Nicole Bornales

TOURISM PLANNING; A DISCUSSION PAPER We are now living in a world that is more uncertain than before; a world where the environment in which we operate keeps changing around us. The absence of a plan will likely result for all to be all over the place and in the process creating unnecessary overlaps and wasting scarce resources. A good plan will guide us to answer questions such as what is to be done; why must it be done; where will it be done; when will it be done; and who will do it. These are important questions to be decided upon in the plan to avoid overlapping and wastage of resources. Having a good plan will therefore be helpful in anticipating future risks. Planning in this context is defined as an important element to stay focused on the goals despite the constant change of situations around us. It helps to direct and redirect the future for self and others for an efficient living standard. It is a process of setting goals, developing strategies, and outlining tasks and schedules to accomplish the goals. It is the process of deciding in detail how to do something before you actually start to do it. It starts after dreams, needs, desires and ideas take birth in life. In every aspect of our lives planning plays a crucial role. Tourism development refers to the growth and maintenance of the tourism industry in a given locality. And, of course, tourism planning is a very important part of this. On a basic level, tourism development can be defined as creating strategies and plans to increase, develop and encourage tourism for a destination. If done badly, tourism development can destroy the very environment or culture that it relies on. It can disrupt local economies, cause inflation and negative effects to local people and businesses. That is why planning is important in the tourism industry. In order to show the relevance of applying approaches and techniques in planning, it is important to consider this statement: “ Making a plan without the right tools is like making spaghetti without a pot”. It does not state but it implies that planning is really just an abstract act until a plan is executed. “If you don’t have a pot, or project management tools, then your spaghetti, or project, isn’t going to get done”. Plans are complicated, like recipes. There are a lot of ingredients you need to keep track of and place in the right order. And the use of approaches and techniques in planning will make it more structured / effective and efficient. In tourism, when there is a plan and it is a good plan, the objectives and goals of the industry become much clearer to meet. The planning of organizations under this industry are relevant since it will provide them with a clear direction to direct their efforts towards the same objectives, success. This will reduce the risks of uncertainty. Tourism planning has its approaches and techniques. The approaches and techniques include the following: system approach, comprehensive approach, integrated approach, environmental and sustainable approach, community approach, implementable approach and systematic approach. The systematic approach is based on the generalization that everything is interrelated and interdependent. A system is composed of related and dependent elements which when in interaction, forms a unitary whole. It requires that adequate information about the system is available to understand and analyze it. Computer technology is needed to collect and analyze data. This system is simply an assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex whole. This approach brings to tourism and the society, in general, broader dimensions of thinking, the awareness of interdependency, interconnectivity, and responsibility for the behaviour of a system, which can be observed by feedback loops. The comprehensive Approach analyzes and plans all aspects of tourism development on a broad scope. In this approach, tourism is planned, developed, and managed in such a way that the natural and cultural resources are not used up so that they are available for continuous and permanent use in the future. In an integrated approach, tourism is planned and developed as an integrated system within itself and integrated into the overall plan and development pattern of the area. In an environmental and sustainable approach, tourism is planned, developed, and managed in such a way that the natural and cultural resources are not used up so that they are available for continuous and permanent use in the future. Community tourism planning approach focuses on the social and political context within which tourism occurs and it advocates greater local community control over the development process. Bringing educational elements towards the whole community is also one of the strengths of this approach. In the implementable approach, the tourism development policy, plan and recommendations are formulated to be realistic and implementable, and the techniques of the implementation are considered throughout the policy and plan formulation with the implementation techniques, including a development and action program or strategy. The last approach in tourism planning is the systematic approach. This type of approach refers to an orderly and organized programming of activities pertaining to planning and development. In planning it is important to know what type of plan is efficient and effective for the organization. In tourism, there are four types of planning. The first is land use planning, it is the allocation of land to its best use with respect to the environmental condi- tions and needs of the human population. Second is the facility site planning. It is the planning for the tourism facility site which includes individual buildings such as hotels, commercial centers, and visitor facilities. Third planning is the facility design. This is an important component of a tourism business's overall operations, both in terms of maximizing the effectiveness of the production process and meeting the needs of employees and tourists. The basic meaning of facility is the space in which a business's activities take place. And the last is the special studies, which are often undertaken based on the needs of the area. These studies pertain to environmental, socio-cultural, economic impact analyses, marketing analysis and promotion programs. The types of planning in tourism comes with levels which includes the following; first is the international level. At the international level tourism planning typically involves; international transportation services; the movement and scheduling of the tours of tourists among different countries; the development of major tourist attractions and facilities in neighbouring countries and the working strategies and promotional programs. Second is the national level of tourism planning, it is concerned with tourism policy, infrastructure facilities and a physical structure plan which includes important tourist attractions, selected tourism development regions, international entry points, facilities, and services. Third level is the regional level of tourism planning, it is more specific than the national planning level. The fourth level is the sub-regional level. The elements of the subregional plan usually include tourist attractions, location of accommodation and other tourist facilities and services, entry points to the sub region, transportation facilities, and infrastructure. Planning must be done in a process, in order to give a concrete and organized result. The first step in the process of tourism planning is to acquire understanding. This step is equivalent to education, the person who will make the most significant decision must acquire the necessary understanding to portray a framework for their decision making. Second step is the preliminary position statement. The formal statement of interest should develop in this step in order to show the objectives they would like to obtain and the result they wish to achieve. Third is commitment for tourism study. There should be an intensive study which establishes feasibility and serves as a basis for actual development. Fourth is market and resource analysis. In this step, datas ang gathered and correlates on the overall size of such destination or prospective market and the share that market is expected to gain. Fifth, conceptual planning. This activity uses the results of the market forecast to establish image and identification for the project area. This involves a general description of what the area should look like and how it will function after development has taken place. Sixth step is the plan approval. This is the recognition of the necessity of the plan after a thorough review of the conceptual plan , the responsible decision makers should make a decision on whether the tourism planning process should proceed to the master plan. Seventh step is the master plan. This involves the expenses on time and money which are five to ten more expensive than the previous activities. It is because the master plan is more detailed and frequent changes take place because of the nature of the cooperation required between the public and the private sectors. After the completion of the master plan, many commitments are needed. The next step is the final commitment. The government must pledge legislation policies, funds and programs to encourage tourism. Failure to secure any commitment to the sector will result in failure, that is why it must be closely coordinated. The staged implementation program is the second to the last step. This step is important since implementation activities will fill the gap between accepted development plans and the creation of the operational, integrated tourism industry. The last and final step is the evaluation and direction. Established operations must be monitored to assure continuity quality of services and operating success. As well as mechanisms to provide continuous feedback on tourism volumes and levels of satisfaction provided. In tourism planning, there are major elements that must be considered. First is the market analysis which requires a thorough study of past and present trends, travelers profile , habits and performances, market position and destination images. Assessment of resources is the next element. This includes visitor attractions, culture, man power, infrastructure and superstructure, transportation, support services and accommodation. The third element is the marketing, the process of selecting a target, choosing strategies to reach the market, establishing objectives, coordinating the efforts of those involved in promoting the destination and evaluating successes and failures. The fourth element is the economic and financial analysis. It involves a careful analysis of economic conditions and financial requirements such as feasibility study, cash flow, available capital and interest rate. On the international level, economic analysis also includes balance of trade from inbound and outbound tourism. Next is the environment and last is the social impact. Developers of a tourist destination should consider the effect of tourist growth on the local population. Too much contact between the resident population and visitors can lead to internal trouble. This is the reason why many plan and develop resort areas away from population centers to avoid congestion and to be able to distribute tourism resources over a wide area. In developing destinations, there are stages that are considered also. These stages are the inception stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage. The stage of inception refers to the discovery. Stage. This stage of development is where few adventurous tourists visit the area, and some of them decide to stay to become expatriates. The second stage is the growth stage, this is the stage where the local response initiates resulting in the number of tourists to increase. In this stage the area is expected to be developed as a good reputation by word of mouth. The third stage is the maturity, the institutionalization. This stage is characterized by the increase in the number of tourists and the formalization of services, itineraries and roles. There is a loss of local decision-making and control in the tourist industry. The last stage of destination development is the decline, the saturation and alienation of the destination. In this final stage, the destination’s residents have become disillusioned because tourism has not produce at all the benefits they expected, and for the visitors, the factors that were responsible for the earlier success of the destination such as the hospitality of the residents, the clean and uncongested environment and the appeal of the new destination have disappeared resulting the tourist begin to look for another unaltered destinations.