According to Tucker and Sundberg 1988 cited Loannides and Debbage 1998 Tourism is not an industry in ‘conventional’ senses as it does not have a single production process, homogenous product or a locationally confined market. Tourism might be considered as partially industrialized as it serves its visitors. He also states that it is a mix of industries which provides services in varied forms Leiper (1990 cited Loannides and Debbage 1998). Smith (1998 in Loannides and Debbage 1998) viewed tourism as a composition of businesses which facilitates business, pleasure and leisure activities by providing goods and services, and may be considered as an industry.
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According to Thomas Lea Davidson (1998 in Theobald 1998) defining tourism as an industry is incorrect. He states that it is a socio-economic phenomenon which assists economic and social progress and a sector which influence a wide range of industries. In his view designating tourism as an industry may be for many reasons like to gain respect, need for a sound framework, analyze and publish data or need for some to gain self identity. There have been long standing debates on whether tourism is an industry or not.
The size and structure of the tourism industry made up of highly fragmented and diverse components. The tourism industry is composed of different components such as tour operators, travel agents, accommodation providers, carriers, tourism associations, destination organizations and consultancies (Mowforth and Munt 1998). As stated by Bhatia (2006) it is a collection of various industries with varied scope of operation mainly targeting revenue generated from tourism.
Careful planning and implementation is necessary for economic development of any country. In the tourism sector the need for planned development is of great importance. It involves many industries working together in a complex way and needs special attention. Planning basically tries to allot limited resources between various competitors with a view to maximize output, income and employment and to make sure different sectors have fair growth.
Tourism planning is a process through which the set goals can be achieved and the various choices linked to tourism development can be addressed. It is a long term and constant process of preparing, upgrading and improving a destination for tourist.
Communities are the basic elements of tourism. It mainly depends upon the level of acceptance shown by local communities. In the process of planning their involvement is essential (Khan 2005).
Role of Government in Tourism Planning:
As stated by Hall (2008) the involvement of Government in tourism planning is very essential. The Government and private sectors play a very compelling role in the planning of tourism (Cruz 2005). It facilitates by providing Infrastructure, educational requirements, launch of regulatory surroundings for operation of businesses and participates in promotion and marketing of tourism products.
Strategic Tourism Planning:
The need for strategic tourism planning arises to handle crises at tourism destinations (Kerr 2003). The essential steps for strategic tourism planning are
Setting objectives
Explore of tourism development factors
Drawing conclusions about an destinations potential
Bringing new ideas for tourism development
Making recommendations for destination development (Gunn 1988)
Issues and Constraints for Planning:
Cruz (2005) outlined some barriers for planning
Small enterprises view tourism planning as an intrusion into their field and doubt about its value.
It is considered to be expensive as analysis and market research is required.
The complex and diverse structure of the industry.
It is differentiated large and small enterprises.
The tourism planners should plan strategically keeping the barriers for planning in consideration along with the short term impacts along with the long term impacts on the destination (Gunn 1988).
Tourism Impacts:
The development of tourism creates impact on mainly environment, socio-culture and economy of the host community at any destination. These impacts produce both negative as well as positive impact. Planning is necessary to reduce the negative impact and boost the positive impact for sustainable development of a destination.
Economic:
The domestic economies are supported by tourism and are considered to be a means of trade. The economic impact can be assessed at three different levels- the direct, indirect and induced. Direct impact is the value of tourist expenditure after deducting the imports which was necessary for providing the service. The firms that directly receive the tourist expenditure spent on other sectors like water, electricity etc to provide the services. The generation of the economic activity through these frequent rounds of expenditure is called as the indirect impact. The money which is re-spent in the economy by the community which was gained through the tourism in the form of salary, wages etc is called as induced impact. The positive economic impact of tourism is accessed by considering all three levels of impacts. (Cooper et al. 2008). Tourism also creates negative economic impact like employment due to seasonality (Youell 1998).
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Environmental:
According to Mathieson and Wall (1982 cited Hall 2003) the tourism industry is environment dependent. There is little scope for tourism to flourish if a destination is not environmentally attractive. The positive impact of tourism on environment includes, preservation of ancient monuments, sites and historic buildings; creation of national parks and wild life sanctuaries; safeguarding of reefs and beaches and maintenance of forests (Cooper et al. 2008). The negative impacts are waste disposal, water pollution, deforestation etc (Youell 1998).
Socio-cultural:
According to Hall (2003) the way in which tourism brings changes in the value system, behaviour, lifestyle and quality of life of the local community can be termed as Socio-cultural impacts. The major positive impact of tourism on society includes creation of employment, revival of poor and non-industrialized areas along with revitalization of local arts and crafts. Tourism creates negative impacts like prostitution, crime, lose of tradition etc. In areas where tourism is the major employer, traditional activities like farming may deteriorate. It may also pave way for ‘demonstration’ effect where host communities try to imitate the life style of visitors. The host communities have to adjust their routine according to the seasonality of tourism which might create disturbance in the host community (Mason 2008).
Planning to mitigate the impacts:
Tourism generally brings positive impacts on host communities but also carries some negative impacts (cooper et al. 2008). The concept of planning is very vital to yield high-quality benefits out of tourism. English (1986 cited Gunn 1988) gives a series of ideas to minimize the negative impacts and enhance positive ones. Measures can be taken to assist local ownership and control foreign tourism services and facilities. He states that encouraging indigenous design and absorption of local transportation, tour companies, accommodation and food services can increase attraction to tourists and can lower dependency on outsiders. The government needs to promote small and medium size businesses so that the leakage from local economy can be sealed. This in turn will ensure local participation in tourism development (Equations 2008). According to Youell (1998) both public and private sector should work together to develop sustainable tourism. Environment is the base of tourism and has to be protected. The importance of sustainable tourism is growing among tourists. Thus proper planning is necessary for achieving sustainable tourism (Edgell et al. 2008). The public sector should plan and implement policies to maximize the use of renewable source of energy; waste water treatment; infrastructural development and use of cleaner technology which reduces pollution (WTO). Proper legal planning and maintaining control over society would reduce crime and other harmful social activities. Educating and giving awareness to local community about tourism will enhance positive impacts and reduce negative ones (Hall 2003). Advantages of tourism can be obtained only by planning, viewing the future and dealing with anticipated consequences. These points should be carefully studied with respect to the local environment as it can affect the quality of the tourism product and may also no longer satisfy the targeted audience (English 1986 cited Gunn 1988).
Conclusion:
The structure of the tourism industry is very complex with different sectors such as accommodation, travel, attractions and support services working together to create the final product. Due to this fragmented composition it is very important to have planning for sustainable development. In traditional sense it cannot be called as an industry but can be termed as a collection of small and medium size businesses. For the long lasting and future of these businesses sustainable development is necessary. The essay underlines the importance of planning in tourism industry as well as the limitations to planning due to various external factors.
Tourism can be considered as a very diverse and complex form of industry which has impacts on the community. It carries long lasting economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. Both positive and negative impacts are induced in a destination through tourism. Strategic tourism planning can mitigate some of the
negative impacts but some have to be accepted as the beneficiaries part of tourism development.
Strategic planning is very critical as it tries to manage crises. It attempts to enhance the positive impacts and reduce the negative impacts. The report emphasizes the importance of planning by giving approaches for sustainable tourism.
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