Tourism policy structure content and process

TOURISM POLICY STRUCTURE CONTENT AND PROCESS 1. Tourism Policy: A Definition - A set of regulations, rules, guidelines, directives, and development/promotion objectives and strategies that provide a framework within which the collective and individual decisions directly affecting long-term tourism development and the daily activities within a destination are taken. - The purpose of tourism policy: to seek to ensure that visitors are hosted in a way that maximizes the benefits to stakeholders while minimizing the negative effects, cost, and impacts associated with ensuring the success of the destination. - Tourism policy is very important because it affects the extent to which all the day- to-day operational activities of toursim, such as marketing, event development, attraction operations and visitor recetion programs are successful. 2. The focus of tourism policy : The competitive/sustainable destination Tourism destinations aredefined in terms by recognized political jurisdictions: • A nation/country • A macroregion, consisting of several countries/ other groupings • A province/state within a country • A localized region within a country • A city/town • A unique locale, such as a national park/a historic site … 3. The major parameters of tourism destination management: The competitiveness of a destination refers to its ability to compete effectively and profitably in the tourism marketplace. Sustainability pertains to the ability of a destination to maintain the quality of its physical, social,cultural and environmental resources while it competes in the marketplace. Successful TDM involves traditional economic/ business management skills balanced with environmental management, capabilities. The economic business skills required are those related to effective resource development and deployment. The include strategic planning for destination development, the marketing of the destination , the management of the human resourece necessary to deliver quality visitor experience, the management of the financial resources/investment required to support development, and the ability to develop the organizational capacity to coordinate and ensure the delivery of essential services. The concept of stewardship has been expanded to encompass management practices designed to both maintain and enhance the commemorative, social, and cultural integrity of the destination This human presence has two main compenents: visitor management and resident/community management. The tasks of resource deployment and resource stewardship are linked by the shared need for a tourism destination management information system (TDMIS) to support policy formulation, strategic planning, day to day decision, making and overall performance evaluation Policy research seeks to gather and interpret macrolevel data related to present values and the evolution of trends of major economic, social, technological, and political factor that bear on the success of the destination. 3.1 A model of the competitive/sustainable destination The purpose of tourism policy is to ensure a common, agreed upon purpose for tourism and to establish the broad parameters for planning and coordinating the efforts of all tourism stakeholders 3.2 A warning: tourism destination and tourism policy do not exist in a vacuum Tourism policies are but part of the social, economic, and political policies that govern and direct the functioning of the overall society within which tourism exists and functions. In brief, a number of more general policies ( regulation, rules, directives, objectives, strategies) are controlled by governments, as well as other industry sector and organization, and these policies may have a significant effect on the success of tourism and tourism destinations. These includes: • Passport and visas • Education policy • Taxation • Cultural policy • Interest rate policy • Foreign investment policy /regulations • Environmental policy • Local zoning policy/bylaw • Customs and immigration policy • National/provincical/ local policy pertaining to funding support for major public facilities • Communications policy • Unfrastructure policy • Minimum wage policy • Currency exchange – rate policies – directly affect destination cost competitivenesse • Welfare policy • Legal system To summarize, a whole range of social, economic,legal and technological policies greatly affects the appeal, attractiveness, competitiveness and sustainability of tourism destionation.  The challenge facing tourism managers is to try to influence global policies where they can, and adapt to them as effectively as possible where they cannot 3.3 The Many Influences on Tourism Policy Tourism does not exist in a vacuum. It can function smoothly only if it shares, cooperates and dialogues effectively with many other sectors of society and of the economy. Each of these interfaces can pose either a threat or an opportunity for tourism. The environment sector and the extractive industries have traditionally viewed tourism as a competing force, the technology, entertainment, and transportation sectors most often perceive tourism as an ally or business opportunity. In order to dialogue and to present its case effectively at each interface, the tourism sector must be a capable, as well trained, and as well prepared as the professionals of any specific sector at any given point in time 3.4 The Multidisciplinary Nature of Tourism and Tourism Policy Tourism is a multidisciplinary phenomenon ( see Figure 1.3). the tourism experience is impacted by a range of economic,psychological, societal, technological, legal, and political forces. 3.5 Some Other Characteristics of Tourism Policy In addition to the multidisciplinary nature of tourism policy, it also possesses several other essential characteristic: • It must focus on macrolevel policies/ even transnational level. • It must be designed to formulate policies having a long time perspective. • It must concentrate on how critical and limited resources can best respond to perceived needs and opportunities in a changing environment. • It must recognize the intellectual nature of the process of policy formulation. As such, it must incorporate tacit knowledge and personal experiences as important sources of information • It must encourage and stimulate organized creativity so as to avoid policies based on stereotyped or outmoded perceptions. • It must be constructed to permit and facilitate a continuing dynamic social process requiring inputs from multiple sources. • It must be break down the traditional boundaries between industry sectors in tourism. • It must relate policies of the tourism subsystem to those of the total socioeconomic system of a nation or region of which it is a part • It must acknowledge the destination roles of both competition and cooperation and seek to identify situations where each is appropriate 4. Tourism Policy: Structure, Content and Process: 4.1 The Structure of Tourism Policy Figure 15.5: Provides one framework for tourism policy (i.e., a set of guidelines for successful destination development and operations). Tourism Philosophy Tourism Vision Tourism Objectives and Constraints Supply Macromanagement Demand Development Organizational Structure Development Strategies Stratagies Operational/Tactical Operational/Tatical Supply Development Demand Policies/Programs Development Policies/program 4.1.1 Tourism Philosophy _ An explicit tourism philosophy is an essential foundation on which to develop a coherent policy _ A philosophy may be defi ned as a system for guiding life — a body of principles of conduct, beliefs, or traditions — or the broad general principles of a particular subject or fi eld of activity. Íts purpose that indicates the beliefs and values of members of a society concerning how tourism shall serve the population of a country or region. _ Stress the critical role that the values of destination residents exert in determining the context of tourism policy _ Tourism policies that do not reflect the values of the destination stakeholders, or hosts, will inevitably fail to gain ongoing popular or political support 4.1.2 The Destination Vision Visions can take many different forms. Typically, however, a destination vision is structured as shown in Figure 15.6 . Destination Vision – A Conceptual Framework - Preamble Core Vision Elements of the Vision Ecology Awareness Visitor Experience Economy Community Governance VALUES On which the Vision Is Based PRINCIPLES Guiding Implementation of Vision _ The preamble sector of a vision sets the tone and provides the context and rationale for the vision being developed. _ The core vision, as the name implies, attempts to capture the overall essence of the ideal future for the destination in question _ The values component of the vision statement seeks to provide an understanding of the deeply held enduring beliefs of the stakeholders formulating the vision _ Once the core vision and its elements have been agreed upon, it is frequently useful to provide a statement of principles designed to provide guidance as to how the vision and its elements should be interpreted and implemented. 4.1.3 Crafting versus Formulating a Strategic Vision _ Policy formulation is a term refl ecting a traditional approach to strategic planning that can be described as prescriptive in orientation _ Crafting a strategy is a dynamic, evolving process in which strategies take form as a result of learning over a period of time, as opposed to being formulated at a fixed point in time. _ Crafting strategy requires dedication, experience, involvement with the material, the personal touch, mastery of detail, a sense of harmony, and integration 4.1.4: Tourism Objectives and Constraints _Component three of a tourism policy consists of a statement of the objectives of the tourism system _ The objectives of the tourism system should possess a number of important characteristics First, because the objectives are formulated in light of the tourism vision, their achievement should clearly contribute to the fulfi llment of this vision Second, in order that the objectives can be qualified as operational, it is essential that managers are able to measure the extent to which desired results have or have not been attained Third, we must ensure that the measures selected with respect to each objective are indeed valid indicators of the desired results; that is, they must measure what we truly want to achieve. Fourth, in the common situation where the tourism system has multiple objectives, it is advisable to indicate an order or priority among objectives Fifth, the objectives must be related to a given time period as is directly stated in the above definition Finally, the objectives that are stated must be reasonable 4.2 The Process of tourism policy formulation: This process is conceptualized as containing distinct stages grouped into four main phases (Figure 15.7 ). These phases are identified as the definitional phase, the analytical phase, the operational phase, and the implementation phase. 4.2.1 Definitional Phase _ Defi nition of tourism destination system _ Explication of a tourism philosophy _ Crafting of a destination vision _ Objectives and constraint The definitional phase of tourism policy formulation is concerned with the development of explicit statements that defi ne the content and direction of the overall tourism system in question. The remaining three components of the defi nitional phase (Figure 15.7 ) involve the explication of a tourism philosophy, the formulation of a destination vision, and the determination of tourism objectives and constraints for the destination 4.2.2 Analytical Phase Internal Analysis Review of existing policies and programs Resource audit Strategic impact analysis External Analysis Macrolevel analysis of current and future demand Microlevel analysis of current and future demand and behaviors Review of competitive and supportive tourism development and promotion policie _ The analytical phase accepts these decisions as a given and proceeds to carry out the extensive collection and assessment of information needed to identify and assess the desirability of alternative means of attaining the destination vision and to achieve the goals de ned by the vision. _ The overall process of analysis is best viewed as being composed of two major subprocesses: (1) an internal or supply - oriented analysis, and (2) an external or demand - oriented analysis. + The internal/supply analysis consists of a thorough review and analysis (frequently termed an audit ) of two major elements The first element relates to existing policies and programs for the development of the various components of tourism supply A second element of the supply analysis is termed a resource audit . A resource audit should be conducted with two goals in mind. First, it should provide acomprehensive cataloguing of the quantity and distribution of tourism facilities and services within the tourism system. Such information is basic to an understanding of the current state of affairs of supply development. Second, the resource audit should provide some assessment of the quality of existing facilities and services. The third form of internal analysis is a strategic impact analysis. This analysis seeks to provide policy makers with well - defi ned benchmarks as to the extent to which tourism is currently impacting the destination in economic, ecological, social, and cultural terms. + The external/demand analysis is composed of three distinct types of analytical Activity The first involves macrolevel analysis of data that describes and defi nes the overall nature and structure of current tourism demand as well as those markets having a potential for future demand. This form of analysis relies heavily on aggregate statistics measuring the flows of tourists and travel - relateexpenditures within a region The second type of external/demand analysis is termed microlevel analysis. Here, rather than focusing on aggregate trends in tourism demand, attention is directed toward gaining an understanding of the motivations and behavior of the different segments of the total tourism market The final component of external/demand analysis involves a review and evaluation of competitive and supportive tourism development and promotion policies and programs 4.2.3 Operational Phase Identification of strategic conclusions Implications of conclusions for supply and demand development Policy/program recommendations This operational phase is envisaged to contain three conceptually different types of activity The identifi cation of strategic conclusions flows directly out of the analytical phase, and its goal is to synthesize the large amounts of information obtained into a limited number of major conclusions. This process also must attempt to provide conclusions that assess the impact of the trade - offs that inevitably are made when attempting to match supply and demand. The subsequent stage of the policy formulation process is the identifi cation of specifi c “ policy/program recommendations for supply/demand development. ” 4.2.4 Implementation Phase Implementation of strategy for destination of development, promotion, and stewardship Allocation of responsibilities for recommendation implementation Identifi cation of sources of funding to support competitive initiatives and stewardship programs Specification of timing for recommendation implementation Monitoring and evaluation of the results Finally, for a destination tourism policy to truly succeed, it is essential to include an implementation phase. At a minimum, such a strategy must: (1) identify the individual groups or organizations that will assume responsibility for each major dimension of the policy realization, (2) establish initial estimates of the fi nancial requirements, and (3) provide preliminary timelines for the launching of all major [...]...facilities, events, and programs that support the destination vision 5 Translating policy into reality - It must be emphasized that once overall supply -and- demand development strategies have been enunciated and appreciate organizational structures put in place - These strategies must be translated into specific policies and programs of an operational nature 6 Formulating policy to deal with crises... deal with crises - Despite the best efforts to formulate tourism policies that support destination development, to plan and execute the development of an attractive tourism destination, and to effectively manage a tourism destination, sometimes the unthinkable happens Example: The September 11, 2001 Terrorist bombing of the twin towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C; the 2002 bombing of... towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C; the 2002 bombing of a tourist-filled nightclub in Bali so on - It is really important to manage cristic in tourism industry - Crisis – causing events are divided into 7 general types and/ or categories of risk: • Economic crises • Informational crises • Physical crises • Human resource crises • Reputation crises • Crises resulting from psychopathic... acts • Natural disasters - The best method of crises management is preparation before a crisis occurs – first implementing effort to prevent the crisis from occurring at all, and then developing the ability to react immediately and effective should an outbreak or incident arise . where each is appropriate 4. Tourism Policy: Structure, Content and Process: 4.1 The Structure of Tourism Policy Figure 15.5: Provides one framework for tourism policy (i.e., a set of guidelines. TOURISM POLICY STRUCTURE CONTENT AND PROCESS 1. Tourism Policy: A Definition - A set of regulations, rules, guidelines, directives, and development/promotion objectives and strategies. Cultural policy • Interest rate policy • Foreign investment policy /regulations • Environmental policy • Local zoning policy/ bylaw • Customs and immigration policy • National/provincical/ local policy pertaining