Tourism Management Planning

TOURISM MANAGEMENT PLANNING One of the most basic differences between the terms is that tourism public policy establishes general guidelines for the tourism development of a country, state or municipality, as stated in the tourism plan. Planning, in turn, must consult and be based on tourism policy, so that it is transformed into a more practical instrument that allows action, unlike tourism policy, which is a more theoretical instrument. Planning is very important because it leads to tourism development in the location where it is implemented. Without these instruments, development goals and guidelines become unclear, which can make sustainable tourism practices unfeasible. Tourism planning is a process that aims to guide the tourism development of a business, location, region, municipality, state or country, based on a specific situation, to achieve the objectives that have been proposed during the planning itself. Padin 2012 revealed that tourism planning can have various focuses and directions. It may adopt an economic, social or environmental view; however, it is ideal to consider all these aspects. Getz (1991) identified five main traditions in tourism planning: 1. Boosterism With efforts to encourage development which is a form of planning. 2. By viewing tourism as an economic sector that focuses on development and marketing. 3. Focuses on the spatial aspects of tourism and physical resource planning, emphasizing careful analysis of resources and accessibility. 4. Community planning which requires each location to control its planning process and objectives, using concepts such as planning and social and community carrying capacity. 5. An integrated and systematic approach, proposing that objectives, policies and strategies should be based on a full understanding of how the tourism system functions. Bissoli (2000, pp. 26-27) states that planning must be considered in terms of: 1. Time: - firstly there is a cycle which is less than 1 year - There is a short term, namely around 1-3 years - Then the medium term is around 3-6 years - Lastly, the long term is more than 10 years 2. Space, there are several parts of space in the planning, namely: - national, state, regional, local/municipal, sectoral, and metropolitan. 3. Scope of interests, the scope of interests is divided into several parts, namely: - global/macroeconomic (involving all economic sectors) and - sectoral/microeconomic (involving certain subsectors). Cooper et al. (2005) presents a basic linear structure for tourism planning steps as follows: 1. Environmental analysis (external and internal): this step involves creating a general description of the area where the plan will be developed, including an understanding of the history of the destination. This includes internal analysis (planned location) and external analysis (influence and impact of planning on the external environment, including analysis of potential demand that will visit the destination). 2. Diagnosis: in this step, the planner must collect as much data as possible about the location to be planned. They must be clear about planning objectives, identify problems to be solved, and understand the relationship between social actors and tourism in an integrated manner. 3. Prognosis: this is a prediction about the possibility of tourism development based on past statistical data, government policies for the planned area and tourism development trends for the destination in question. 4. Strategy: this is the established way in which the implementation of tourism activities will be carried out to achieve the stated objectives. It should consider the range of alternative courses of action and the amount of financial resources allocated for planning. 5. Implementation: this is the time when the plan (document) will begin to be developed in practice. These steps include fundraising, workshops to raise awareness among destination residents and development of marketing programs. 6. Evaluation: planning does not end with implementation. It is necessary to continuously evaluate the results and correct possible errors and deviations from the objectives, to reformulate the strategy and to keep those involved in the planning-implementation process updated at all times. Goeldner and Ritchie (2009) take other planning steps that ultimately return the same results and can be mapped to the steps presented above. They include the following: defining the tourist system, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting the collected data, drawing up a preliminary plan, approving the plan, drawing up a final plan and implementing the plan. One of the greatest difficulties in tourism planning is implementation, because implementation occurs simultaneously with the administration of human and financial resources, and practice does not always follow theory. Therefore, there is a constant need to evaluate processes. Despite the clear advantages presented by public policy cycles (Fig. 27), including the possibility of simplifying complex processes into normative and directed processes in a sequence of events, Dredge and Jenkins (2007) note several disadvantages, including the following: (i) diagrams generally present a very simple view (ii) The process is not always linear or systematic as in some cases, certain steps may not be carried out (iii) The diagram may give the impression that policy formulation occurs cyclically, with the planning agenda set at the start of the process, with implementation and evaluation at the end – in reality, it is not uncommon for the agenda to change continuously; And (iv) The model also does not explain how public policy changes from one step to the next Today, regardless of the type of tourism planning chosen, certain factors must always be considered, including the following, which is based on Cooper et al. (2005), Goeldner and Ritchie (2009) and Mason (2003): ● Strategic planning in sustainable tourism development. ● Perception that tourism is important as a productive sector that provides many jobs. Valorization of tourism products as a sector differentiator. ● Education and training of skilled workers. ● Seasonality, which is one of the most difficult problems to solve in tourism (Connell et al., 2015). ● Concern for environmental and socio-cultural preservation.