Chapter 2

Tourism Planning
and
Management
 Chapter 2
TOURISM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

2.1 Evolution of Tourism Planning

Tourism, both international and domestic, is a comparatively recent activity,
having developed after the introduction of the commercial jet airplanes in 1959, which
provided fast transportation over long distances for rather large numbers of people.
Improvements in land transportation, especially high speed road and rail systems, also
took place in many countries. Along with transportation improvements, other factors
giving impetus to travel were: increased incomes of a substantial number of people
resulting from the economic recovery from World War II, raising educational levels,
provision of vacation periods and lengthening of vacations for a large number of workers,
the increasing popularity of holiday travel , and the rapid growth of international business
travel. Further stimulus was provided for the growth of long distance tourism with
development of Jumbo-jets in the late 1960s and more fuel-efficient airplanes in the
1980s (Bhatia 2002).
National and regional tourism planning during 1980s was taken into consideration
in many countries and regions of the more and less developed world (Inskeep 1991 ). This
has included revision and updating of so me of the plan s prepared previously. Tourism
planning is now being pursued in many countries and regions, which wish to develop
tourism on a planned basis. These new tourism plan s do not ignore existing tourism
development, some of which may date back to the 19 111 century, but incorporate these
features into the modern plans. Practically, some of developments, such as classic hotels
and historic sites, can form significant elements of the present day plan.
There are several important specific benefits of undertaking national and
regional tourism planning. These advantages include:
• Establishing the overall tourism development objectives and policies - what is
tourism aiming to accomplish and how can these aims to be achieved
• Developing tourism so that its natural and cultural resources are indefinitely
maintained and conserved for future, as well as present use.

22
 • Integrating tourism into the overall development policies and patterns of the
country or region, and establishing close linkages between tourism and other
economic sectors.
• Providing a rational basis for decision-making by both the public and private
sectors on tourism development.
• Making a coordinated development of all the many elements of the tourism
sector. This includes inter-relating the tourist attractions, activities, facilities
and services and the various and increasingly fragmented tourist markets.
• Optimizing and balancing the economic, environmental and social benefits of
tourism, with equitable distribution of these benefits to the society while
minimizing possible problems of tourism.

2.2 Significance of Tourism Planning

Tourism is a diffuse and rather complex activity. It compnses a cluster of
disparate enterprises and elements, which are developed by various agencies for different
motives. It takes in a cross section of the entire economy for a region or nation and has
wide social, economic and environmental impacts. Lack of coordination between the
different sectors of the industry has, in many cases, led to uncontrolled growth resulting
in the degradation and destruction of the very resource on which tourism is founded .
P.C. Sinha, (1997) points out that the absence of tourism planning in a destination
area can eventually lead to irreversibl e economic, socio -cultural and environmental
damage. Over utilization or inadequate planning can open the door for potential di saster.
Empirical evidence throughout the world clearly shows that the model destinations for
successful tourism are those that have embraced the tourism-planning concept. Planning
in tourism is therefore, an essential activity for every destination area and it is a
paramount to avoid situation caused by haphazard developments.
Russell A. Smith (1992:306) bas documented the typical evolution of unplanned
tropical beach resorts . He cites eight stages:
1. Some local settlement; no significant tourism.
2. First tourism ; second home strip development.
3. First hotel ; high budget visitor; new jobs.
4. More hotels; strip intensified; houses displaced.
5. .More lodging; cu ltural disruptions; beach congestion/ pollution.

23
 6. More hotels ; flood and erosion damage; tourism dominates.
7. Resort governments fail; urbanized resort.
'
8. Serious pollution; lateral spread; fully urbanized.

But too often, the wrong conclusion is reached - that tourism 1s inherently
destructive. But the truth is that those who have too little understanding of what tourism
really is and how to plan and design it are doing tourism devel opment. Tourism can
enrich people's lives, can expand an economy, can be sensitive and protective of
environments and can be integrated into a community with minimum impact. Called for is
a new mind set that demands better planning and design of all tourism development.
Planning for tourism is as important as is planning for any type of development.
The tourism sector objectives can be achieved more effectively if carefully planned and
integrated into the country's total development plan and programme. In addition,
planning for tourism is particularly important for other reasons:
• Tourism is still a new activity in many areas and some local governments
and the private sectors have little or no experience as how to properly
develop tourism; a tourism plan can provide the guidelines needed in these
areas for developing this sector.
• Tourism is a complicated, multi-sectoral activity, involving other sectors
such as agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, historic, park and recreation
features , vanous community facilities , transportation and other
infrastructure, therefore policy planning and coordination of development
projects are particularl y needed to assure that all these sectors are properl y
developed and integrated to serve touri sm and benefit from tourism
activities.
• Tourism is essentiall y selling a product of an experience to consumers, and
there must be careful matching of the market and product through the
planning process, but without compromi sing environmental and octo-
cultural integrity in meeting market demands.
• Tourism can bring various direct and indirect economic benefits, which can
be optimized, through careful and integrated planning; without planning,
these benefits may not be full y realized.

24
 • Tourism can generate vanous socio-cultural benefits and problems, and
planning can be used as a process for optimizing the benefits and lessening
the problems, and especially for integrating tourism into the local society.
• The development of tourism attractions, facilities and infrastructure and
tourist movements generally have impacts on the natural environment, and
careful planning is required so that desirable environmental impact is
reinforced and environmental problems are not generated from tourism
development.
• Tourism development requires particular employee skills and capabilities for
which there must be appropriate education and training. Satisfying this
education and training needs requires careful programming and, in some
cases, development of specialized training facilities.
• Achieving tourism development requires specific organizational structures,
legislation and fiscal measures, which must be considered in the planning
process.

Experiences has shown that countries do benefit substantially from the proper
planning of tourism and , in an increasingly competitive tourism world, the country with
the best planned tourism development are likely to be the most successful tourist
destinations (Inskeep, 1991 ).

2.3 Interactive Planning Vs. Conventional Planning in Tourism

Tourism Planning includes a very diverse set of activities undertaken by many
different groups representing different interests. Tour operators, for instance, concerned
to develop markets and market share are involved in the planning of marketing strategies.
Individual developers engage in the planning of tourist facil ities, covering the layout of
particular development proposals. Governments, perhaps, anxious to expand the income
from tourism, plan strategies and policies at both national and regional levels to facilitate
tourism development. Each of these acti vities can be describes as tourism planning or
more appropriately the planning of specific aspects of tourism. Each represents a narrow
approach to tourism planning and has to be widened to make the industry mo re
progress1ve.
Modern awareness of the drawbacks of earlier planning approaches and processes
has led to a broader and more effective planning philosophy by educators and

25
practitioners. The terms now used, as seen in the US Model, are public involvement,
participatory planning, grass root planning ~d integrative planning.
Reg Lang (1988) has very aptly summarized the difference between interactive
planning and conventional planning as follows:

Table 1: Interactive Planning Vs. Conventional Planning in Tourism

Interactive Planning Vs. Conventional Planning in Tourism

Interactive Planning Conventional Planning in Tourism

-Includes information feedback, consultation & - Most information feedback; may be some
negotiation . Consultation.

Interaction occurs early on and throughout the - Early interaction with impl ementers;
affected
planning process with full range of stake holders interests not in volved until late in the
process.

Assumes that open participation leads to better - Assumes that better information leads to
decision s. better decis ions.

Planner as va lue committed advocate -Planner as va lue neutral expert.

Focuses on mob ili zation of suppo1i -Focuses on manipulati on of data

Plan = what we agree to do - Plan= what we should do

Success measured by achievement of agreement - Success measured by achievement of the

on actions and by resu lting change . Plan's objectives.

Source : Lang (1988).

2.4 Environmental and Socio-Cultural Considerations in Planning

Tourism industry has perhaps the most potential to either contribute to
environmental improvement or alternatively, to destroy the assets on which tourism is

26
built. However, governed by immediate profit motives, many players in this industry even
knowingly ignored this aspect.
'
It is well known that provision of facilities with tourism development transform
the natural environment. This process can modify and even eradicate the original source
of attraction. There is also recognition of the fact that tourism must strive to develop as a
socially responsible industry. More specifically it must move pro-actively rather than
simply responding to various pressures as they arise. Today resident responsive tourism is
the watchword for tomorrow's agenda and its priorities for tourism development and
management cannot be ignored.

2.5 Common Sequence/ Levels in Tourism planning

I. International
Here, planning is mostly concerned with international transportation services. the
flow of tourists among different countries, complementary development of major
attraction features and facilities in nearby countries, and multi country marketing
strategies and promotion programmes. Only few tourism-planning takes place at the
international level through the organizations, for e.g., World Tourism Organization
(WTO), International Civil Aviation Organizations (ICAO), International Air Transport
Associations (IATA), The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PAT A), the Sub-Committee
for Tourism (SCOT) of the Associations of Southeast Asians Nations (ASEAN). the
Tourism Coordination Unit (TCU) of the Southern Africa Coordination Conference
(SADCC). International planning is very fTagile because it depends on the cooperation of
member countri es, but nonethe less it is important for special function activities and is
receiving encouragement from international agencies tlu·ough their sponsorship of
regional tourism projects.

II. National
It focuses on touri sm policy, a physical structure plan including identification of
maJor tourist attractions, desi gnations of tourism development regions, international
access points and major international transportation facilities and services, types and
quality of tourist facilities and services, national-level tour patterns and programming,
tourism organization and legislation, overall tourism marketing, education and training
programmes, facility development, design and quality standards, sociocultural,

27
environmental and econom1c considerations and national level implementation
techniques. This level of planning usuall y takes place the form of a comprehensive
tourism development plan or strategy.

III. Regional
This level of planning is for one region or for the country, often a state or
province, or perhaps an island group, and formulated within the framework of the
national tourism plan and policy. Regional planning focuses on re gional policy , regional
transportation facilities and services, type and location of tourist attractions, location of
resorts and other major tourist facilities , regional level environmental, sociocultural and
economic considerations, and regional level training and marketing programmes,
organizational structure and implementation techniques. The regional level is more
specific than the national , although the degree of specificity at both levels depends on the
size of the country or region. For a small country, the national plan may be at the san1e
level of detail as a regional plan in a larger country, and small countries may not need
both national and regional planning.

IV. Sub- regional

In some countries or re gions, there is need for sub-regional planning which i
more specific than the regional level, but not as detail ed a development area or resort land
use planning. The components of the sub-regional plan w ill depend on the situation of the
sub-region.

V. Development Area
Specific tourism development areas for touri st resorts, urban tourism and tourist
attractions require land usc and transportation planning, and specific assessment of
economic, environm ental and soc iocu ltural impacts: land u e plans are often prepared
first on a conceptual bas is then in fina l form. This level of planning indicates the specific
places designated for various land use such as hotels, retail shops, parks, conservation
areas and recreational faciliti es, and the roads, walkway and other elements of
transportation system. Land use plans often include feasibility analysis of the proposed
development.
Urban tourism requ1res land use planning and improvement I beautification
programmes for towns and cities, which are also important tourist destinations. There can

28
be special tourism plans prepared for urban places, but it is usually more appropriate to
integrate tourism planning into the comprehensive urban plan.

VI. Development Site

Site planning is very specific planning for individual hotel , attraction and other
tourist facility sites. The actual location in outline form of buildings and structures, streets
and walkways, landscaped areas, and their interrelationships are shown in map form .

VII. Facility design

Architectural designs and detailed landscaping and engmeenng plans and
specifications must be prepared for resorts , hotels, restaurants, attraction features such as
visitors facilities at national parks, archaeological and historical sites, information and
cultural centers and other tourists faci liti es. This type of design is also often done by the
private sector, but the government should establi sh development standards, design
guidelines and building construction standards.
Frequently a comprehensive national tourism-planning project will also include
regional and development area plans, development standards for preparing site plan and
architectural, landscaping and engineering design guidelines for facilities , depending on
the terms of reference for the project. The advantage of combining various level s of
planning in one project is maintaining continuity of planning approach and integration of
the recommendations .

2.6 Components of tourism plan

To understand the planning of tourism knowledge of the components of tourism
development and their interrelationships is mandatory. Although various different term
and categories are used, the components can be described as fo llows:

• Tourist attractions and activities - all those natural , cultural and special
features and related activities of an area, which attract tourists to visit it.

• Accommodation - hotels and other types of faci li ties and their related
services where tourists stay overnight during their visit.

• Other touri st faciliti es and services - tour and travel operations, restaurants
and other types of eating establi shments, banks and money exchange

29
 facilities and services, public safety facilities and services of police and fi re
protection, postal services, retail stores for specialty and convenience
'
shopping, barbers and beauticians all comprise other tourist facilities and
services which should be avai !able.

• Transportation facilities and services - transportation access into and withi n

the country or region to serve the tourism development areas, resorts, tourist
attractions and urban places, and which may include air, land or water
transportation.

• Other infrastructure factor- in addition to transportation, the other necessary

infrastructure for tourism development including water suppl y, electric
power, sewage and solid waste disposal, and telecommunications e.g.
telephone, fax, E-mail etc.

• Institutional factors - the institutional factors necessary to serve tourism

including education and training facilities and programmes, making
strategies and promotion programmes, public and private sector tourism
organizations, tourism-related legislation and regulations, public and private
sector investment policies, and economic, environmental and socio-cultural
programmes.

2.7 Planning Approaches

Platming within the touri sm industry takes pl aces at both the micro and macro
levels. The micro level invo lves such planning that specific operators undertake when
determining the feasibility of their business activity. To a large extent, this is strategic
planning of a corporate nature and is basically similar to corporate planning in other
industries. Corporate planning models generally follow a common structure. One such
strategic plaiU1ing model shown below has been structured by Hoffman and Schneiderjans
(1990).

30
 r
Stakeholders Analysis

f
Mission Statement

Internal Analysis of Firm's Distinctive Competencies

'
Goal Formulation

'
Formulation of Strategic Alternatives

f
Evaluation

' .
ImplementatiOn

·'
Strategic Control

Figure 1: International Strategic Management and Goal Planning Model

Source: Hoffman & Schneiderjans, 1990, p.l79 , International Journal of Hospitality
Management.

The International Strategic Management and Goal Planning Model (ISMGP) is

based on the goal of matching an organ isation's strength with the market opportunities
presented by a changing external environment. It was designed to provide growth
alternatives for lodging corporations. Like all strategic planning activities, this also seeks
to highlight strengths and safeguard the uncertainties of external threats. This kind of
planning needs to be applied to tourism organisations, already existing as well as
developing ones, to achieve market sustainability.
Macro level planning in the industry, on the other hand, is concerned with the
growth of destinations as geographic, political and social units of the countries, states,
. .
provmces or regw ns.

31
 According to Helber (1995), initially tourism planning activity at such level is
focused on regional and local issues relating to land use and the physical devel opment of
destinations. Gravel describes these early planning efforts as non-integrated (i .e. highly
market or site specific) not considering comprehensive development.
He further states that there is a process of maturation of tourism planning and that
in the mid-1960's tourism planning began to take a more macro-perspective, recognising
the wider environment of tourism development. He labels this as an "integrated"
approach.
It is now more common for economic issues such as market position, product
value and destination image, along with environmental and community impacts, to be
dominant concerns of tourism planning. This more elaborate form of planning recognises
not only the pressures of the market place but also the impacts of tourism on the host, not
just economically but also socially and environmentally.
Macro level tourism planning is particularl y concerned with the manipulation of
controllable variables within a destination ' s tourism industry (i.e. , infrastructure, mar ket
position, product development and promotion) to goals that are political and social and
which the community sets for itself. As asserted by Mathieson and Wall ( 1982) " tourism
will only flourish given the appropriate conditions. It is an industry which like any other
industry requires sophisticated planning and organisation if its full potential is to be
realized". They also very clearly imply the necessity for successful tourism planning to
-
match product, price, location and management expertise with the market and
expectations that will attract investment. However, this must be done with the needs of
host community as a major focal point.
Acercnza ( 1985 ) propo unded a strategi c pl anning approach to tourism. Based on
his study the following figure depicts the basic stages invo lved in this long-term approach
to tourism planning:

32
 Figure 2: Basic Stages in Tourism Planning (Source: Acerenza, 1985)

~ !.Analysis of Previous Development

2.Evaluation of Position ofTourism

3.Formulation ofTourism Policy

4.Determination of Development Strategy

*
~ Elaboration of Action Programme

According to the model advocated by Acerenza (1985), planning begins at a much

earlier stage than the determination of the development strategy, which is the prime focus
of many earlier tourism plans. The process begins with an analysis of what has already
been achieved. Meaning thereby, a critical assessment of the various impacts, both
positive and negative, of previous tourism development and an analysis of the political
significance of tourism. This information is fed into the second stage. As per Acerenza,
second stage is the most fundamental one, which was often omitted or given little weight
in earlier plans. There has to be an evaluation of tourism's position from different
perspectives. Tourism must be seen in terms of nati onal, social and economic priorities so
that it might contribute more effectively to meeting broader development goals. The level
of support from central government for tourism, and implementation of any tourism plan
might be gauged on this basis. Such an evaluation requires tourism to be set against other
sectors. Evaluation of tourism from these different standpoints should enable the
identification of opportunities and difficulties which will suggest whether or not a new
tourism policy is needed (stage 3) or whether the existing development strategy (stage 4)
or action programme (stage 5) needs to be modified.
Acerenza defines tourism policy as "the complex of tourism related decisions
which, integrated harmoniously with the national policy for development, determines the
orientation of the sector and the actions to be taken". As such he seeks tourism policy as

33
providing the broad guidelines and further suggests that three fundamental elements
underline all tourism policy: visitor satisfaction, environmental protection and adequate
rewards for developers and investors.
In stage 4, i.e., the determination of the development strategy, the emphasis shifts
to the means of developing available resources to meet the goals outlined in the tourism
policy. The first step here is a matching of suppl y and demand, along with an evaluation
of tourist resources and markets. Attention must also be paid to competition for the
products, market identification and economic, social and technological resources needed
to develop them. Alternative development strategies can be assessed in the light of the
goals and objectives set earlier.
Stage 5 completes the transition to the operational phase (elaboration of Action
Programme) where specific action programmes are defined in the five main fields :
institutional organization, development, marketing and promotion, manpower
development and financing . Finally, Acerenza suggests a feedback loop from this stage to
the initial ones whereby the results of the action programmes are fed into the analysis of
previous development.

2.8 Comprehensive Tourism Planning Process

Tourism planning is a complex process considering variOus aspects as well as
segments of the tourism. Proper planning of the physical, legal, promotional, financial,
economic, market, management, social and environmental aspects can help and promote
tourism development in a beneficial way. Today, tourism is an economic activity and at
many destinations the only source of livelihood of the people. Everyone has a stake in it -
be it the government, service providers or the host population. Then why not acquaint all
with good platming, which defines the des ired results and works in a systematic manner
to achieve success.

Common planning process

Following steps are involved in the planning process that will work in a logical
sequence:
i. Define the system : what are the scale, size, market, character and purpose?
ii. Formulate objectives: wi thout a set of objectives the development concept
has no direction. The objectives must be comprehensive and specific and
should include a timetable for completion.

34
 iii. Data gathering: Fact-finding, or research, provides basic data that are
essential to developing the plan. Examples of data gathering, preparing a
fact book, making market surveys, undertaking site and infrastructure
surveys and analyzing existing facilities and competition.
iv. Analysis and interpretation: Once collected, the many fragments of
information must be interpreted so that the facts gathered will have
meaning. From this step results a set of conclusions and recommendations
that leads to making or conceptualizing a preliminary plan.
v. Preliminary planning: Based on the previous steps, alternatives are
considered and alternative physical solutions are drawn up and tested.
Frequently, scale models are developed to illustrate the land use plans;
sketches are prepared to show the image the development will project;
financial plans are drafted from the market information, site survey and
layout plan is approved and its implementation begins.
vi. Approving the plans: the parties involved can now look at plans, drawings,
scale models, estimates of costs, estimates of profits and know what wi ll
be involved and what the chances for success or failure wo uld be while a
great deal of money may have been spent upto this point, the sum is a
relatively small amount compared to the expenditures that wi ll be required
once the plan is approved and its implementation begins.
vii. Final plan: This phase typically" includes a definition of the van ous
aspects covered. For example, in the case of a destination a definition of
land use, sewage, water and utilities , architectural standards, landscape
plans, zoning and other land use regulati ons; economic analysis, market
analysis and financi al programming are to be covered .
viii. Implem entation : impl ementation is operationalising the to urism plan. It
also follows up , monitors and evaluates. Good planning provides
mechanisms that give continuing feedback on tourism project and the
levels of consumer satisfaction reached .

Major Steps in Tourism planning process

Basically planning is concerned with organizing some future events in order to
achieve pre-specified objectives. Integrated planning and development is a fo rm of
comprehensive planning. It is comprehensive because it integrates all fo rms of

35
planning-economic, physical, social and cultural. The more detailed levels of planning
still use the same process but with fewer or somewhat different activities depending upon
the type of plan being prepared (Inskeep, 1991 ). The basic planning process that applies
to the preparation of any type of plan can be represented in many ways but the conceptual
approach is the same. Broadly, there can be eight major steps in any planning process that
hold true for tourism planning. They are:
I. Study preparation
II. Determination of development goals and objectives
III. Surveys
IV. Analysis and synthesis
V. Plan formulation
VI. Recommendations
VII. Implementations
VIII . Monitoring

STEP I. Study Preparation

The first step in the planning process is the decision to prepare the plan, which is
usually the decision of Government for National, Regional, and Urban Plans, but may be
the decision, with approval of the government, of the private sector for the more detailed
levels of planning. Obviously, the Government believes that tourism will bring economic
and perhaps other benefits , but these wi ll need to be analyzed and specified during the
plarming process. It is conceivable that the economic, social and environmental costs of
developing tourism will out-weigh the benefits, although on the long-term basis this
seldom is the case at the national and regional level, because much of the success of
tourism depends on how and when it is developed. However, for the development area
and facility development planning, it is not unusual for the feasi bility analysis to indicate
that the project will not be feasible.
An important activity of this step is careful writing of the Terms of Reference
(JOR) of the planning study, so that it is known exactly what is to be done and the
activities required in accomplishing the project. The TOR also often includes a definition
of the kinds of specialists needed to do the study, the time required of each specialists
needed to total study and an estimate of the total cost of preparing the study. Considerable
thought and time should be devoted to carefully formulating the TOR so that the desired
results of the planning study will be achieved. It is common practice for the government

36
to bring in a short-term consultant experienced in formulatin g tourism-planning studies to
assess the specific type of planning needed and write the terms specific type of planning
needed and write the terms of reference in consultations with the Government.
Plans should have a horizon year of when the plan is to be completed realizing, of
course, that development may well continue beyond that date based on new planning
which will be undertaken near the end of the present planning period . Establishing a
horizon year provides a time framework for making projections and recommendations
and staging of development. Long-range national and regional tourism plans are usuall y
prepared for a 15 to 20 year period although in some cases a ten-year period is considered
more suitable, especially in a newly developing tourism area where future conditions are
less predictable.

STEP II . Determination of Objective

Carefully formulated objectives provide much of the basis for the tourism plan
recommendations, and therefore are a very important step in the planning process. The
objectives of developing tourism should be determined in a preliminary fashion at the
commencement of the study, because these often influence the types of surveys, analysis
and recommendations made. The objective at these stage are stated in a tentative manner
because the results of the analysis and plan formulation may indicate that some objectives
are in conflict with one another or that certain objectives cannot realistically be achieved.
For example, if one objective states that a gradual increase in tourist ani vals is desirable
to control social impact but another objective is for rapid growth of economic benefits
from tourism, these two obj ectives may be impossible to achieve because of market
constraints in attracting tourists.
As soon as the analysis has been completed and during the formul ating of the plan
and recommendations, the objectives can be prepared and presented to the policy makers
before a decision is made on which plan and related objectives to fin alize. Tourism
objectives should reinforce any general development objectives alread y adopted for the
country or region. Among certain cases general objectives may be modified to reflect
tourism objectives when they have been finalized .

STEP III . Survey

Survey stage of planning study involves collecting data, both quantitative and
qualitative, on all relevant aspects of tourism considered in the planning process. Th is

37
 survey activity needs to be carefully organized to be efficiently conducted and will
include field surveys of tourists attraction$, facilities and services, transportation and
either infrastructure, discussions with pertinent government officials and private sector
and review of existing data, maps and documents, and any other means to obtain the
information required.
According to Inskeep ( 1991 ), sometimes ingenuity and persistence must be
applied to obtain the information; and quite often, important ideas can be gained through
discussions with local people including the private sector and public citizens. Special
survey may be needed to conduct, for example, on touri st characteristics, expenditures
and attitudes, etc. to obtain the necessary data. As part of the market survey, it may be
necessary to interview tour operators and airlines in the overseas market countries.
If important information is not already available, this situation should be
anticipated and the information collected, perhaps through special surveys, before the
project commences so that expensive project time is not wasted. In the case of land use
and site planning projects, topographic contour maps are necessary; such mapping
requires considerable time and expense to prepare and should be compiled before the
planning projects commences.
Depending on the extent and type of the tourism area, a considerable amount of
time and several team members may need to be programmed for conducting the surveys,
especiall y to visit pl aces, which are not easily accessi ble.

General survey of area characteristics

For tourism process survey approach stage is most crucial. This approach will
study the survey required and approaches to survey of the area characteristics, tourist
markets, fac ilities and infrastructure and the institutional elements, which provide the
basic inputs to the plan analysi s and formulation. Because of their imporiance, survey and
evaluation of tourists attractions and activities are treated as a separate subject.
The survey approach is that of a combination of research of existing reports,
documents, maps and other sources, holding meetings with government officials, private
sector spokesmen and other resource people, often from institutes and universities and
field inspections. For the survey of to uri st attractions, facilities and services and tourism
infrastructure, there is no substitute for careful fie ld surveys. With a multi-disciplinary
team, each team member will be surveying his/ her area of responsibility although the

38
team will often travel together for much of the field survey for efficiency of scheduling
and to exchange information and ideas.
The general geographic characteristics of the country or regwn should be
surveyed to provide the background for overall understanding of the area and to help
determine the focus for specific research and analysis, which will be required, such as
identification of tourist attractions and areas suitable for development of tourists facilities.
This general survey requires both document and map research and field visits,
which can often be combined with the specific surveys, carried out for various plan
components. According to (Inskeep, 1991 :34) except for the type of information observed
on field visits, much of the basic survey data required is already available in map or
report form from the government of the planning area or from universities. However, the
availability of data varies appreciably among countries and regions and, in some cases,
estimates will need to be made based on observation. When possible, it is very useful to
obtain an overall visual impression of the study area (or selected parts of it) from an
airplane or helicopter, and to make the effort to read general geography books about the
country or region.

Natural Environment
The natural environmental characteristics to be considered are explained in the
following sections :
• Climatic patterns include rainfall , temperatures, humidity , extent of sunshine
(or cloudiness), wind speeds, and directions and the seasonal variations of
these factors. Also, intensity and frequency of climatic hazards such as high
winds and rainfall (hurricane, cyclone, typ hoon s, intense monsoon rains, etc.)
resulting in loss of life and property damage should be recorded. At the
national or regional levels, climatic patterns only need to be indicated for the
different climatic zones, not for all places. Climatic characteristics can be
plotted on maps .
• Topography refers to the surface features of the land particularly the land
configuration and slope such as flat, hilly and mountainous areas, and the
hydrography of lakes, rivers and wetlands (swamps, etc.). At the national and
regional planning levels detailed mapping is not required but topographic
characteristics can be generalized into, for e.g., lands of less and more than

39
 20% slopes (often used as a dividing line between developable and non-
developable land) and the maj~r water features. Areas prone to flooding
should be identified. At the detailed planning level , topographic contour
maps are required for planning.
• Wildlife is indicated by type, extent and general location. For most wildlife,
their habitat range must be considered, not only their present location.
• Coastal and marine characteristics include type of coastline with the location
of beaches, reefs, offshore islands, tidal range and high and low tide lines
along the shore, any erosion or deposition taking place, and underwater sea
life of coral formations , fishes , etc. Underwater topography may also be
important to know. The marine areas should be critically evaluated for any
hazards they presen~, such as strong currents and undertows, which are
dangerous for water recreation.
• Aspects of geological characteristics related to resource locations including
underground water and mineral resources, and suitability for development in
terms of stable foundation material should be identified . Any earthquake
hazards should be researched .
• Important ecological systems usually comprising a combination of climate,
topography, vegetation and wildlife, and ecological systems of both land and
water areas should be identified and their scientific/conservation value
evaluated.
o Natural resource areas include lands highly suitable for agriculture and
mineral reso urce areas, which perhaps should be preserved for those uses.
Based on analysis recommendations of the plan, tourism resource areas will
also be identified .

Historical influences
Knowledge of the history of an area is important in tourism planning because
many aspects of the history are visually expressed as tourist attractions such as
archaeological and historic sites and places of historic events, and have influenced
lifestyles, arts and handicrafts. The history of an area also influences present-day social
value systems and attitudes, which are significant socio-cultural considerations in
tourism. The history of the planning area need not be presented in complete detail but

40
should highlight the background needed for understanding certain elements of the tourism
planning analysis and formulation.

Socio-cultural and Economic patterns

Socio-cultural and economic factors to be considered are expressed m the
following sections :
• Number and geographic distribution of population can be shown in tabular form
for the past and present population figures and a population distribution map can
be prepared. Migration patterns of the populations might also be relevant, for
example, the migration from rural to urban pl aces and from low to high
employment areas, because they indicate where employment is needed. Any
population projections that have been prepared should also be researched .
• Age-sex profiles of the country or region should be researched including the maj or
components of the economy, gross national product, income levels and
distribution, type and value of exports and imports and the balance of payments,
and other factors related to the economic evaluation of tourism and establishing
.. linkages between tourism and other economic sectors. Economically depressed
areas should be identified. Unusual (to the potential to urists) economi c activities
may provide interesting types of tourists attracti on features.

Land Use, Se ttlement and Tenure Patterns

At the national and regional pl anning leve ls, the general land uses such as
agriculture by type, indu stry, designated parks, recreati on and conservati on areas, and
settlement patterns of rural, village, town and city along with the transportation network
of roads, rail ways, seaports and airports should be mapped . The land use, settlem ent and
transportation patterns are important to understand relative to selection of touri sm
development areas . Land tenure, i.e. , the type of land ownership or rights, may also be an
important consideration in determining the availability of land for tourism development.
Land tenure categories may include private and government or public lands, fee
ownership or leasehold , communal or individual ownership, etc.

41
Environmental quality
The overall environmental quality of the country or region and especially of the
tourism development areas comprises one of the attractions for tourists, as well as being
important for residents and should be surveyed and evaluated. Environmental quality
factors to be noted during the survey include the fo llowing:
• Air quality: extent of air cleanliness or pollution and the type of pollution.
• Quality of domestic water supply: potability, taste and extent and type of any
pollution.
• Quality of surface waters: appearance, cleanliness and extend and type of any
pollution of rivers, lakes, coastal waters.
• Quality of underground water: cleanliness or extent of pollution of underground
water-this is often an important consideration for provision of domestic water
supply and also may affect the quality of surface waters.
• Noise levels: extent of quietness and excessive noise levels particularly in hotel ,
residential, parks and recreation areas.
• Cleanliness of public places : extent of cleanliness or dirtiness including littering
of ' public places' such as streets and walkways, public building grounds, parks
and recreation areas, roadsides, etc.
• Landscaping: extent, type and maintenance of landscaping, especiall y along
streets, around buildings and in parks and recreation areas.
• Building design and maintenance: appropriateness and attractiveness of building
design styles, and the adequac y of building maintenance.
• Signs: type, size, location, and extent of use and general appearance of advertising
and other types of signs.
• Functional land use and transportation patterns: extents that land use patterns are
functional and efficientl y served with transpotiation facilities and services.
• Open space and parks: extents that urban areas have adequate open spaces and
parks (and that these are well maintained).
• Congestion levels: ease of mobility and extent of pedestrian and vehicular
congestion .
• Environmental disease: existence, prevalence and geographic distribution of
environmentall y related diseases such as cholera, malaria, typhoid and dysentery .

42
 • Other factors: there may also be other environmental quality factors, which are
important in a particular areas.

Tourist Market Survey

It is important to know whether there exists some type of tourism in the country or
region. The survey of past and present tourist arrivals provides important input for the
market analysis and can offer insight to tourist perceptions of the area. This survey should
be made of both international and domestic tourists and where relevant, residents ' use of
tourist attractions, facilities and services. Complete data may not be available from
existing records, and best estimates will need to be made or special field surveys
conducted. The market survey also often includes interviews of tour operators in the
tourist market countries or regions. A survey of general travel patterns relating to the
study area should be conducted to provide the general framework for the market analysis.

Tourists Arrivals and Characteristics

The past and present annual number of tourist arrivals would be determined as an
indicator of the general growth and level of tourism, and monthly figure obtained to
calculate the seasonal fluctuations of arrivals . The characteristics and attitudes of tourists'
arrivals including by seasons should be ascertained to the extent possible as follows:
• Place of origin: The nationality and country of residence for international
tourists and region or city of residence for domestic tourists are essential data
required for marketing purposes . The country of residence in addition to
nationality is important to record because there are significant numbers of
expatriates living outside their countries of nationality. Many of these, such a
fore igners working overseas, are of fairly high socio-economic level s and tend
to travel extensively in regions where they are currently living.
• Purpose of visit: Purpose of visit includes the categories of holiday, business,
study, official mission/ diplomatic and visiting friends and relatives; returning
resident (for expatriates) should also be included , so this category can be
separated from the short-stay tourists. This characteristic indicates the reason
for visiting and obviously is important as important as marketing and facility
planning inputs.

43
• Length of stay: Length of stay, based on the number of nights spent in the
area, is an important factor related to extent of facility use and total
expenditures of tourists.
• Age and Sex I No. of family members traveling: These are important
characteristics to know in determining the tourist profile for marketing and
tourist facility planning. Age can be grouped into general categories (many
tourists do not want to reveal their exact age).
• Type . of employment and income levels : Type of employment can be
generalized into such categories as managerial, professional, skilled worker,
housewife, student and retired. Income levels can also be based on broad
categories. These are useful factors for marketing and facility planning
purposes.
• Where traveled and stayed during visit: Type of employment can be
generalized into such categories as managerial, professional, skilled worker,
housewife, student and retired. Income levels can also be based on broad
categories. These are useful factors for marketing and facility planning
purposes.
• Number of times visited: Whether this is first or successive visit to the
country or region is important to record especially for holiday tourists,
because return visits indicate a sustained interest in the destination.
• Individual or group travel : Whether the tourists are traveling independently or
is with a group tour is important to know for marketing purposes, and also
often relates to fac ility use and expenditure patterns.
o Expenditure patterns: The total amount spent by each tourist and the
distribution of spending based on categories of accommodation, food and
drink, shopping, local transportation and tours, and miscellaneous is essential
information to determine the economic impact of tourism, and provides input
to recommending ways for increasing visitor spending. Expenditure patterns
can best be determined through a visitor survey, although estimates can be
made from hotel, restaurant, tour agency and shop receipts and (for foreign
tourists) possible from foreign currency exchange figures.
• Visitor attitudes and satisfaction levels: Determining visitor attitudes and
satisfaction levels about the country or region generally, and its tourist

44
 facilities, services and attractions specially can provide valuable information
for improving tourism (or not mal}ing any changes depending on the results of
the survey), at least based on present market desires . The visitor attitude
survey usually includes expenditures and characteristics so that these can be
correlated wjth one another. This survey can al so include questions relative to
improvements the tourists would like to have made, and whether they would
like to return for future visits.

The basic information for international tourists can be obtained from the
Embarkation/ Disembarkation (ED) immigration cards if they are properl y designed and
tabulated. However, visitor expenditures and attitudes and some of the other
characteristics require special tourists' surveys. These are usually conducted on a
sampling basis but should be carefully designed to take into account seasonal difference
of tourist profiles. Information on domestic tourists is more difficult to obtain because
they do not pass through immigration and special surveys are required of them ; in some
places a household survey needs to be conducted to determine travel patterns of domestic
tourists and residents utilizing tourists ' attractions and facilities.

Tourists ' Facilities and Services

As part of the survey and evaluation stage of the planning process, any exi sting
tourist facilities and services should be surveyed and evaluated with respect to their extent
and suitability for the present and future level and type of touris m development. Thi s
survey and evaluation provides the basis for recommending improvements needed to
existing facilitie s and services. Also, the existing pattern may well influence the location
considerations in formation of the physical pl an. This survey should include personal
interviews of hotel , tour and travel agency, major restaurant and other tourist enterprise
managers to obtain the trader's views on how tourism and their component of it could be
improved.
Standards for survey and evaluation need to be established based both on accepted
international standards and the tourist markets being aimed for. An important factor in the
evaluation markets being aimed for. An important factor in the evaluati on is that tourists
are expecting "reasonable value for money", i.e. the cost of facili ties and services
available is correlated to the quality level and not overpriced . It is especially important
that minimum standards of hygiene and safety be carefull y evaluated .

45
 The evaluation of fac ilities and services requires field surveys, sometimes tourist
attitude surveys (referred to in the market survey section) and a systematic approach. Any
'
new or expanded facilities and services already approved for development are likely to be
part of the existing pattern in the near future. The location of facilities and their major
characteristics should be indicated in tabular and where relevant, map form.

Accommodation
All types of accommodation - hotels, motels, holiday villages, guesthouses,
residential (self-catering) units, youth hostels, camping and caravan parks, and etc.-
should be surveyed and evaluated. The survey will include location, type and number of
establishment, and number of rooms (or other unit measure), and seasonal and average
annual occupancy rates by types of accommodation. The evaluation must include both the
physical plant and the kinds of facilities and services offered by the establishments, and
the quality level of service.
If a hotel classification system is already being applied in the country or region
and considered by the planning team to be realistic, it can be used to establish categories
of hotels. Otherwise, an internationally accepted system should be used , such as that
prepared by the WTO for each maj or region of the world.

Other Facilities and Services

• Tour and travel operations: Tour and travel operations include agencies
offering tour programmes and tourist handling services and transportation,
ticketing and hotel reservations, i.e., inbow1d and outbound services. Rental
car, motorcycle and bicycle operations should also be included. Particularly
imp01iant is consideration of the availability and competence level of tour
guide services. The extent to which local agencies handle inbound tour should
be carefully examined in some places; inbound tour may be controlled by
foreign operators to the detriment of local business. The tour costing and
programming offered by the tour operators should be reviewed, as well as the
quality and the reliability of tour cars and buses. Any requirements for
bonding should be examined. Specialized types of tours such as hunting and
photographic safaris , hiking and trekking, mounting climbing, river rafting
and boating, etc. should be included in the survey .

46
• Eating and drinking establishments : Restaurants, bars and other types of
eating and drinking establishments, both hotels associated and independent,
designed for a tourist clientele must be evaluated with respect to the type and
variety of cuisine offered and the quality level of food , drink and service .
Especially important is consideration of acceptable standards of hygiene being
maintained, and the physical attractiveness and comfort level of the
establishments. Suitability of location shoul d also be evaluated.
• Tourism information: Usually provided by the tourism office, tourist
information facilities and services must be surveyed and valuated with respect
to location, convenience of access , competence, politeness and foreign
language capabilities of personnel, and type and suitability of printed material
available.
• Shopping and personal services: Shopping facilities and servtces include:
general shopping for convenience items such as films, newspapers and
magazines and toiletries; specialty goods such as fashion cloths and jewelry;
and in some areas duty-free goods such as liquor, tobacco, perfume, and
electric, electronic and optical items. Personal services e.g. barber and beauty
shops, and massage services are included in this survey . Evaluation should be
made of the types of services and goods available, their location and
conveniences of access and pricing levels.
• Money exchange and banking: Money exchange and banking services should
be evaluated with respect to convenience of location and type and quality of
services offered, including at the airports or other arrival points of tourists .
Any special consideration on the tourists' departure at International Airport,
Railway Station or Bus Station should have easy excesses to money exchange
and banks for tourists ' convenience.
• Medical Facilities and Services: Survey and evaluation of medical facilities
and services include availability and quality level of component doctors ,
clinics and hospitals, over-the -counter and prescription drugs and, in some
areas, medical evacuation services.
• Public safety: Public safety facilities and services include the local police
force , security measures exercised at accommodation establishments and
other facilities , fire protection of facilities , and general public safety related to

47
 political safety related to political stability and terrorist actions. Evaluations
should be made not only of th~ availability of public safety but also their
reliability imd effectiveness.
• Postal services : Adequate postal serves is essential for tourism , not onl y for
tourists' use but also for the efficient operation of tourist facilities. Postal
services should be evaluated with respect to both their convenient availability
(location of post office and other postal services) and reliability in terms of
delivery time and protection against loss, as well as efficient and friendly
customer relations .
• Entry and exit facilitation: The entry and exit facilitation procedures of
customers and immigration should be evaluated with respect to physical
facilities, convenience of procedures and honesty, friendliness and effi ciency
of the personnel involved. Also, procedures for extension of tourist visas
within the country should be evaluated.
• Transportation and other infrastructure: Adequate infrastructure is essential
for the proper development of tourism. Transportation facilities and services
and other types of infrastructure need to be surveyed and evaluated as part of
the planning process, which recommendations made on any improvements
needed to bring the infrastructure up to standard for improvements needed to
bring the infrastructure up to standard for present use, and to satisfy the future
projected tourism patterns. Often there are existing plans for improvement and
expansion of transportation and other infrastructure, and these plans must be
evaluated with respect to present and fut ure touri sm needs . An y new faci lities
and service whi ch are already approved and likely to be developed should be
included in the survey and evaluati on. The types of infrastructure and the ir
major considerations are reviewed in the follo wi ng manner:

Transportation facilities and services

The two major transportation considerations are access to the country or region
and the internal transportation system:
• Access to the country or region: Proper transportation access to the country or
region is essential. This access is typically an international airport (or more
than one in a large country) or regional airport, but often also includes

48
 seaports, roads and railways. All types of access to the country or regwn
should be surveyed. The access survey and analysis include the physical
facilities, frequency of service from the major tourist market countries or
other regions in the country, passenger capacities, and efficiency of handling
services at the entry and departure points. The safety levels of the
transportation available must be evaluated.
• Internal transportation system: The internal transportation system in the
country or region of airports and air services, roads and bus services, railways
and rail service, water transportation and any other types, e.g., hiking and
trekking and trekking trails, must be surveyed and evaluated with respect to
serving present and future tourism development areas, tourist attractions and
urban places. This evaluation should include quality and comfort levels and
pricing as well as the types of facilities and services. The relationship and
integration of the internal transportation network with the access points to the
country or region should be analyzed and the extent of integration of different
modes oftransportation evaluated.
Location mapping of the transportation network is necessary and this mapping
can include a system of grading the quality level of the network. The transportation map

can then be related to the mapping of tourism development areas and tourist attractions .
I

Other infrastructure
Survey and evaluation of other tourists' infrastructure include water suppl y,
electric power, sewage and solid vvaste disposal, telecommunications and drainage:
employee housing and related services may be important factor in some places.
• Water supply: Of the various utility services, water supply is one of the most
essential. Tourists' facilities and especially accommodations and related
landscaping and swimming pools require a large amount of water that must be
planned for. Both the extent of availability and the quality of water supply
must be considered generally at the macro-level and specifically for tourism
development areas. If the present water supply systems are not adequate, or
will not be sufficient to serve projected future tourism destination area to cater
to tourists and residents, then potential water resources may be utilized and
consider for planning. These potential resources may include underground

49
 water, surface water, e.g. lakes and rivers, surface catchments, e.g. rooftops
and airport runways, desalination of ocean , sea or brackish underground
'
water. The development cost of water resources w ill need to be estimated. In
addition to the availability of water, the water quality level and any need for
treatment must be considered. If local water quality standards are not
adequate, then international standards adopted by the world Health
Organisation (WHO) should be applied. Investigation also should be made of
any water conservation and recycling techniques being utilized . It is now
common, for example, irrigation water (or with tertiary treatment, for potable
water) . Other conservation techniques are sometimes applied, such as utilizing
salt water for toilet flushing in water-deficient island resorts through
installation of two separate water systems.
• Electric Power: Electric power is also essential but this is more flexible than
water supply because, if necessary, electric power can be generated on-site for
tourist facilities , albeit sometimes at rather high cost. The overall electric
power system of the country or region should be surveyed, and then more
specifically analyzed for the existing and proposed tourism development area.
In addition to the availability of electric power, the reliability of service
including voltage consistency should be reviewed. Even with a reliable
external source, most good quality tourist accommodation establishments wi ll
have their own emergency generation on-site with sufficient output to at least
supply the essential services. The feasibi lity of utilizing energy conservation
measures such as solar power for hot water heating should be investigated.
e Sewage disposal: The area extent, capacity and quality of centralized sewage
co llection and treatment systems, if they exist in the tourism areas, should be
evaluated with respect To capability of serving existing and future tourism (as
well as general) development. If there are no existing facilities, e.g., septic
tanks should be evaluated to determine if they are adequate, and especially
whether they are creating any pollution problems. If they are inadequate,
recommendations must be made on improvements. Sewage disposal
techniques must be related to the scale of development. Often small-scale
facilities can utilize relati vely simple septic tanks and leaching beds disposal
techniques, if soi l conditions are suitable . Larger scale hotels and resorts

50
 require central sewage collection systems and treatment plants. Techniques
for installation of satisfactory sewage systems for hotels and resorts are
available, but become a cost factor in the hotel/ resort development budget.
• Solid waste Disposal : Proper solid waste disposal should always be
considered in the planning of tourist facilities . A survey should be made
whether government operated solid waste collection and disposal systems
exist, and there quality level evaluated. Various techniques of solid waste are
utilized, various techniques of solid waste disposal are utilized depending on
the local situation, e.g. sanitation land fill, incineration and compaction.
Burning of solid waste is used as a source of heating in some areas; and
recycling of at least some of the solid waste, to obviate the need for disposal
and provide raw material for a variety of uses, is becoming a common
practice. If no central system is available in the tourism areas, then the hotel
or resort will need to establish its own system.
• Telecommunications: Telecommunications include telephone, telegraph and
telex and recently telefax. In remote areas, radio or radiotelephone may be
• utilized. The survey and analysis should review the availability and reliability
of telecommunications for improvements needed for present and future use.
Especially important is telex which hotels need for reservation services and
guests utilized for business communication; telefax, which uses the telephone
system, is also becoming important.
c Drainage: Proper water drainage of the land is an essential component of
infrastructure, to prevent flooding during periods of heavy rainfall or when
nearby rivers or lakes are floodin g from rainfall elsewhere. Even in dese11
environments, the occasional rain can be very intense leading to serious and
sometimes destructive flooding. Drainage works are· usually associated with
roadways but in low-lying areas may require canals and special floodway s.
• Employee housing and community services: Although not infrastructure in the
usual sense, tourism employee housing and related community facilities and
services such as schools, libraries, medical clinics, post offices, community
centers and retail shops mu$t be considered in the survey and evaluation for
tourism. In well developed urban and town areas, there may be sufficient
existing housing and community services available for a moderate number of

51
 new tourism employees. But in remote areas or where the tourism
development is large-scale requiring many employees, new housing with
adequate and integrated community facilities and services, as well as the basic
infrastructure, wi ll need to be planned and developed . At the national and
regional planning level , survey and evaluation of these other infrastructure
components are done generally as a basis for policy recommendations and
later detailed planning. However, water supply and sometimes-electric power
must be investigated more specifically because their availability may be
determining factors in selecting tourist facility development areas .

Institutional Elements
According to Edward Inskeep ( 1991 ), the institutional elements to be surveyed
and evaluated in the planning process include present development policies and plans,
government and tourism organizational structures, investment policies and availability of
capital, tourism-related legislation and regulations and training institutions. These are
researched and evaluated generally at this point for subsequent input into the planning
analysis, formulation and recommendations.

Present Development Policies and Plans

Most countries and many regions of countries have some form of adopted
development policies and plans. These may be long-term, commonly for five years
periods, and sometimes include a tourism sector component. These should be carefull y
reviewed to determine any present overa ll polici es, which may influence the formulati on
of tourism policy, and also for any proposed development programme based on its
find ings, but present policies and plans need to first be known. Especially important to
consider are the basic economic, physical and social development policies and strategies
of the country.
Moreover, their may be existing physical development plans for the country, region
and urban areas which should be reviewed for any possible relevant input to the tourism
planning study such as planned new roads , and urban areas which should be reviewed for
any possible relevant input to the tourism planning study such as planned new roads, and
urban and industrial development areas. In some places, there may have been tourism
plans prepared in the past but now outdated (the current study may be a revision of a

52
previOus plan) which should be reviewed for useful background information and
recommendations that are still valid.

Other Institutional Elements

Other institutional elements are only briefly reviewed under following heads:
• Government and tourism Organizational Structures: The overall system of
government and its organizational structure should be understood as a basis
for determining the most suitable organizational role of tourism. For e.g.,
tourism would be somewhat differently organized in a centrally planned
economy and highly centralized government than in mixed economy and
decentralized government structure. The structure and staffing of any existing
tourism department or bureau and advisory board or committee should be
surveyed, as well as private tourism related organizations such as hotel
associations, travel associations . Organizational charts can be prepared to
graphically present the structure of tourism organizations. The effectiveness
of these organizations should be assessed and the present development and
marketing programmes, including promotional collateral material, evaluation.
• Investment Policies and Availability of Capital: The present government
policies for investment in development projects including tourism projects
should be researched. Investment policies often include provision for joint
venture development and incentives allowed to encourage private sector and
international investment, such as exemption from income taxes and provi sion
of land and infrastructure for development sites. The availability of local and
international capital for investment in tourists' facilities is an important
consideration in tourism development and should be investigated .
• Tourism Regulations and Legislation: If tourism already exists in the country
or region, some tourism related legislation and regulations might have already
been adopted. There may be a basic tourism law and specific regulations such
as hotel classification, travel agency and tour guide services and regulations
on zoning, building and hygienic standards which are applicable to tourism
development. These needs to be reviewed as a basis for formulating
recommendations required for tourism including any modifications to the
present ones.

53
 • Tourism Training Institutions and Programmes : In the planning process, any
existing hotel, catering and otHer tourism-related training institution or
programmes should be surveyed as input to the manpower-planning
component of the planning study.

STEP IV. Analysis and Synthesis

Both quantitative and qualitative analysis and synthesis (interrelationship of the
various components of the analysis) must be carefully done of the survey information.
This analysis should be integrated where necessary, for example, relating the types of
tourist attractions to the types of tourist markets. Analysis includes various projections,
such as tourists arrivals and length of stay, tourist expenditures and economic impact,
number and types of accommodation needed for various levels of tourism and the number
and type of employees needed to work in tourism, evaluation of tourist attractions and
transportation, sociocultural and environmental analysis and institutional factors of
organizational structures, legislation and investment policies .
An important type of synthesis is identification of the major opportunities and
problems for developing tourism. These opportunities and problems provide much of the
foundation for future tourism development, and give a focus for making the major
recommendations on ways to develop tourism or improve and expand existing
development.
The analysis phase is also a major activity, which usually requires considerable
time and specialized capabilities, but the quality and extent of analysis are very much
dependent on the availability of good survey data.

Planning Analysis and Synthes is

As per the planning process model, the three main aspects of the analysis are:
1. Market analysis and tourist projections which provide the basis for projecting
accommodation and determining the transportation and other tourist facility needs
and other infrastructure required ; these fac tors then feed into the integrated
analysis and plan form ul ation.
2. Integrated analysis of physical (natural and built environment), social and
economic factors including tourist attractions and activities. From this analysis
can be derived an assessment of the major opportunities and constraints for

'i4
 developing tourism. The integrated analysis then feeds into the plan formulation
stage.
3. Analysis of the institutional components reviewed specifically dealing with these
components.

The Environmental and Social Planning Approach

The analysis and plan formulation approach emphasized and being widely used
is the environmental and social approach which means that utmost consideration is
given to conservation of the natural and built environment and sociocultural patterns
in the process of planning new development. It should be noted here that conservation
implies "planned management" of resources and does not destroy or seriously damage
the environment, generate serious social problems or deteriorate the area's cultural
values and heritage. The environmental and social approach is planning with nature
and society and not against them. This approach to tourism planning is particularly
important because of the close relationship between tourism and the environment and
society.
The environmental and social approach requires that the planning team have a
thorough understanding of the natural and built environment and society; without this
knowledge there is not sufficient input to properly conduct the analysis and prepare
the plan.

Market Analysis
o Analysis input to planning: Tourism planner should be aware of the basic
approaches to market analysis because it is such an important element of the
overall planning process. The market analysis is first prepared in a
preliminary fashion, and then based on the integrated analysis and especially
analysis of carrying capacities, the market analysis and projections may be
modified. Further modification may take place during the plan formulati on
stage when environmental and social impacts are assessed . The market
analysis defines the type and extent of tourist markets which can potenti ally
and realistically be induced to visit the area, and which the Government, in
setting its tourism objectives, desires to attract. With respect to the latter
point, for example, it may be felt that certain types of tourists are not

55
 desirable; the so-called "hippie" tourists of the 1960s and 1970s were for
various reasons deemed by some governments not to be the type of tourists
'
they wanted. From the standpoint of planning of tourism development, the
market analysis results in projections of the number, type, length of stay and
other characteristics of tourists by time period. This is essential input to
planning the tourist attractions and activities, facilities and services,
transportation and other infrastructure required. The market analysis also
provides the basis for formulating the marketing strategy and promotion
programme.
• Projection Techniques: Various projection techniques are used: time series or
straight -line projection, which has limitations if no or little tourism currently
exists in the area or the future form and growth of tourism are not expected to
be the same as in the past; the experience of tourism growth elsewhere in
similar tourism situations; market segmentation and catchment analysis;
global and regional trends; and tourism destination capacity or receptivity
analysis. The most effective approach and one commonly used is market
segmentation, which refers to the process of grouping together people of
similar characteristics, origin and desires for travel experiences. However,
tourism global and regional travel patterns, general tourism trends , and
historical growth patterns of the planning area (in a mature tourism
destination), experience of similar capacity analysis is very important in
determining the maximum number of tourists which can be adequately
handled witho ut seri ous problems.

Market segmentation analysis is typ icall y based on the four factors of:
• Socioeconomic or demographic segmentation, which categorizes tourists,
based on their socioeconomic characteristics such as age and income level s.
• Product- led segmentation which relates the types of tourists to the particular
tourist products (attractions, facilities, etc.) that the study area has to offer or
can potentially offer.
• Psychographic segmentation, which involves groupmg tourists by their
attitudes, interests, life styles and travel motivations.

56
 • Geographic segmentation wh ich groups tourists by location of origin as
related to the time-distance and cost of traveling to the tourist destinati ons,
and also considers the environmental and cultural contrasts and similarities
between the origin and destination. Obviously, the accessibility factor is of
utmost importance, but it also must be considered in relation to the first three
types of market segmentation: for example, an affluent adventure or special
interest tourists may travel a long distance at high cost to reach their desired
destinations.

Consideration must also be given to special factors such as cultural affinities,

which motivate some tourists to visit places where their ancestors lived, or places of
similar cultural values (this perhaps can be placed under product-led segmentation).
Competi tor analysis, i.e., relative merits of the tourist product and its cost in competing
destinations, is an important element of the market analysis.
The market analysis provides the basis for making the projections of tourist
arrivals by number, characteristics, types of travel interests and length of stay. The
projections are usually made for specified time periods such as five-year periods, during
the life of the plan. A common appreach used by the WTO is to establish market targets,
which refers to the number and type of tourists, which the area realisticall y can attract if
certain actions are undertaken ; for example, provision of more frequent air services from
the market ,c ountries, improvement of some major to uri sts attractions, organization of
interesting tour programmes, development of new accommodations and implementation
of a market promoti on programme. This approach is particu larly essential to attract and
handle touri sts . The targets, if adopted officially, give the government and private sector a
speci fie objective to aim for and an incentive to undertake the necessary actions and
investment.
Market proj ections or targets depend on many variables, which are only partially
predictable, including international economic conditions and their impact on travel.
Consequentl y, it is common practice to establish a range of tourism development and
provide a sufficientl y accurate basis fo r preparing a programme of facility development.
The high and low ranges can be adj usted through periodic review of market trends and
res ulting revisions in the projections.

57
 Experience has shown that market projections or targets m ay be valid during the
long term but the time period of realizing the demand level of tourists may need to be
adj usted; for example, a market target for 1995 may actually be reached in 1998 but
otherwise be valid . With this relativel y minor type of deviation, the important task for the
tourism planner is to adjust the development and the market demand level, so that there is
not a waste of investment resulting from underutilized facil ities or a constraint imposed
by limited facilities.
For long-term changes in market trends, planning should allow for future
adjustments through staging of development. At the national level, for exan1ple,
development of a new tourism region can be delayed until there is sufficient market
demand ; at the regional level, a new resort need not be develop ed until j ustified by
increasing market demand.

STEP V. Policy and Plan Formulation

This stage refers to formulation of tourism policy and all the plan components and
preparation of the physical structure plan and its related elements. The best approach to
formulation is to first prepare and evaluate alternative policies and outline plan. There is
seldom a single ideal plan for an y area, which achieves all the desired objectives, but,
rather, the optimum plan for any area, which achi eves most of the obj ectives without
generating serious problems , must evo lve through evaluation of alternative plans.
After evaluation of the altern ati ve plans, the one plan (or combination of various
elements from different altern ati ves) which best meets the objecti ves , optimizes economic
benefits, reinforces positive and mi nimizes negative socio cultural and environmental
impacts is se lected and compl eted in detail.
Planning and managing natural attraction features involves:

o Establishing a basic policy and platming approach,

() Understanding the planning process and teclmiq ues,
o Applying pl anning principles, and
o Effecting conti nuous management of the resources.
Policy and planning of natural attraction resources (at regional or local levels)
should be based on the national or regional policy if it exists at these levels.

58
STEP VI. Recommendations
Based on the various types of analyses prepared and the optimum policy and
'
plan selected, all the relevant recommendations can be made. For some types of
recommendations, alternatives must also be evaluated before the best recommendation
can be made. To be comprehensive and provide the guidelines needed, recommendations
should be made on all aspects of tourism. In some cases, alternative recommendations can
be presented in the final document, with government or the private sector deciding which
recommendation to pursue depending on future circum stances.
At this point the planning process of formulating the policies, plans and
recommendations, the project steering committee and tourism authority should review
and offer guidance on the proj ect team' s fi ndings and alternative recommendations,
indicated subsequently, this review is focused on a draft report (possibility preceded by an
interim report for some projects) which can be examined in detail by the committee.

STEP VII & VIII Implementation and Monitoring

The final step is implementation and monitoring of the plan. However, the means
of implementation should be considered throughout the planning process and especially
during the policy and plan formulation stage, so that the final plan is realistic to achieve.
Under the implementati on step, the sequence of actions required for implementation is
indi cated. During and after implementation, to urism development must be monitored to
make certain that it is acco mp lishing the objectives, following the development back on
track. Sometimes, resulting from changing circumstances such as new market trends,
adj ustments should be made to the plan, but ahvays making certain that any planning
modifications do not abrogate the bas ic objectives of tourism development.

2.9 Evaluation
Planning acti ons at the destination level need regular evaluation. Communities and
their surrounding regions are involved daily in a great many public and private actions
other than tourism - services, education, sanitation, land use, and policing. Whatever is
done to plan tourism will need to be evaluated frequently in context with all other
planning and development. If the destination has a tourism plan in place, it will need
monitoring and freq uent assessment.

59
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