. ‘Today, environmental organizations must be brought into the planning process at an early stage. In a large nation such as the United States composed of hundreds of public and private organizations, the task of involving niany publics is difficult. But, there are political and organizational mechanisms by which cooperation can be obtained. No matter the method, it is important that it take place early in the process. Communication/Education A very important element of planning antecedents is communication and education. Although tourism has been a reality worldwide for many years, it still is not well understood. Good understanding of internal hotel oper- ation, travel agency management, and food production and service does not mean that tourism as a system is understood. Before tourism plans are created, the several fundamentals of tourism need to be communicated to the diverse constituencies involved. This public education may involve specially prepared public meetings, seminars, and workshops. For exam- ple, few business people and public agencies are aware of the tourism research literature that has appeared in only the last two decades. New tourism research findings, concepts, and observations have been docu- mented in-books, reports, and journals and should be required reading for all national organizations and agencies anticipating tourism planning and development. U2 Tourism Planning Promotional Ethics Another important planning antecedent is the avoidance of exaggerated claims. Proponents of tourism must be held accountable. Frequently, only half-truths are presented in early stages of tourism development, promis- ing only increased jobs, incomes, and tax revenues. These benefits have proved to be true rewards from tourism development but they represent only one side of tourism growth. It is equally vital to recognize the other side—the costs of tourism development. These costs can be dealt with better at the outset than coming as surprises later on. Cultural and social costs—possible conflict or erosion of cultural values—can be reduced by means of planning physical development and programs so that host-guest relations are fostered. Economic costs—expanded infrastructure of water supply, waste disposal, police, and fire protection—can be accommodated only when facts about existing capacities are known. Environmental costs—~degradation of natural and cultural resources—can be ameliorated or entirely avoided by anticipating tourist needs and interests as well as potential threats to the environment. Proper design, planning, and pro- gramming can prevent most environmental stress from tourism devel- opment. There can be considerable public backlash if only a biased rep- resentation of tourism development is presented in the beginning. Policy An important antecedent to planning is policy. Nations are increasingly identifying policies for tourism development and management. Edgell (1990) cites many policies—political, economic, and social—exercised by governments that have implications for planning. For example, because of war, disease, or improper protection of trav- elers, travel bans are sometimes imposed by nations. The Citizens Emer- gency Center of the U.S. State Department issues travel advisories regarding travel abroad. Other travel bans have been implemented wher- ever threats to traveler safety have appeared. The very fact of allowing foreigners to enter a country is an act of policy. Thus, immigration policy may be detailed so carefully as to restrict the opportunity for pleasure or business travel. Because nations vary in their political ideologies, some travelers are not admitted if conflict is likely. Many political efforts have been initiated to lessen tension of travel between countries of contrasting ideologies. The Shanghai Communique of 1972 between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China specified strategies necessary to avoid accident, misunderstanding, and Regional Planning Concepts 13 poor experiences of travelers. East-West travel has changed dramatically since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Cuba, once discouraging foreign visitors, now promotes them. Tension between wealthy and poor nations influences tourism policy throughout the world, Some believe that the industrialized generating nations are obligated to support tourism in the poorer host nations, Tour- ism is desired for economic growth but often financial support is unavail- able except with the aid of wealthier nations. In the future, as so many nations revise their forms of government and modify traditional policies, tourism may lose or gain in its priority position. Domestic and interna- tional issues—economic, power struggle, standards of living, social con- flict, and sovereignty—may force a dramatic change in national tourism policies. The Helsinki Accord of 1975 was a freedom-of-travel agreement among. thirty-five nations, including the United States and Russia. Among items agreed upon that have formed the foundation for much greater ease of travel were the following: (1) intent to increase tourism, (2) recognition of research needs, (3) assurance of protection of historic and cultural heritage, (4) encouragement of more personal and professional travel, (5) reduction of entrance fees and official documents, (6) increased cooper- ation on tourism development, and (7) promotion of visits to respective countries. The U.S. National Tourism Policy Act of 1981 for the first time in this country detailed national policy for tourism development and promotion. The provisions were broad and concerned both international and domestic travel. However, because of limitations on funding, emphasis has been placed primarily on promotion of travel to the United States (Gunn 1983). The U.S. has negotiated tourism agreements with several countries— Mexico, Venezuela, Egypt, the Philippines, Hungary, Poland, Morocco, and Canada. “Pourism policy is also influenced by several international organizations. The Organization of American States (OAS) provides development assis- tance to member countries in areas such as financing mechanisms, faci tation, statistics, education, and training. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), headquartered in Paris, provides a forum for discussion of economic issues including tourism. It has fostered the reduction of border customs and restrictions. The World Tourism Organization (WTO), with main offices in Madrid, fosters meetings and technical assistance, and sponsored the major World Tourism Conference in Manila in 1980. At all levels, national to local, policies set by public agencies have a great bearing on how tourism is planned, developed, and managed. i4 Tourism Planning Cooperation/Collaboration Finally, a tourism planning antecedent is cooperation and collaboration with other related planning. All other agency and organizational planning must be reviewed to discover important relationships. Mechanisms need to be developed so that tourism does not conflict with and can be inte- grated into these other plans. Urban planning, industrial planning, rural planning, transportation planning, and other planning can greatly affect all tourism development. Tourism planning must be integrated with all other planning activities. BACKGROUND Years ago a few scholars, planners, and geographers expressed interest in how tourism was being developed and responded with new models and processes for planning tourism. A few of these that have influenced mod- ern thinking on the topic of tourism planning follow. Recreation Areas Romsa (1981, 343) has described a planning model prepared by Kiemstedt (1967) that measures and maps three sets of factors to determine areas best suited for recreation development. Factors investigated are inherent physical attributes, available leisure facilities, and the cultural milieu of the region. Each set is summarized to arrive at an index of attractivity. The measurement problem was solved by use of a delphi technique evaluation. The process includes several steps beginning with measuring the rele- vant subcomponent variables for a given quadrant of land. From an attrac- tivity function, the attractivity value for each variable is calculated. The attractivity value is then multiplied by a weighting factor and the resultant values form an index. Kiemstedt describes this function in the following formula: Art= Die D j-ajewi where Ar { = attractivity index of region I i = quadrant aj = the attractivity value of variable j wj = the weight assigned to variable j Regional Planning Concepts us Overlay maps are then prepared for each component. Those land areas that fall into the upper categories for all components are deemed the most attractive for recreation development. Further modifications were made by others in an attempt to gain greater insight into analysis for planning. Product’s Analysis Sequence for Outdoor Leisure Planning Lawson and Baud-Bovy (1977) created an approach to planning outdoor recreation and tourism development called Product’s Analysis Sequence for Outdoor Leisure Planning (PASOLP). Baud-Bovy (1980, 1982) later elaborated on his earlier experiences of applying some of his concepts and principles of tourism planning in several countries. He stressed integrated planning—planning that breaks from the traditional technical planner’s approach. By integration, he asked that tourism planning be integrated with the nation’s policies, physical environment, and related sectors of the economy; into the public budget and international tourism market; and with the structure of the tourist industry. His experimentation with an updated PASOLP approach in Niger has resulted in the concept shown in Figure 5-1 (Baud-Bovy 1982, 312). Baud-Bovy emphasized that planning should be a continuous process because of the vagaries of tourism over time—economy, politics, and fashion. Required is a regular monitoring system. He conceived a four- phase planning process: A. Scientific investigation and analysis © Principal tourism flows (existing and potential) are compared with attractions and resources. . « The nation’s structures, politics, and priorities are analyzed. B. Identification of development objectives « Each market segment is examined. * Existing tourism products are compared to market segments. ¢ Destination attractions are examined. * Feasibility, as well as socioeconomic and environmental impacts of new development are examined. » Priority development is identified. C. Creation of physical plan * Three preliminary studies are made: needed new facilities, esti- mated impact on sites, and preferred destinations. 16 Tourism Planning County Toutem Prosont siucres osouroos Tourem tarts ¥ J ¥ Touts ‘tes of Potential markets cogrizalln Town #————] toby tow ‘and Financing: interest, analysis) Products Analysis Maske Flows oH al N w Competive prodvct In other coun Foasibity Vatous impacts

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