why tourism planning is important essay

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Tourism Planning: Overview and Importance

What is tourism planning.

…. And What is Planning per se.

Planning is to prepare a Road Map to achieve goals.

The principal phases of an urban planning process are:

Preparatory / exploration phase
Feasibility/planning phase
Formal planning/zoning phase
Design and implementation phase
Operational phase

D.Getz (1987) defines tourism planning as” a process, based on research and evaluation, which seeks to optimize the potential contribution of tourism to human welfare and environmental quality”.

According to Faludi (1973) “Planning is a very important part of the process by which tourism is managed by governments at the national, local and organizational levels”.

If you search online for countries that have had success in planning their tourism, most of them are viewed as great travel destinations. Even to the point that people visit these countries with the guarantee that their travel vlogs will get youtube subscribers . In this day and age, that’s a marker of success.

Tourism development consists of many elements :

developing and managing private-public partnerships,
assessing the competitors to gain competitive advantage and
Ensuring responsible and sustainable development.

Viewing tourism as an interconnected system and a demand-driven sector, assessing private sector investment and international cooperation, tourism clustering and involvement by the Government.

According to Williams cited in Mason (2003);

‘The aim of modern planning is to seek optimal solutions to perceived problems and that it is designed to increase and, hopefully maximise development benefits, which will produce predictable outcomes’.

We should take Planning tourism as an integrated System. Tourism industry is viewed as an inter-related system of demand and supply factors. The demand factors are international and domestic tourist markets and the local resident community who use the tourist facilities and services. The supply factors consist of the tourist attractions and activities as natural and manmade attractions like waterfalls, forests, beaches, monuments, zoos, etc.,

What Planning Should and Should Not Be

Basic Stages in Tourism Development Planning

Tourism development planning is a complex task.There are many variables to consider. There are different levels of tourism planning and policy.

On a basic level, the main stages in tourism development planning include:

Analyses of earlier tourist developments
Evaluation of the of status tourism in the area
Evaluation of the competitors
Formulation of Government Policies
Defining a development strategy and the formation of a programme of action.
The Implications of Planning

Planning enables a range of benefits to all stakeholders involved, for example:

Increases income and jobs
It helps preserve cultural and natural heritage
It increases understanding of other cultures
It builds new infrastructure facilities

(Read more here on Impacts of Tourism)

The impacts of tourism can be sorted into seven general categories:

Environmental
Social and cultural
Crowding and congestion
Community attitude

The costs of Tourism Development

There are also some costs which must be considered and planned for, which include:

Costs of implementing tourist facilities can be costly
The environment can be destructed to make room for hotels etc. to be built
Social standards may be undermined e.g. topless women in Dubai
The natural environment may be polluted

Formulating an approach to tourism policy and planning

There are six ‘golden rules’ that should be applied when formulating an approach to tourism planning and policy, as outlined by Inskeep (1991).

Goal Oriented

Clear recognition of tourism’s role in achieving broad national and community goals

Integrative

Incorporating tourism policy and planning into the mainstream of planning for the economy, land use and infrastructure, conservation and environment

Market Driven

Planning for tourism development that trades successfully in a competitive global marketplace

Resource Driven

Developing tourism which builds on the destination’s inherent strengths whilst protecting and enhancing the attributes and experiences of current tourism assets.

Consultative

Incorporating the wider community attitudes, needs and wants to determine what is acceptable to the population

Drawing on primary or secondary research to provide conceptual or predictive support for planners including the experiences of other tourism destinations

Why Tourism Planning is Important

Tourism planning really can make or break a destination. If done well, it can ensure the longevity of the tourism industry in the area, take good care of the environment, have positive economic outcomes, and a positive benefit to the community.

If executed 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. Unfortunately, developing countries tend to suffer the most from negative impacts such as these, largely as a result of limited education and experience in contrast with Western nations.

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About Rashid Faridi

4 responses to tourism planning: overview and importance.

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Tourism Planning: Importance, Benefits, Types & Levels

Planning is to prepare a Road Map to achieve goals.

In 1987 D.Getz defined tourism planning as “a process, based on research and evaluation, which seeks to optimize the potential contribution of tourism to human welfare and environmental quality”.

Faludi, in 1973, defined tourism planning as “Planning is a very important part of the process by which governments manage tourism at the national, local and organizational levels”.

What is Tourism Planning?

The upkeep and expansion of the tourism sector in a particular area is referred to as tourism planning. Planning for tourism is, of course, a crucial component.

Creating strategies and plans to increase, develop, and stimulate tourism for/in a destination may be summed up as tourism planning. The primary motivation behind establishing and implementing strategies for the tourist industry is to generate money, which will eventually raise the GDP of a nation or region.

What is the need for Tourism Planning?

For the expansion of the sector important to plan tourism activities for the following reasons:

It is necessary to plan tourism activities on different levels and in various manners to promote tourism and boost the economy.
To provide quality to both tourists and residents.
It involves making major decisions which cannot be taken spontaneously.

What are the components of Tourism Planning

Exploration phase/ Preparatory
Planning phase/Feasibility/
Zoning phase/Formal planning
Design and implementation phase
Operational phase

Most nations that have successfully planned their tourism can be found online and are regarded as incredible holiday destinations. People go to these nations hoping their travel vlogs will increase their subscriber count on YouTube. That is an indication of success in the modern day.

Benefits of Tourism Planning

Tourism destination planning should be a vital component of every destination’s tourism development plan to get the best outcomes and please all stakeholders. While some places do a great job of maintaining sustainable tourism, others (typically developing countries) need to recognize the significance of comprehensive tourism development planning.

Tourism planning can benefit various parties involved from the industry in the following ways:

It boosts revenue and employment thanks to tourist spending.
It safeguards cultural and natural assets so that visitors can enjoy them.
It broadens the comprehension of cultural diversity
It constructs new infrastructure, such as sewage systems, roads, etc., for the community.

Impacts of Tourism Planning

The impacts of tourism destination planning can be sorted into seven general categories:

Environmental
Social and cultural
Crowding and congestion
Community attitude

Formulating an approach to tourism policy and planning:

According to Inskeep, six “golden standards” should be followed when creating a strategy for tourist planning and policy (1991).

1. Goal Oriented:

Tourism Planning should be oriented to achieve broad national and community goals.

2. Integrative:

Integrating tourist policy and planning into the economy, land use and infrastructure, conservation, and environmental planning.

3. Market Driven:

Planning for successful tourism growth in a cutthroat international market.

4. Resource Driven:

Developing tourism that capitalizes on the location’s inherent advantages while preserving and improving the features and experiences of existing tourism resources.

5. Consultative:

Considering broader community attitudes, needs, and desires to determine what the population will accept.

6. Systematic:

utilizing primary or secondary information to support planners conceptually or predictably, incorporating knowledge from other tourist locations

Levels of Tourism Planning

Planning and policy for the tourism industry occur at several levels. This can be done in a top-down approach, with international or national bodies, or a bottom-up approach from a local level.

1. International Tourism Planning:

Tourism planning at the international level typically involves international transportation services, the movement and scheduling of tourist tours between different countries, the development of significant tourist attractions and facilities in neighboring countries, as well as the working strategies and promotional programs of many nations.

2. National Tourism Planning:

Tourism policy, infrastructural facilities, and a physical structure plan, which includes significant tourist attractions, chosen tourism development regions, international entrance points, facilities, and services, are all addressed at the national level of tourism planning. Additionally, it is concerned with the quantity, types, and quality of lodging and other essential tourist facilities and services; the country’s major travel routes and their regional connections; tourism organization

rights, laws, and investment policies; marketing and promotion strategies for the industry; education and training initiatives; and environmental, economic, and sociocultural analysis.

3. Regional Tourism Planning:

Regional planning considers factors such as regional policy, regional entrance points, transportation facilities, and services; the types and locations of tourism attractions; the quantity, varieties, and places of lodging and other tourist facilities and services; and the sites of tourist development regions, such as resort areas.

They will also oversee sociocultural, environmental, economic, and impact analyses, regional education and training programmes, marketing strategies, investment policies, organizational structures, legal frameworks, and implementation strategies, including project plans and zoning ordinances.

4. Local Tourism Planning:

Participants at the local level will think about the analyses, outputs, outcomes, and assessment of tourism planning at the ground level.

Types of Tourism Planning

Before creating a comprehensive plan to market the destination, the following types of tourism planning are taken into account:

Spatial Tourism Planning:

Spatial tourism planning attempts to thoroughly process social, environmental, and economic change to bring about certain ends. Drawing plans, maps or diagrams are put together to decide where socio-spatial activities can occur.

Sectoral Tourism Planning:

In this kind of planning, the regions are divided into sections, and each section is called a sector. It concentrates on a manageable area and takes into account the specific infrastructure, land use, transportation, and environmental requirements of that region. Depending on the nature of the products or services provided, economic, social, and administrative activities are grouped into sectors.

Complex Tourism Planning:

When various regions are considered for the purpose of tourism planning, it is known as complex tourism planning. These regions are to be developed comprehensively because of the significant interest shown by international tourists. There is a possibility that these regions are located far away from one another.

Integrated Tourism Planning:

Integrated tourism refers to making tourism the primary industry in a given area by systematically and comprehensively promoting all available economic, social, and tourism resources.

Sustainable Tourism Planning:

Sustainable tourism planning involves striking the correct balance between the requirements of people and the environment. It entails stating the community’s mission, vision, and unique selling point or identity in clear terms. With the help of this type of destination planning in our local communities, we are better equipped to plan for the long term, and respond to changing target markets, trends, and emergencies like the Covid-19 outbreak. Additionally, it guarantees that resources are allocated properly while ethically and sustainably establishing local communities. This method of tourism planning benefits people and places in positive ways on all fronts—socially, economically, culturally, and environmentally—puts sustainability at its core.

Centralized Tourism Planning:

Centralized tourism planning is done by a single authority, usually the state or central government.

Decentralized Tourism Planning:

Organizations are interested in developing tourist spots and planning the various activities visitors can enjoy. (Joint Venture).

They take assistance from government. Suggested Read: Sustainable Tourism

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is tourism planning important.

Destination development plans should include tourism planning since it promotes a destination’s long-term viability and encourages cooperation among important stakeholders..

What are the features of tourism planning?

Three general principles of planning for tourism can be specified as anticipation, regulation and monitoring.

What are the barriers to tourism planning?

According to earlier research conducted in several nations, a common pattern of issues has emerged. For instance, financial constraints, a lack of knowledge, an insufficient amount of time, and other issues have prevented local governments from incorporating tourism into their development plans.

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Tourism Essay for Students and Children

500+ Words Essay on Tourism

Tourism Essay – Tourism is a major economic activity that has developed significantly over the years. It’s an activity that can be recognized in both developed and developing nations. In general terms, tourism is the movement of a person from one place to another to visit and mesmerize the beauty of that place or to have fun. Moreover, the concept of traveling is considered a luxury and only people with higher income can afford this luxury.

The Growth of Tourism

Earlier our ancestors used to travel by sea routes as it was a convenient and most affordable medium but it was time taking. Due to, technological advancement we can now easily travel to any place without wasting time we can travel thousands of miles within a few hours. Technological advancement has shrunk the earth into a global village. Besides, the modern modes are much safer than the modes that our predecessors used.

Effect of Tourism on a Country

For any country, tourism generates a lot of money especially a country like India. Due to the Taj Mahal (one of the seven wonders of the world) every year the government raise a huge sum of revenue. Also, because of tourism other industries also bloom. Such industries include transportation, wildlife, arts and entertainment, accommodation, etc.

Moreover, this ultimately leads to the creation of job and other opportunities in the area. But there are some drawbacks too which can affect the lifestyle and cultural value of the country.

Importance of Tourism

Traveling is a tiring and difficult thing and not everyone is able to travel. But at the same time, it’s a fun activity that takes your tiredness away. Travelling adds flavor to life as you travel to different places that have a different culture and lifestyle. Also, it’s an easy way to learn about the culture and tradition of a place. Besides, for many areas, tourism is their main source of income.

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India- A Tourist Attraction

The Taj Mahal is not the only destination in India that attract tourist. Likewise, there are hundreds of tourist destination that is spread over the Indian plateau. India has a large variety of Flora and Fauna. Besides, the equator divides the geographical land of India into almost two equal halves that make India a country where six seasons occurs.

Moreover, in almost every city of India, there is a historical monument made by the rulers in their time period.

Benefits of Tourism

Tourism not only benefits the government but also the people that live in the local area. It also creates a business as well as employment opportunities for the local people which ultimately help the government to earn income.

Benefits Due to Tourism

As we know that tourism contributes a lot to the revenue of the country. Also, the government uses this income for the growth and development of the country. Likewise, they construct dams, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, Dharamshala and many more.

In conclusion, we can say that tourism is a very productive activity both for the tourist and the government. As they support each other simultaneously. Also, the government should consider improving the conditions of the country as more and more number of tourist visit their country.

Above all, tourism is one of the fastest-growing industry in the world that has changed the scenario of the world.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

01 sep the importance of tourism for sustainable development.

Sustainability is a concept that has been gaining social and political recognition, not least due to the coordinated launch of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, and now with the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Established in 2015 and promoted by the United Nations, the SDGs are key to ensuring an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable world.

The 2030 Agenda is the reference framework for all UN agencies, programs and funds, and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is responsible for ensuring international tourism plays its part in its achievement.

The following guidelines have been established:

The principle of sustainability refers not just to the environmental impact of tourism but also to its social and economic impacts.
To protect and preserve the natural spaces and biological ecosystems of destinations.
To respect the traditions and cultures of host countries and develop intercultural tolerance.
To ensure economic activities that reduce poverty in the host country.

These guidelines are only the first link in a whole chain that is concerned with and advocates sustainable tourism.

These guidelines mean that as tourism restarts, the sector is ready to grow back stronger and better for people, planet and prosperity.

Business Event Management: Navigating the World of Corporate and Social Gatherings Explore key strategies for successful corporate and social event planning and execution with our in-depth business event management course. Read more Start now Add to cart Business Event Management: Navigating the World of Corporate and Social Gatherings Explore key strategies for successful corporate and social event planning and execution with our in-depth business event management course. Read more
Innovation and Digital Transformation in the Tourism Industry Explore digital transformation in tourism as you learn to implement effective strategies, embrace innovation, and elevate customer engagement and operational excellence. Read more Start now Add to cart Innovation and Digital Transformation in the Tourism Industry Explore digital transformation in tourism as you learn to implement effective strategies, embrace innovation, and elevate customer engagement and operational excellence. Read more
Destination Marketing Develop robust marketing strategies for tourism destinations, focusing on market analysis, competitive positioning, and successful campaign implementation. Read more Start now Add to cart Destination Marketing Develop robust marketing strategies for tourism destinations, focusing on market analysis, competitive positioning, and successful campaign implementation. Read more
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Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Explore the link between tourism and gastronomy, the role of food in culture and sustainable alignment with the 2030 Agenda. Read more Start now Add to cart Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Explore the link between tourism and gastronomy, the role of food in culture and sustainable alignment with the 2030 Agenda. Read more
Culinary Basics for Operations, Catering Management and New Techniques Master culinary basics, innovative techniques, menu development, and catering management in this comprehensive course for aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts. Read more Start now Add to cart Culinary Basics for Operations, Catering Management and New Techniques Master culinary basics, innovative techniques, menu development, and catering management in this comprehensive course for aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts. Read more
Train the Trainer Develop professional training skills, enhance communication, and learn to design impactful training sessions in diverse professional settings. Read more Start now Add to cart Train the Trainer Develop professional training skills, enhance communication, and learn to design impactful training sessions in diverse professional settings. Read more
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Hotel Operations Get ready for your career in hospitality with this online course, focusing on operations, guest service, revenue strategies, and more. Read more Start now Add to cart Hotel Operations Get ready for your career in hospitality with this online course, focusing on operations, guest service, revenue strategies, and more. Read more

The Media’s Growing Role in Education

In today’s rapidly evolving world, both the media sector and education share a similar predicament in terms of how to adjust to new technology. As someone who has worked in the digital media space for over 13 years, I have witnessed massive changes in how people consume their daily news, I’ve seen century-old revenue models collapse, and attention spans shorten.

In this era of unprecedented change, there is reason to be both cautious and hopeful. Opportunities and threats that were previously unimaginable are now a reality. Both media and education are facing an uncertain future due to the rapid advance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The challenges we face require creativity and a willingness to adapt. By working together, media and education stand a better chance of weathering the storm. Trust in both sectors is at an all-time low in many countries around the world, and continuing to operate in the same way is unlikely to change this.

Instead, we must seize this opportunity by reevaluating our core functions.

Over the past years, Morocco World News, the news outlet I founded with my brother in 2011, has built several effective partnerships with local universities, focusing on youth empowerment, employability, media literacy and skills development. Such partnerships, I believe, hold the key for a sustainable future for both sectors.

By working together, the media industry and educational institutions can teach science effectively, be more inclusive, boost awareness on issues that matter, empower young people, and encourage growth.

Embracing this technological revolution will allow us to tailor content to the needs of modern students and news consumers. We can offer content in a variety of local languages and promote both critical thinking and problem-solving through increasingly interactive content.

More importantly, sectors such as media and education have the opportunity to promote life-long learning as a vital skill in our ever-changing labour market.

As the director of an English language news outlet in an Arab and French speaking country, I have witnessed how quickly a society can adapt to change and learn new skills. Morocco is now rapidly shifting, and English has become the primary language of science, entertainment and business. Young people are on board and driving the much-needed change.

In the years ahead, AI is set to disrupt both our sectors in seismic ways, prompting us to consider new ways to stay relevant to future generations who themselves face severe uncertainty about their future careers. In my experience, media platforms and educational institutes have an important role to play in the coming upheaval, and we can only do it together.

Strengthening ties between educators and the media will result in more engaging educational content. Interactivity and customization feeds the curiosity of young minds. It also encourages creativity and critical thinking. The use of advanced technology can help boost media literacy by bringing top educational content to the forefront of the news.

How many universities have amazing communicators and public speakers whose inspiring words do not reach beyond their walls? How many news stories are short in detail due to time pressure or a lack of expertise among writing staff? Bringing the two sectors together can solve both issues by connecting journalists with the voices that matter, at a time when they are truly needed.

I believe the answer to the coming wave of transformative technology lies in human connections. We need to connect the curious to those willing to share their knowledge, we need to empower people to check facts and sources, and we need to ensure this happens in an accessible and inclusive way.

Close partnerships between media organizations and educational institutes can help democratize learning and create a new positive public function for both sectors. My experience has shown me that these partnerships are easy to build and grow and hold the key to a more sustainable future for both sectors.

Adnane Bennis Co-Founder and CEO of Morocco World News

Crisis Management in Tourism

The tourism sector has faced unprecedented volatility and uncertainty over the past 5 years, both globally and locally. The pandemic and its related restrictions, the geopolitical situation and local conflicts, the acceleration of inflation and price increases, and the disruption of logistical chains led to the share of tourism in the global economy decreasing significantly. By the end of 2023 only a few destinations had managed to return to 2019 levels.

Now, however, the outlook is more encouraging. Consumer behavior in 2024, despite ongoing uncertainty, indicates a strong will to travel. Thanks to this, the sector is adapting to changing reality – new tourist routes are emerging and existing ones are being developed, new hotels, airports, restaurants, and other infrastructure are opening.

That said, the sector is still affected by seasonality, high fixed costs, a lack of qualified people and relatively low profitability. In rapidly changing and disruptive environment, with unforeseen changes, crisis management and change management become critical to ensure the industry is sustainable and safe for tourists and business.

Crisis management in the tourism sector generally involves a strategic and proactive approach taken by business to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from unexpected events that may influence the safety, travel plans, and the overall satisfaction of tourists. The primary goal is to minimize the effects of a crisis, restore confidence, and enable a relevant recovery for all parties involved.

As for any general management activities, crisis management in tourism logically includes several steps:

1)Assessing the nature of crisis

Tourism industry crises can take different forms, each demanding a specific response. Natural disasters can disrupt travel plans, infrastructure, and local communities. Human-made events, such as terrorist attacks, civil unrest, or geopolitical tensions, can impact the safety and security of tourists in affected regions. Additionally, health-related issues, exemplified by pandemics like COVID-19, present unique challenges with widespread implications for global travel.

2)Pre-Crisis Planning and Preparation

Effective crisis management starts long before a crisis itself appears. The tourism industry must engage in pre-crisis planning and preparedness to mitigate potential risks and enhance responsiveness during emergencies. This involves conducting risk assessments, identifying vulnerabilities, and establishing crisis response teams with clear roles and responsibilities. Relevant communication plans are essential to spread accurate and timely information to tourists, employees, and the public, assuring transparency and trust.

3)Crisis Response and Communication

While crisis starts, the effectiveness of the response and communication can make a significant difference in managing the situation. Tourism enterprises must activate their crisis response teams promptly and implement pre-established protocols and procedures. Swift communication with relevant authorities, local communities, and other stakeholders is essential to assess the situation accurately and make informed decisions. Transparent communication with tourists is crucial for managing expectations, providing safety guidelines, and offering alternative solutions.

4)Flexibility and Redemption Strategies

Flexibility is a crucial component of effective crisis management in tourism. Diversifying tourism offerings, both in terms of destinations and experiences, may reduce the impact of crisis that affect specific regions or sectors. Creating contingency funds and investing in comprehensive insurance can provide financial stability during challenging times. Collaborative efforts among public and private sectors can improve the managing capabilities, fostering a collective commitment to the industry’s survival and recovery.

5)Post-Crisis Assessment and Mastering

After managing a crisis, a thorough post-crisis analysis is vital to learn from the experience and improve future crisis management strategies. The tourism industry should embrace a culture of life-long learning and adaptation, updating plans based on emerging trends and challenges. Sharing lessons learned with the industry community promotes knowledge sharing and improves practices for the tourism sector.

ARTEM KLYKOV , PhD, MBA professor of tourism, Silk Road University Samarkand visiting professor, SWISSAM International University hospitality expert media contributor coach, mentor

Integrating tourism and hospitality curricula in high schools with AHLEI

The American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute ( AHLEI ) established in 1953, is one of the foremost certifying bodies and publishers of quality resources to train, develop, and certify hospitality industry professionals globally. AHLEI is also committed to supporting the education of those just starting to pursue their careers, the next generation of hospitality and tourism leaders, innovators and champions!

AHLEI conducted extensive Gen Z research prior to creating our newest curricula. These results also influenced the new Education Toolkit , created in partnership with UN Tourism for the incorporation of tourism as a subject in high schools.

Young people who are excited about creating great experiences, meeting new people, making a positive impact on their communities and growing in their careers are increasingly drawn to the hospitality industry.

Why Introduce Tourism and Hospitality to School-Age Students?

AHLEI’s research pointed to some intriguing findings. Students are making decisions increasingly early about the career they want to pursue but many don’t consider hospitality. Why? Because of preconceived notions about the opportunities available to them. Additional findings include:

Gen Z students are very practical. They are looking for a return on their educational investments. The more we can educate them about career growth and earning potential, the more they will start thinking seriously about tourism and hospitality as a career choice.
Gen Z students prioritize feeling proud of what they do and where they work. They are motivated by exciting and interesting careers, Instagram-worthy experiences, and the positive impact the hospitality industry has on communities and economies.
Gen Z is interested in inclusivity and in the freedom to be who they are. Hospitality is an amazing industry that encourages guests and employees alike to be their authentic selves.

AHLEI hears from our industry partners that while some young people may not be as skilled at test-taking or formal education, if they have great interpersonal skills, positive energy and good problem-solving instincts, there is a home for them in the hospitality industry. There are excellent opportunities for anyone with these qualities who is willing to work hard and learn.

Thus, in our new curriculum we emphasized relevance in the real world, encouraging exploration and practice through inquiry-based and problem-solving activities, and engaging students through our design choices, narrative voice, and multimedia resources. Let’s explore our newest resources.

Implementing the HTM Curriculum

The AHLEI high school curriculum, Hospitality and Tourism Management provides an engaging comprehensive exploration of different segments within the industry and the career paths in each.

This article includes:

Implementation of the curriculum including organization, coverage and educator support
Key themes and learning objectives of the text
Endorsement by the U.S. hotel and lodging industry
Testimonials from international partners

The AHLEI authoring and instructional design teams place a high priority on creating relevant, accurate, up to date and industry-driven content. Passive memorization is not the goal. Our materials are designed to help students think and do! There are elements incorporated regularly throughout learning and teacher resource materials designed to prompt student output and higher levels of learning.

Organization

Hospitality & Tourism Management is a single-volume textbook that can be aligned with any length program, though it is most often used alongside one- or two-year programs. The text is broken into modular units covering each segment of the industry. Each unit is comprised of self-contained chapters that dive deeper into skills and concepts. Optional activities, case studies and projects offer more rigor and application if desired. This modular approach along with helpful pacing guides allow educators to easily align the curriculum with the preferred order and structure of their program.

Hospitality is a huge and varied industry and the HTM curriculum includes a comprehensive overview of lodging and hotels, food and beverage operations, event management, travel and tourism. Coverage includes an overview of each segment, organizational structure and career paths, key roles and responsibilities. Opening chapters highlight the importance of the role of the industry and introduce students to core concepts and skills around providing excellent guest service. Closing chapters focus on business and leadership concepts like marketing, finance and entrepreneurship.

The coverage in HTM is based on input from dozens of industry professionals, teachers and subject matter experts for a relevant contemporary take on hospitality education with both practical and aspirational applications.

Teacher Support

The online teacher resource portal for Hospitality & Tourism Management includes a wealth of supplementary materials to help educators deliver the content to their students. The Teacher’s Companion includes notes, additional activities and discussion questions as well as organizational tools and engaging videos summarizing the main concepts in each chapter. Test Banks, Power Points, Instructor activity guide and lesson plan tools are also available to make class prep easy.

AHLEI also offers The Certified Hospitality Instructor (CHI) Program , a self-paced training course to help educators without an industry background effectively teach content in these areas. In addition to the course and exam, candidates for the CHI must also complete 120 hours of internship with a hospitality organization.

Hospitality and Tourism Specialist Credential

The HTM curriculum prepares students to earn their Hospitality Tourism Specialist credential from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, (AHLA), today the largest trade hotel association in the U.S. with 32,000 hotel members. Endorsed by some of the premier hospitality brands in the world, the HTS credential demonstrates student mastery of industry concepts. Students may earn the credential upon passing the AHLEI HTS exam and showing 100 hours of work experience in a hospitality role.

Assessment and credentialling is a large part of our program development. Credentials serve as a “passport” for students leaving the classroom, demonstrating the mastery that they achieved and using it as an entry into jobs within any segment of the industry.

Key Themes and Learning Objectives

Career readiness and technical skills.

One of the key themes throughout Hospitality and Tourism Management is that hospitality is a business, and a mastery of both technical and “soft” skills will open endless possibilities for career advancement. Operational and managerial topics as well as key math concepts are introduced in each unit. In addition, the text focuses on career readiness skills like written and verbal communication, problem-solving and teamwork, all in the context of a hospitality workplace.

Global Awareness

Hospitality is a global industry, supporting local economies and bringing together people from around the world. Global awareness and appreciation of and respect for different cultures is another core theme featured throughout. The text features international examples, discussions of cultural awareness, and coverage of cultural and operational differences in different countries.

Application

Throughout the text are scenarios, case studies, projects, activities, discussion questions and more, all designed for learners to immediately apply what they are learning, even from within the classroom. This presentation maximizes student engagement, understanding and retention of key concepts.

Endorsements and Formal Recognition

Hospitality and Tourism Management Second Edition is recognized by leaders in the U.S. hotel and lodging industry, including:

Marriott International
BF Saul Company Hospitality Group
G6 Hospitality LLC
RRI West Management
Real Hospitality Group
Mid-Continent Hospitality
TradeWinds Island Resorts

These industry leaders appreciate that HTM Second Edition highlights the knowledge and skills that hospitality leaders look for in their employees today. HTM program completion, along with the HTS credential, fully prepares a learner to be a high-potential candidate for entry-level positions with the experience needed to bring value to the industry and grow in their careers.

Expand Your Horizons with HTM

The second edition of HTM offers learners a global perspective of the industry, its opportunities and its impact on the world.

Two of AHLEI’s valued governmental partners, and UNWTO member states, share the positive impact the HTM program can have on a national tourism industry below.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, CD, MP., states:

“The Hospitality and Tourism Management Program has been a game-changer for Jamaica’s tourism industry and our nation. We have witnessed remarkable transformations through this innovative program in partnership with the esteemed American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). Our students now have the opportunity to acquire certification from AHLEI and an Associate Degree in Customer Service, equipping them with the skills and expertise needed to excel in the hospitality sector. Since its introduction in select high schools in September 2018, the HTM Program has ushered in a new era of professionalism and excellence in our tourism sector. We have witnessed a significant upskilling among our youth, creating a more competent and dedicated workforce prepared to deliver exceptional service. I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication put forth by our students, schools, and industry partners who have embraced the HTM Program. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for Jamaica that empowers our youth and ensures our country remains a premier global destination for years to come.”

Ms. Janet Forbes-Dean, Subject Coordinator for Family and Consumer Science Education at Jack Hayward Senior High School in Grand Bahama, says:

“The high school students at the Jack Hayward Senior High School have attained numerous AHLEI International Certifications over the past thirteen (13) years. These certifications are our core examination. There is no Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (B.G.C.S.E.) national examination for hospitality students. AHLEI’s program is awesome. We have former and current students who received one or more certifications in Kitchen Cook, Breakfast Attendant, Front Desk Attendant, HTMP Year 1, Restaurant Server, START, Golden Opportunities, Guest Service Gold, and Golden Opportunities Tourism. These certifications along with the high school Hospitality and Tourism Curriculum are essential for students who are desirous of continuing a career in Hospitality.”

Get Started Today with AHLEI’s Hospitality & Tourism Program

We can’t wait to help you get started. Learn more here .

For further questions, contact Ed Kastli, Channel Vice President of International Sales, at [email protected] .

Elizabeth O’Brien Senior Product Manager

Enhancing Tourism Education t hrough Volunteer Teaching Experiences

Submitted by Stephen Sayers,

English Lecturer; Faculty Advisor to the IFTM Volunteer Circle

In 2019, ‘The IFTM Volunteer Circle’ (IFTMVC) began providing support for poverty alleviation through bi-annual volunteer teaching trips for 7-10 days to raise the interest and ability of junior high-school students at the Second National High School in Cong Jiang County, Gui Zhou. Historically, local students in Cong Jiang have been unable to gain access to better universities due to poor English scores in their ‘high-school entrance’ exams.

Traveling to the location, and participating in community engagement – meaningful, interactive, and immersive – is creating an educational experience that complements theoretical lessons, is highly memorable, and most importantly capable of transforming volunteers. In the words of one volunteer:

“I often choose to be alone because I find it difficult to integrate into the community. But when I met this group of students, their enthusiasm had an infectious force, so I unconsciously fell into it. Their enthusiasm and vitality made me confident and dare to communicate with them!”

An analysis of 50 students’ reflections and those of several students shared four years after their initial trips illustrates transformation in three areas: personality traits, skills development, and perspectives.

Personality traits

Students expressed transformation in many aspects of their ‘inner-world’. They showed an increased sense of “happiness”, “optimism”, “confidence”, “boldness”, “being outgoing”, “gratitude”, “well-being”, “fulfillment”, “enthusiasm”, “cherishing life”, and “gratefulness”. They saw that they had demonstrated “responsibility”, “adaptability”, and “initiative” and had an improved “attitude”.

“I used to be a very introverted and sensitive person, and I was afraid that people would hurt me, so I built a tall wall in my heart to protect myself from being hurt. After this trip, I find myself happier and more optimistic. The naivety and braveness of those children encourage me a lot.”

“ Through this activity, I experienced the joy of being a teacher. I gradually became less shy during the activity. I started to become bolder and took the initiative to communicate with those students who were not fond of speaking English. I successfully helped them to confidently speak English.”

“After this trip, I can better adapt to the environment, and I know how to communicate with others better, which is the biggest gain for me.”

“This event made me cherish my life now. I should no longer complain about the living environment, and no longer worry about small difficulties. Now I can do so many meaningful things, not because I am excellent, but because I am lucky enough.”

Skills development

Another area of transformation concerned skills development, including “communication”, “public speaking”, “problem-solving”, “teaching”, “social”, “leadership” and “critical thinking”.

“I was a bit shy in the first class as it was my first time standing in front of the classroom as a “teacher”. However, I think I made some progress. Gradually I talked louder and became more comfortable in the class. I improved public speaking skills in a way.”

“This journey has changed me a lot, including my work attitude, accuracy of information, understanding of students, and teaching skills… The local teachers taught me some teaching skills and some software to assist in teaching.”

“The trip changed me in different ways… it improved my social skills. I am not an out-going person, sometimes it may be hard to talk a lot with others from the very beginning…”

“The trip changed my view of my influence to the world. I can’t change (all) the students totally, but I can influence someone and it is enough.”

“… for myself, I will not wear something like AJ shoes anymore… Maybe it doesn’t matter but it just makes me feel uncomfortable anyway…”

Perspectives

In order to strengthen students’ attitudes of ‘mutual respect and understanding’ (GCET – Article 1), one of the guided reflection questions challenged the prevailing attitude that volunteering is the ‘haves’ providing for the ‘have nots’. Many students developed the sense of perception to see the inter-connectedness of volunteering and personal transformation.

“I used to think volunteering is… to try my best to provide help to others in need. After this trip, I think volunteering is not only unilateral help, but also an opportunity to learn.”

“I always thought that volunteering was just a donation to help children in poor areas. After this activity, and integrating into the children’s life, I realized the meaning of volunteer activities. We open the window of the world for them, and they bring us the touch and beauty of life.”

“This is my second time participating in this project, and the change from being a participant to a leader has given me a deeper understanding of the entire activity… through… planning and organizing, I realized that the success of an activity doesn’t solely depend on the richness of its content. It also requires meticulous organization and smooth coordination of various aspects. Learning from previous experiences and continuously improving the activity plan can attract capable individuals to participate and maximize the project’s impact. This is how my understanding of volunteering has changed. It has made me realize that volunteering is a collective effort…”

Four years after her first trip and now a Master’s student at University College of London, (UCL) shared her reflective thoughts. Her words testify to the power that well-designed volunteer trips have in setting a student on a path to ‘becoming’ a life-long learner and protagonist for the greater good.

“I would like to say that participating in and organizing (the) volunteer trips (has been) one of the best and most worthy things in my life so far… During my two volunteer experiences in Cong Jiang, China, I actively participated in teaching English and engaging in various extracurricular activities with the students. The first time in 2019, I observed… many locals who believed education is useless, (and that) boys are better than girls… I recognized the deep-rooted challenges in altering perspectives towards education… and (that) it is a long-term task. I also realized the impact of education on shaping beliefs, and life choices… these volunteer experiences shaped me to be a better person with more confidence and belief that I have the ability to achieve something…

Furthermore, these experiences have undoubtedly influenced my future aspirations. I would like to engage in volunteer activities continuously and am now participating in volunteer activities actively in London. They also sparked my interest in educational development and community engagement. As I envision my future, I see myself actively contributing to educational institutions or possibly even to international organizations or non-government organizations…”

Though much still needs to be learned to optimize the dual path of personal and social transformation that can be effected through these trips, it is clear they provide a path to a profound transformation in students’ and directly contribute to the IFTM vision, “As an advocate of community engagement, IFTM takes pride in producing graduates that not only excel professionally but also work for the greater good of society” (President’s Message; IFTM Website). This author believes that with ‘collective will’ and the wise allocation of resources this kind of innovative educational experience – integrating students and community engagement – can be extended to benefit all undergraduates and many more local communities.

Stephen Sayers English Lecturer Faculty Advisor to the IFTM Volunteer Circle

By Fabio Passos

In the ever-evolving landscape of the tourism sector,2024 promises to bring new opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to venture into the world of startups. As a professor, consultant, and mentor specializing in tourism and hospitality, with a focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and business planning, I am always vigilant regarding emerging trends. In this article, I will highlight two startup niches that deserve special attention in 2024.

Women’s Travel Journey

The women’s travel journey is a growing niche that offers numerous possibilities for the development of tourism ventures. This segment encompasses the routing of trips exclusively for women, as well as the creation of spaces and tourist services that cater to the specific needs and preferences of this audience.

Within this niche, opportunities abound in various areas, including transportation, accommodation, guided tours, and dining. Startups can develop solutions that provide safe and inclusive experiences for solo female travelers, while also promoting connections among women who wish to explore the world together.

While there are already some initiatives focused on women’s travel journeys, including initiatives in Brazil where I have had the privilege to provide mentorship, there is still significant room for growth and innovation within this market. The emphasis on safety, community building, and personalization of travel experiences may be the key to success in this expanding niche.

Startups that venture into this market can stand out by creating exclusive travel packages for women, offering cultural, culinary, and adventure experiences tailored to female preferences. Furthermore, ensuring an environment in which travelers feel secure is crucial to attracting this audience.

Vacation Rental Property Management

The vacation rental property market has experienced exponential growth over recent years, largely driven by the success of Airbnb. However, this segment is now undergoing a phase of professionalization, presenting an opportunity for startups to excel.

Many investors and entrepreneurs operating in the vacation rental property market lack specific hospitality expertise. This can result in challenges related to customer service, governance, and property rate pricing. Startups can fill this gap by offering innovative solutions that help property owners manage their properties more efficiently and profitably.

Startups can focus on enhancing the guest experience by creating tools and services that make stays more enjoyable and hassle-free. Process automation, reservation management, and predictive maintenance are some areas where innovation can enhance the professionalization of vacation rental properties.

In summary, in 2024, the tourism sector offers exciting opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to explore specialized niches. Women’s travel journeys and vacation rental property management are just two examples of areas with significant growth potential. If you are interested in discussing these niches or other topics related to tourism and hospitality, I am available for further conversation.

Fabio Passos Fabio, with a B.A. in Tourism, a graduate degree in Marketing, and an MA in Business Administration, boasts an impressive track record of over 15 years in both the national and international realms of tourism and hospitality. His diverse experience encompasses roles in hotels, property management, aviation, travel agencies, and cruise lines. Of particular note is Fabio’s keen interest in the home rental business, where he has emerged as a recognized expert in consultancy services. As the proprietor of Studio na Carioca and Passos do Turismo, he is dedicated to offering training programs for vacation rental owners, equipping them with the essential skills needed to elevate their revenue and excel in various critical aspects of home rentals.

Embracing Sustainability: Innovative Real Estate Solutions in the Hospitality Industry

By Rani Majzoub

The urgency to respond to climate change demands that all industries rethink and transform their practices and accelerate the shift to greater sustainability. The hospitality sector, historically singled out for its climate impact, is responding to this call and reimagining its foundations to embrace sustainable practices.

Innovative real estate solutions lie at the centre of this transformation. They are not merely a response to the growing environmental crisis but rather an embodiment of a commitment to reducing the industry’s ecological footprint whilst enhancing the guest experience. This article will delve into this profound shift, exploring the innovative measures shaping the future of hospitality and tourism, where sustainability and luxury harmoniously coexist.

Eco-friendly Building Design

Sustainable architecture is taking centre stage, with a visionary approach to building renovations. The adoption of eco-friendly designs exemplifies this shift, which prioritizes energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, encompassing a strategy ranging from incorporating renewable energy sources to efficient insulation and implementation of green roofs. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these roofs are meticulously engineered to curtail energy consumption and provide a unique selling point for eco-conscious travellers. From solar panel installation to rainwater harvesting systems, these developments are revolutionizing tourism’s relationship with the environment.

Smart Technologies

The integration of smart technologies marks an inflection point in sustainable hospitality real estate. Automation and sensor-based systems are effective tools for diminishing energy consumption, optimizing climate control, and enhancing security. Solutions such as key cards for room lighting and temperature control, alongside mobile apps for managing rooms, empower guests to participate in energy conservation. These technologies not only enhance guest experiences but also promote resource efficiency.

A notable example is the seamless integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in hotel operations, allowing real-time adjustments of room conditions based on guest preferences and occupancy. This will elevate guest comfort to unprecedented heights and showcase the fusion of technology and sustainability as the future of hospitality real estate.

Water Conservation

Fresh water, a precious and finite resource, assumes even greater significance in regions grappling with water scarcity. In such places, the need to conserve water is imperative. Innovative real estate solutions involve water-efficient fixtures, including low-flow faucets, showerheads, and greywater recycling systems, serving the dual purpose of curtailing water consumption and mitigating the ecological repercussions of wastewater. A notable trend in the sector is the adoption of rainwater harvesting systems, which collect and store rainwater for uses such as irrigation, toilet flushing, and cooling systems. Through diminishing reliance on municipal water sources, hotels make meaningful contributions to water conservation while trimming utility bills, underscoring the intersection of ecological responsibility and cost-efficiency.

Sustainable Materials

From furniture décor to linens, the hospitality sector is witnessing a resounding shift towards sustainability. This transformative wave embraces the spirit of reuse and locality. Recycled, upcycled, and locally sourced materials are now finding their way into the heart of hospitality, reshaping the aesthetics and ethics of hospitality.

We can consider the choice of reclaimed wood or recycled plastics for crafting hotel furniture, a nod to the industry’s commitment to reducing waste and endorsing eco-friendly practices. The adoption of such materials reduces the environmental footprint and presents an opportunity for hotels to craft distinctive and alluring interior designs. Guests, too, are becoming increasingly appreciative of the narratives that accompany these furnishings, carrying with them a unique story of renewal and resourcefulness. This newfound synergy between aesthetics and environmental responsibility is reshaping the landscape of hospitality.

Community Engagement & Education

Sustainability transcends the confines of premises; forward-thinking establishments are actively engaging with the community while educating their guests on sustainable practices. This multi-faceted approach enriches the guest experience and fosters a relationship between the hotel and its community. These interactions can take shape in various ways, such as partnerships with eco-friendly artisans and sourcing food locally to reduce carbon footprint while contributing and empowering the community.

Hotels are increasingly offering eco-friendly excursions, encouraging guests to partake in nature-focused activities, enriching their experience and inspiring their sense of responsibility towards the environment.

Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy sources serve as a foundational element in the development of sustainable real estate. With the emergence of solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal systems, these have become intertwined into the fabric of hotel and resort facilities, marking a solid step away from the reliance on fossil fuels. By generating their own renewable energy, establishments trim operational costs and significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

Solar panel installations on rooftops or in parking areas emerge as powerful generators of clean electricity. Concurrently, some forward-thinking establishments are exploring the possibilities for wind turbines and geothermal heating and cooling systems to reduce their dependence on non-renewable energy. Such initiatives manifest as sustainable choices and sound financial strategies, illustrating the escalating potential of renewable energy.

Waste Reduction and Recycling

Innovative solutions extend to waste management, where hotels proactively reduce, recycle, and efficiently manage waste. Strategies include comprehensive recycling programs, organic waste composting, and collaboration with local initiatives for responsible waste disposal, contributing to environmental sustainability and the local community. By adopting a circular approach, hotels minimize landfill-bound waste and reduce the need for virgin resources in goods production, fostering a sustainable and economically sound future.

The shift to sustainability in the hospitality industry, driven by its environmental concerns and long-term strategic thinking, is transforming the sector. As travellers increasingly prioritize environmental issues, hotels and resorts are leading the way in sustainability, benefiting both the planet and their bottom line. Looking ahead, we anticipate a future enriched with more ground-breaking solutions to reshape the tourism sector even further, setting a sustainable precedent for the future. This journey is imperative in addressing global environmental challenges and meeting travellers’ eco-friendly expectations, promising a brighter, sustainable future for hospitality.

With gratitude to Anan Zeitoun, Director of Real Estate Advisory, and Haya Serhan, Consultant in Real Estate Advisory for their contributions.

Rani Majzoub Head of Real Estate Advisory at KPMG Saudi, Head of Advisory at KPMG Lebanon.

New perspectives for tourism education

By Christine Böckelmann

On a global scale, tourism has a high economic significance: it accounts for 10% of all jobs and for many people’s income. At the same time, the tourism sector faces a major challenge: more and more people want to travel and explore foreign countries and cultures and they want to do so in a more sustainable way. Hand-in-hand with this, society is also demanding that the sector rethink its approach to sustainability. This is not only about the environment. It’s also about economic sustainability in the sense of the impact on local economic development, from which the tourism regions and countries benefit as a whole. It also relates to social sustainability in the sense of decent working conditions that provide employees in tourism businesses with a secure income.

For this holistic transformation, the tourism sector needs professionals with comprehensive skills not only in hospitality management, but also in economics, regional development, digitalisation and human resources development. It needs professionals who can keep an eye not just on one single company, but on an entire economic system, and who know how to use digitalisation for innovative business developments. This is especially challenging as the tourism sector is not a magnet for the top talent it so needs. On the one hand, a study from Poland has shown that more than half of those who have qualifications related to tourism (54.7%) are not currently working in jobs related to their studies. A large part of the investment in tourism education is therefore lost. On the other hand, due mainly to working conditions, many professionals stay in the sector only for a few years; when the opportunity arises, they migrate to other industries. This again turns skills development in the tourism sector into a challenge.

One effective way to attract and then retain top talent is to offer a high-level university degree with a top reputation. This requires a study programme that attracts young people thanks to its quality. It must also feature content that is relevant to Gen Z values, and offer a wide range of career options. Such a programme must provide comprehensive skills in sustainability (ecological, economic, social), high-level skills in digitalisation (tourism tech, digital dynamics and innovation), and high-level communication and social skills.

With the Bachelor of Science in International Sustainable Tourism , the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) have jointly created such a study programme, the first of its kind. In addition to providing a holistic tourism education, the course also addresses current issues presented by companies, which students then work on together. This ensures that the programme is always aligned with the requirements of practice. Internships and opening doors to the UNWTO and HSLU networks enable students to gain closer ties to the sector. This lays the foundations for students to remain in tourism after graduation.

However, education alone cannot provide the required transformation. In addition to the new focus on holistic tourism development in education, it is also important that companies make an effort to offer young people jobs where a good work-life balance is possible, giving them “work tasks with purpose” as well as excellent career opportunities. Otherwise, despite all our best efforts, they will migrate again to other industries.

Christine Böckelmann

By Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO-Almosafer

In the dynamic realm of tourism, inclusion and diversity have emerged as the bedrock principles, shaping the sector’s present and future. This is clearly reflected in our work at Almosafer, as well as in the Saudi Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is more than just an ambitious plan; it’s a robust testament to the nation’s drive for progress. With the target of creating one million jobs in the tourism sector by 2030, the roadmap is clear and based on a firm belief in the boundless potential of our youth. By nurturing their dreams and aspirations, we’re not just planting seeds for opportunities; we’re creating the blueprint for an inclusive and diverse tomorrow.

Educating the Next Generation through Almosafer Academy

The Almosafer Academy has been designed to offer Saudi nationals a well-balanced mix of theoretical education and real-world experiences. Through various sessions, workshops, and immersive trips, we are crafting a future where our travel experts not only understand the industry’s mechanics but also appreciate its diverse nuances.

Our enduring partnership with Princess Nourah University further underlines our commitment. By offering a seamless blend of academic instruction with practical insights, we’re sculpting a generation of tourism students who are not just educated but also enlightened. They will have the skills and experience tourism employers need and the soft skills tourists look for when traveling.

Almosafer’s Collaboration with the Human Resource Development Fund

Our recent partnership with the Human Resource Development Fund is another step forward in our journey to support and cultivate Saudi talent. This synergy not only underscores our commitment to nurturing talent but also reiterates the importance of private and public sector partnerships in achieving national goals.

Empowering Female Leaders: Pioneering a Change in the Middle East

Beyond the world of academia, our partnership with the UNWTO Women in Tech Startup Competition is empowering women techpreneurs across the region, above all by fostering an environment where women can innovate, lead, and redefine the tech landscape. Alongside this, the Unlock Her Future Prize by the Bicester Collection, which Almosafer is supporting and celebrating women entrepreneurs who drive change and make a positive impact on their communities.

Tourism and Its Societal Impacts

By guaranteeing inclusion and diversity in our operations, we’re not just facilitating travel; we’re fostering connections, understanding, and global unity. Moreover, the role of technology in achieving this cannot be understated. As digital advancements reshape how we travel, it’s vital that these technological strides resonate with our core values of inclusion and diversity. Almosafer invests heavily in ensuring that our digital platforms are intuitive, user-friendly, and accessible to all, regardless of background or ability.

In conclusion, the essence of travel is to experience the unknown, to immerse oneself in diverse cultures, traditions, and histories. At Almosafer, our vision is to ensure that every traveler feels represented, valued, and understood. As we stand on the cusp of a new dawn in tourism, let us remember our shared responsibilities. The true essence of tourism lies in an ecosystem where each individual, regardless of their background, finds a voice, and every journey becomes a testament to Saudi Arabia’s grander vision for the future.

Muzzammil Ahussain

Chief Executive Officer – Almosafer

El Impacto del Turismo y la Importancia de su Talento Humano

Cuando los cambios tocan a nuestra puerta, no queda más que buscar herramientas o mecanismos para abordarlos con el fin de mejorar la manera en que hemos venido haciendo las cosas. Esta fue la invitación que tan abruptamente le hizo la pandemia al mundo entero.

En Chile, de acuerdo a datos del Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE), la mayor pérdida de empleos en turismo se reflejó en el trimestre mayo-junio-julio de 2020, pasando de tener 651.797 puestos de trabajo en ese mismo trimestre de 2019 a 369.520.

Estos datos equivalen a una pérdida del 43,3% de los puestos de trabajo, lo que de manera inmediata, mostró los efectos de la pandemia en el país, pero que una vez terminadas las restricciones sanitarias comenzaron a revertirse. Según los últimos reportes del trimestre móvil abril-mayo-junio 2023 se han recuperado un 94,1% de los empleos, faltando sólo 37.690 para alcanzar las cifras prepandemia.

Lo interesante de este proceso de reactivación del empleo, es que ha venido de la mano de un cambio de visión y de una oportunidad para repensar el talento humano que conforma el turismo, la hotelería y la gastronomía. Es así como desde la Subsecretaría de Turismo de Chile hemos transitado hacia la perspectiva del “nuevo capital humano” (Brown), paradigma con el que esperamos ampliar dicho concepto, desde una visión únicamente económica que contempla un conjunto de conocimientos, habilidades y aprendizajes que cuentan los colaboradores de una organización (Adam Smith) hacia un concepto de talento humano que englobe el proceso de desarrollo personal como un proceso integral.

Y considerando que el turismo es un sector económico por naturaleza, con un fuerte enfoque en lo humano y cercano, es que ha emergido con mayor fuerza la necesidad de potenciar las llamadas “habilidades para la vida” o “habilidades socioemocionales”, en quienes dan vida al sector: sus trabajadoras y trabajadores. La proactividad, la comunicación efectiva, el trabajo en equipo son elementos, que no siendo conocimientos técnicos, permiten un desarrollo efectivo de las funciones asociadas a la entrega de servicios turísticos y con ello, otorgan garantía de calidad a las experiencias vividas por los visitantes. Por lo tanto, su incorporación en el quehacer de cada una de las personas que forman parte de la cadena de valor del sector es uno de los principales desafíos.

Las oportunidades y desafíos son múltiples, el impacto del desarrollo turístico en el mundo depende de muchos factores, pero el factor humano jamás dejará de ser su eje central. Si lo humano no es abordado de manera eficiente y eficaz, el aporte social, cultural y económico que trae consigo el desarrollo de esta industria no verá la luz y, es precisamente en esta línea, que Chile ha trabajado en la definición de un Plan Estratégico de Capital Humano de Turismo 2023-2026 para abordar las diversas dimensiones que tiene una temática tan relevante como esta.

De este modo el Plan Estratégico de Capital Humano de Turismo 2023-2026 busca recoger todos aquellos aprendizajes y desafíos post pandemia para poner el foco en tres principales elementos a abordar durante los próximos cuatro años: Empleo, Estándares para el Ecosistema Turístico y Formación y Desarrollo de talento.

Cada uno de los ejes estratégicos definidos, dan cuenta de elementos fundamentales para avanzar hacia la profesionalización del sector, así el eje EMPLEO buscará fomentar mejores condiciones laborales y políticas de contratación. El eje ESTÁNDARES PARA LA INDUSTRIA TURÍSTICA impulsará la asociatividad con foco en la competitividad del sector, para ofrecer una mejor calidad en la entrega de servicios turísticos. Y el eje FORMACIÓN Y DESARROLLO DE TALENTO trabajara para fortalecer las cualificaciones y habilidades a nivel técnico, de idiomas y socioemocionales de quienes forman parte de la industria.

Sin duda este instrumento encarna, como se menciona al comienzo de este artículo, una herramienta para abordar las necesidades y cambios de capital humano en el sector turismo y si bien, el contenido del documento resulta fundamental para la implementación de la política pública, lo es mucho más el modelo de trabajo publico privado a partir del cual fue construido: la gobernanza que representa la Mesa Nacional de Capital Humano de Turismo . Es esta gobernanza la que impulsará cada una de las iniciativas identificadas como necesarias para mejorar las brechas de capital humano del sector y no solo por estar contenidas en un documento público, sino más bien por el sentido de pertenencia que le otorga haber sido parte fundamental de la construcción del instrumento.

Muchos han sido los aprendizajes que hemos acuñado los últimos años, y las medidas que hemos implementado están surtiendo efectos positivos, así lo demuestran los datos de empleo, pero sin duda, el mayor de los aprendizajes es más bien, seguir trabajando sin perder el foco en lo importante, las personas.

Marcella Mansilla

Encargada de Capital Humano y Género

Ministerio de Economía, Fomento y Turismo Subsecretaría de Turismo, Gobierno de Chile

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THE BIG IDEA

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Travel is not rational, but it’s in our genes. Here’s why you should start planning a trip now.

Two women gaze at heavy surf while lying on boulders on the coast.

In 1961, legendary National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel captured two women gazing at the surf off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. This and all the other images in this story come from the National Geographic image collection.

I’ve been putting my passport to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy.

Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus, and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome.

Only a third of Americans say they have traveled overnight for leisure since March, and only slightly more, 38 percent, say they are likely to do so by the end of the year, according to one report. Only a quarter of us plan on leaving home for Thanksgiving, typically the busiest travel time. The numbers paint a grim picture of our stilled lives.

It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher Ryan in Civilized to Death . This nomadic life was no accident. It was useful. “Moving to a neighboring band is always an option to avoid brewing conflict or just for a change in social scenery,” says Ryan. Robert Louis Stevenson put it more succinctly: “The great affair is to move.”

What if we can’t move, though? What if we’re unable to hunt or gather? What’s a traveler to do? There are many ways to answer that question. “Despair,” though, is not one of them.

wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers in Ocean City, Maryland

In this aerial view from 1967, wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers relax under umbrellas or on beach towels in Ocean City, Maryland .

During a fall festival, each state shows off its costumes and dances.

A 1967 fall festival in Guadalajara, Mexico , starred traditionally costumed musicians and dancers.

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps. We’re not grounded, we tell ourselves. We’re merely between trips, like the unemployed salesman in between opportunities. We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

We put on brave faces. “Staycation Nation,” the cover of the current issue of Canadian Traveller magazine declares cheerfully, as if it were a choice, not a consolation.

Today, the U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade organization, is launching a national recovery campaign called “ Let’s Go There .” Backed by a coalition of businesses related to tourism—hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines—the initiative’s goal is to encourage Americans to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries.

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers. “I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically hurt,” Paris -based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

(Related: How hard has the coronavirus hit the travel industry? These charts tell us.)

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist living in Kathmandu . You’d think he’d thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory meditation retreat. For a while he did.

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected. He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed “for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule.” Nothing seemed to help, he told me. “No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn’t change my habits.”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated. It’s not me; it’s the pandemic. But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

I think hope lies in the very nature of travel. Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. Nothing is more forgettable than the trip that goes exactly as planned.

Related: Vintage photos of the glamour of travel

Travel is not a rational activity. It makes no sense to squeeze yourself into an alleged seat only to be hurled at frightening speed to a distant place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs. All at great expense. If we stopped to do the cost-benefit analysis, we’d never go anywhere. Yet we do.

That’s one reason why I’m bullish on travel’s future. In fact, I’d argue travel is an essential industry, an essential activity. It’s not essential the way hospitals and grocery stores are essential. Travel is essential the way books and hugs are essential. Food for the soul. Right now, we’re between courses, savoring where we’ve been, anticipating where we’ll go. Maybe it’s Zanzibar and maybe it’s the campground down the road that you’ve always wanted to visit.

(Related: Going camping this fall? Here’s how to get started.)

James Oglethorpe, a seasoned traveler, is happy to sit still for a while, and gaze at “the slow change of light and clouds on the Blue Ridge Mountains” in Virginia, where he lives. “My mind can take me the rest of the way around this world and beyond it.”

It’s not the place that is special but what we bring to it and, crucially, how we interact with it. Travel is not about the destination, or the journey. It is about stumbling across “a new way of looking at things,” as writer Henry Miller observed. We need not travel far to gain a fresh perspective.

No one knew this better than Henry David Thoreau , who lived nearly all of his too-short life in Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed Walden Pond from every conceivable vantage point: from a hilltop, on its shores, underwater. Sometimes he’d even bend over and peer through his legs, marveling at the inverted world. “From the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow,” he wrote.

Thoreau never tired of gazing at his beloved pond, nor have we outgrown the quiet beauty of our frumpy, analog world. If anything, the pandemic has rekindled our affection for it. We’ve seen what an atomized, digital existence looks like, and we (most of us anyway) don’t care for it. The bleachers at Chicago ’s Wrigley Field; the orchestra section at New York City ’s Lincoln Center; the alleyways of Tokyo . We miss these places. We are creatures of place, and always will be.

After the attacks of September 11, many predicted the end of air travel, or at least a dramatic reduction. Yet the airlines rebounded steadily and by 2017 flew a record four billion passengers. Briefly deprived of the miracle of flight, we appreciated it more and today tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, where we break bread with other incarnate beings.

Colorful designs surrounding landscape architect at work in his studio in Rio de Jainero, Brazil

Landscape architects work in their Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , studio in 1955.

A tourist photographs a tall century plant, a member of the agaves.

A tourist photographs a towering century plant in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1956.

In our rush to return to the world, we should be mindful of the impact of mass tourism on the planet. Now is the time to embrace the fundamental values of sustainable tourism and let them guide your future journeys. Go off the beaten path. Linger longer in destinations. Travel in the off-season. Connect with communities and spend your money in ways that support locals. Consider purchasing carbon offsets. And remember that the whole point of getting out there is to embrace the differences that make the world so colorful.

“One of the great benefits of travel is meeting new people and coming into contact with different points of view,” says Pauline Frommer, travel expert and radio host.

So go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say . Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the frisson of anticipatory travel. My wife, not usually a fan of travel photography, now spends hours on Instagram, gazing longingly at photos of Alpine lodges and Balinese rice fields. “What’s going on?” I asked one day. “They’re just absolutely captivating,” she replied. “They make me remember that there is a big, beautiful world out there.”

Many of us, myself included, have taken travel for granted. We grew lazy and entitled, and that is never good. Tom Swick, a friend and travel writer, tells me he used to view travel as a given. Now, he says, “I look forward to experiencing it as a gift.”

Scared to scuba? Here are 5 reasons it’s finally time to learn.

A man’s world? Not according to biology or history.

For the young explorer.

Meet the rock guitarist who helped NASA land on an asteroid

They choose to live in isolation—but the world won’t leave them alone

Scientists go on a quest for the ‘right’ way to cook pasta

Don’t rely on social media: Here’s why you should keep a travel journal

How to take perfect portrait photos

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20 Reasons You Should Integrate Tourism into Your Development Agenda

Louise twining-ward, damien shiels.

Senior Private Sector Specialist

Global Product Specialist

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Different levels of tourism policy and planning

What are the different levels of tourism policy and planning? Tourism policy and planning is a very complex issue involving a number of stakeholders and bodies. Research in this area can often be overwhelming and confusing for the untrained eye.

This post, therefore, intends to provide a basic introduction to tourism policy and planning, outlining the different levels of involvement by different organisations. At the end of the post I have included some recommend texts for further reading suitable for tourism industry stakeholders (those working in or interested in the industry) and those studying the tourism industry.

What is tourism policy and planning?

These two terms are largely interchangeable. Tourism policy can be defined as;

‘ A set of rules, regulations, guidelines, directives, and development/promotion objectives and strategies that provide framework within which the collective, as well as individual decisions directly affecting long-term tourism development and the daily activities within a destination are taken ’

Planning can be defined as;

‘the process of making decisions for the future , and not simply the physical preparation of a ‘plan’. Planning involves implementing decisions and monitoring the outcomes.’

Components of tourism

Tourism policy and planning typically involves a number of components, namely:

Tourism attractions and activities
Accommodation
Other tourist facilities and services
Transportation facilities and services
Other infrastructure
Institutional elements

You may also be interested in my post- ‘ Why tourism planning is important ‘

Levels of tourism planning

Tourism policy and planning takes place on different levels. This can take a top-down approach, for example by international or national bodies, or a bottom-up approach, from a local level.

International tourism planning

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 of many countries.

Examples of international level participation groups include:

International Government and Intra-government Org’s: g. World Tourism Organisation ; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
International Producer Organisations: g. World Travel and Tourism Council
International Non-Producer Organisations: g. Tourism Concern ; World Wildlife Fund (WWF); Greenpeace;
International Single Interest Organisations: g. World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

You may also be interested in my post- ‘ What is tourism? A definition of tourism ‘

The following organisations will consider similar issues, but not limited by the concerns or boundaries of a single nation. Decisions and influences from this level can be significant for tourism at a national and local level

European Union
of Caribbean States (ACS)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO)
The “Tourism Program” of the Organization of American States (OAS)

National tourism planning

The national level of tourism planning 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. It is also concerned with: the amount, kinds, and quality of accommodation and other required tourist facilities and services; the important tour routes in the country and their regional connections; tourism organisational entitles, laws and investment policies; tourism marketing strategies and promotion; education and training programs and environmental, economic, and socio-cultural analysis.

Examples of national level participation groups include:

National Government and Intra-government Organisations- e.g. Visit Britain, Tourism New Zealand
National Producer Organisations- e.g. Visit Scotland, ABTA, The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO)
National Non-Producer Organisations- e.g. National Trust; The British Association for Nature Conservationists
National Single Interest Organisations- e.g. The Wilderness Society; Society for the Protection of Birds

You may also be interested in my post- ‘ Volunteer tourism: The reasons why people volunteer ‘

Regional tourism planning

Regional planning looks at aspects including; regional policy: regional entry points and transportation facilities and services; kinds of tourist attractions and their locations; the amount, kinds, and location of tourist accommodation and other tourist facilities, and services and location of tourist development areas including resort areas.

In addition, they will manage: socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and impact analysis’s; education and training programs on the regional level; marketing techniques and promotion; organisational establishments, laws, regulations and investment policies and implementation methods which include project plans and regional zoning regulations.

Examples of regional level participation groups include:

Regional Government and Intra-government Organisations – g. Caricom, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Regional Producer Organisations – e.Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association
Regional Non-Producer Organisations – e.g. European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe
Regional Single Interest Organisations- e.g. Coastwatch Europe, Climate Action Network Europe

Local tourism planning

Local level participants will consider tourism planning goals/objectives, analysis, plan preparation, outputs, outcomes, and evaluation at grass roots level.

Examples of local level participation groups include:

Local Government and Intra-government Organisations- e.g. local government involvement in leisure and tourism provision, e.g. Visit Cornwall , Tourism South East
Local Producer Organisations- e.g. local chambers of commerce and industry associations; local sporting clubs and private sport and leisure centres
Local Non-Producer Organisations- e.g. ratepayers and resident associations,
Single Interest Organisation – e.g. organisations such as ‘friends of a park’ or a group which has been formed in order to prevent particular developments such as a hotel or airport

The approach and implementation of tourism policy and planning differs considerably between destinations. It may, for example, be well organised and regulated in a developed country (or even over-regulated in some cases), and less resourced in developing countries.

Tourism Policy and Planning

To conclude, this post has demonstrated that tourism policy and planning takes place on different levels and in many different regards. For more information on tourism planning I recommend that you take a look at this post- ‘ Why tourism planning is important ‘

I also recommend that you consult some of the following texts, which are beneficial both to tourism practitioners and those who are studying the travel and tourism industry.

Tourism Policy and Planning: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Tourism Planning and Destination Marketing

Leisure, Sport and Tourism, Politics, Policy and Planning

Tourism Planning: Policies, Processes and Relationships

Do you have any views on this topic? Please leave any comments in the box below.

If you wish to cite any of the content in the post please use reference ‘Stainton, Hayley. (2018) Lifeasabutterfly.’

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The Importance of Tourism on Economies and Businesses

Published: 3/26/2019 12:21:08 PM

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Tourism is vital for the success of many economies around the world. There are several benefits of tourism on host destinations. Tourism boosts the revenue of the economy, creates thousands of jobs, develops the infrastructures of a country, and plants a sense of cultural exchange between foreigners and citizens.

The number of jobs created by tourism in many different areas is significant. These jobs are not only a part of the tourism sector but may also include the agricultural sector, communication sector, health sector, and the educational sector. Many tourists travel to experience the hosting destination’s culture, different traditions, and gastronomy. This is very profitable to local restaurants, shopping centers, and stores. Melbourne, Australia ’s population is greatly affected by tourism. It has a population of around 4 million people and around 22,000 citizens are employed by the tourism sector only.

Governments that rely on tourism for a big percentage of their revenue invest a lot in the infrastructure of the country . They want more and more tourists to visit their country which means that safe and advanced facilities are necessary. This leads to new roads and highways, developed parks, improved public spaces, new airports, and possibly better schools and hospitals. Safe and innovative infrastructures allow for a smooth flow of goods and services. Moreover, local people experience an opportunity for economic and educational growth.

Tourism creates a cultural exchange between tourists and local citizens. Exhibitions, conferences, and events usually attract foreigners. Organizing authorities usually gain profits from registration fees, gift sales, exhibition spaces, and sales of media copyright. Furthermore, foreign tourists bring diversity and cultural enrichment to the hosting country.

Tourism is a great opportunity for foreigners to learn about a new culture, but it also creates many opportunities for local citizens . It allows young entrepreneurs to establish new products and services that would not be sustainable on the local population of residents alone. Moreover, residents experience the benefits that come with tourism occurring in their own country.

To learn about the countries earning the most from international tourist arrivals, click on the link below!

Countries Earning the Most from International Tourism

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, tourism planning: a perspective paper.

Tourism Review

ISSN : 1660-5373

Article publication date: 19 December 2019

Issue publication date: 20 February 2020

The purpose of this paper is to analyse past tourism planning and discuss how it is going to evolve in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on literature review, but it also advances a model for future tourism planning.

The paper demonstrates that there is a strong need for tourism planning to be carried out with close links between territorial planning and its economics and management.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is not based on primary data collection.

Practical implications

The paper is useful for planners, academics and practitioners. It shows how a new planning model may be put in practice in the future.

Social implications

By linking physical and economic planning, the paper has good management implications to involve people and make them benefit from tourism.

Originality/value

Most tourism models fail to associate physical and economic planning, while this paper brings an innovative perspective of doing this.

Destinations

Costa, C. (2020), "Tourism planning: a perspective paper", Tourism Review , Vol. 75 No. 1, pp. 198-202. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-09-2019-0394

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Sustainable Tourism Development Essay

This essay shows that there are initiatives which aim at promoting sustainability in tourism destinations. However, these initiatives do not work due to the diverse nature of the tourism industry. The essay demonstrates this through various approaches to tourism sustainability and methods that stakeholders have applied in their attempts to enhance sustainability of tourism destinations.

We can define sustainability as a growth that does not experience any threats from feedback. Here, feedback refers to social unrest, pollution, or depletion of resources. We can relate this to the development of tourism destination. In tourism, sustainability would be “that level of development which does not exceed the carrying capacity of the destination and thus cause serious or irreversible changes to the destination” (Tribe, 2005). This is what we call a growth that can sustain itself over time.

It is hard for a nation or a sector to use effective plans for sustainable tourism development with clear agenda. The UNWTO provides policy guidelines for such purposes. The UNWTO refers sustainable tourism with regard to sustainability assumption as “the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions its long-term sustainability” (UNWTO, 1995).

Sustainability in tourism destination must ensure optimal use of resources that are sources of tourism development, their maintenance, and conservation of biodiversity and natural heritage (Liu, 2003). The project must also “adhere to socio-cultural existences of host communities, conserve their cultural heritage and enhance cultural understanding and tolerance” (Swarbrooke, 1999).

Sustainable tourism project must also provide socio-economic benefits, long-term economic availability, stable employment, poverty reduction, social services, and generation of income to the host community and all stakeholders.

First, regulations are forms of ensuring sustainability of tourism destinations. Stakeholders can introduce permissions and permits as forms of preventative control. Permits and permissions aim at preventing damages by requiring stakeholders to get permissions so as to engage in possible harmful activities. For instance, we can have planning permits to stop developments that do not meet planning guidelines and larger environmental matters and effects.

Second, regulation also involves environmental impact assessment. Some projects which may have severe impacts on the environment; thus the authorities must review an environmental consequences of such projects. It may use a cost-benefit approach that covers the all costs and advantages to stakeholders. For a development to be socially acceptable, its benefits to society must exceed its cost to society.

Third, controls and laws are also effective means of providing and controlling environmental pollutant targets. Occasionally, policymakers may introduce these laws and controls after an event that cause harm to the environment has started. Such laws may cover restrictions to aircraft and other forms of pollution and the quality standards of water for consumption. Litter laws and their subsequent fines are also part of this regulation.

Fourth, there are also special designation areas. Most countries have sites that have special status as a way of promoting conservation and controlling development. These designations have varying degrees of statutory backing. For example, the UK has designated Sites of Special Scientific Interests (SSSIs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauties (AONBs). The UK considers SSSIs sites as “areas of special interest because of flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features” (National Park Service, 1990).

The Countryside Commission designates AONBs areas for the purpose protecting places with natural beauty. The IUCN (the World Conservation Union) has also classified protected places, with an idea of enhancing international conservation efforts and providing the benchmark for protection. Special designation areas may include nature reserve, national parks, natural monuments, and protected landscape or seascape among others.

Fifth, most countries now have laws to ensure that large organisations devote sections of their resources to corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR now extends to include the environment apart from other issues of organisations. Private organisations are focusing on the environment by creating their environmental management teams, creating environmental guidelines and carrying out environmental evaluations and required actions for purposes of conserving the environment.

The WTTC and WTO are responsible for the provision of leadership and guidelines in environmental conservation. Most guidelines in this area focus on noise, emissions, waste, congestion, tourism and conservation (Deloitte and Oxford Economics, 2010).

Some forms of these regulations are difficult to implement. Still, the industry may find them difficult to follow. There are cases where private developers and environmental authorities engage in lawsuits. Such issues hinder regulations as attempts to enhance sustainability in tourism destinations.

Market methods highlight “manipulation of prices as a method of achieving environmental goals through adjustment of market prices in an attempt to reflect the environmental costs, and benefits of activities” (Tribe, 2005). The sole purpose is for the manufactures and their customers change their behaviours with regard to new prices. This ensures that individuals’ efforts in environmental conservation are worthwhile (Middleton and Hawkins, 1998).

The first concept is ownership. People tend to overuse free resources and areas of free access. Thus, policymakers advocate privatisation of such natural resources. For instance, ownership of a lake is an incentive to enforce property rights. Thus, people may pay for the use of resources such as lakes and oceans as dumping sinks.

Firms will strive to maximise their gains and satisfy their shareholders expectations. Thus, policymakers advocate for public ownership to enhance environmental management. In principle, a public organisation has an “incentive to consider social costs and benefits to the country” (Cohen, 2002).

Policymakers can use taxes and increasing prices to reduce the use of products with negative environmental consequences, and subsidies that can reduce prices and promote the use of products that have positive effects on the environmental. Taxation has worked since it adoption by OECD in 1972 as a way of passing the cost to polluters (OECD, 2001).

On carbon dioxide emissions, Curtis argues that we can make moderate emissions reductions by “way of increased energy efficiency but that excess emissions by luxury hotels and resorts need further action” (Curtis, 2002).

Transport has been a main source of concern in this area. National Parks authorities of the UK have emphasised necessities of transport systems to countryside tourism and recreation. They note that about 90 percent of visitors used cars to parks. Consequently, most environmentalists have called for raised taxations on car and air travels so as to reflect their environmental costs (National Park Service, 1990).

Finland has taxes on none-returnable beverage containers to promote the consumption of returnable parks in attempts to eliminate the level of such parks left as litters. Landfill taxes apply charges on waste management firms that utilise landfill areas for burying solid waste.

Some governments may give grants for people who wish to buy electric cars to reduce carbon pollution. There are projects underway to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. These include the planned “planting of forests to capture carbon naturally as well as the artificial capture of carbon and its storage in underground reservoirs” (Mules, 2001).

Deposit-refund schemes work by encouraging consumers to return containers from the vendors or dispose them in a manner favourable to the environment. Customers who return their containers get their deposits. This scheme is effective in the local outlets and can work well on a national scale if well implemented (Gee, 1997).

In order to reduce pollution, some countries have introduced charges on products and services they offer the public. These include car parking charges to encourage usage of “public vehicles, road pricing for motorway usages in some EU countries such as France and Spain” (Priestley, Edwards and Coccossis, 1996).

Market approaches to sustainability in developing tourism destinations have been effective in EU zones. Still, the idea to provide subsidies for environmental friendly products such as vehicles is gaining recognition among tourism stakeholders. However, most consumers do not favour the idea of price increases.

Tribe notes that soft tools are “voluntary by nature and attempt to change behaviours sometimes through improved information, advice, persuasion and sometimes by forming specific networks” (Tribe, 2005).

Tourism eco-labelling approach to sustainability focuses on tourists. Leisure and tourism consumers themselves have the ability to transform the consequences of products they consume on the environmental and switch to products with minimal environmental effects. This approach aims at giving the users the “additional environmental information to enable them make informed decisions in their buying patterns” (Cater and Lowman, 1994).

There are also certification and award schemes to enhance sustainability in tourism destination. They authenticate and provide endorsement to environmental attributions made by firms and offer marks such as the Blue Flag that a consumer can recognise (Becken and Hay, 2007).

The Blue Flag goes to beaches that have acquired recognisable levels for water quality and facilities, safety, environmental education and management. This is also an environmental marketing device for tourists who are environmental conscious. The scheme attempts to offer opportunities for beach local stakeholders to increase their environmental concerns (Coccossis and Nijkamp, 1995).

Many organisations such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe (FNNPE) have produced guidelines and treaties for environmental management and sustainability (FNNPE, 1993).

Citizenship, education and advertising can also enhance sustainability when individuals act in the role of consumers or workers or opinion makers (Cooper, Fletcher, Gilbert and Wanhill, 2008). Consumers need information to enable them purchase green products and contribute towards environmental sustainability.

Thus, the focus should be on an environmental education as a way of creating awareness among consumers and encourage others to adopt favourable products in environmental conservation and sustainability (Gratton and Kokolakakis, 2003).

Tribe notes “voluntary schemes exist to allow consumers mitigate the impacts of any environmental damages they may cause” (Tribe, 2005). The most common is carbon offset schemes in airline to passengers (McNeill, 1997).

Ecotourism as a form of tourism stresses the sound ecological principles (UNEPTIE, 2007). Thus, ecotourism attempts to minimise negative impacts on the environment, create environmental and cultural awareness, offer financial services to empower host communities, and raise sensitive issues of concern to host communities (Saarinen, 2006). Therefore, promoting ecotourism is a form of minimising negative external impacts of tourism and maximising the positive external impacts of tourism. However, industry observers note “ecotourism will always remain a minor form of tourism” (Mowforth and Munt, 2009). Consequently, it is not the main approach for achieving sustainable tourism.

Soft tools rarely achieve their desired effects as such approaches depend on the willingness of participants for effectiveness. However, soft tools are the best approaches for enhancing sustainability of tourism destinations.

Getz, Crouch, and Ritchie share the idea that tourism planners have recognised the need for creating common goals in tourism planning (Getz, 1995; Crouch and Ritchie, 1999). However, the problem is that there are no empirical studies to support common goals, or what factors are essential in creating shared goals in developing sustainable tourism destinations to cater for various needs of stakeholders.

To this end, most tourism organisations have no concrete industry standards as these depend on a given country’s tourism policies. Thus, creating common goals for sustainability in the tourism sector will remain a challenge.

Therefore, organisations should strive to create a solid tourism industry shared goals common among all stakeholders (Burns and Holden, 1995). These goals must come from common publications, stakeholders’ opinions, and academic journals among others. We have to recognise that the industry can create sustainable tourism destinations based on competitive interests and shared resources affected by same factors (Butler, 2006). This will ensure that stakeholders have motivation to achieve a common and collective goal.

However, these shared goals cannot remain constant as the industry experiences growth (Hall and Lew, 1998). Thus, continuous research, studies and development are necessary to reflect the changing trends in the industry such environmental concerns, infrastructures, and marketing principles.

This approach will ensure that the industry has a sense of direction supported by strategies and practical and achievable goals. Medeiros and Bramwell noted that countries such as Brazil have attempted to implement shared vision but with minimal outcomes due to uncertainty in the industry (Medeiros and Bramwell, 2002).

The challenge has been to get information where stakeholders need it for developing sustainable tourism policies. Thus, the industry must enhance information flow among its small stakeholders. This must also apply to feedback. However, generating useful information for the industry means continuous learning due to the dynamic nature of tourism. Application of information systems can assist in reflecting, evaluating, delivering, processing, and improving information flow in the tourism industry for sustainability destinations.

Most stakeholders blame poor research cultures in the tourism industry as a basis for lack of sustainability in developing tourism destinations. This is responsible for the rift in utilisation of the available research findings. De Lacy and Boyd note that there are considerable efforts in Australia to reduce such barriers through “the use of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) model for cross-sectoral research collaboration to enhance the sustainability of tourism” (De Lacy and Boyd, 2000).

The approach aims at highlighting the importance of the industry collaboration to enhance the effectiveness and benefits of research findings through technology transfers, usages and commercialisation.

Organisations have relationships that exist among them. These can be in forms of partnerships, co-operation, co-ordination, and collaboration. Researchers have concentrated on these areas so as to eliminate problems that have affected tourism development for decades.

Jamal and Getz concur that enhancing the industry identity and common goals can enhance co-operation among the main players as these stakeholders recognise the need to work as a team (Jamal and Getz, 1995). However, the challenge is that no major studies exist to prove the importance of co-operation to tourism destination development. Still, a closer look at the relationship that exists in the industry reveals that real sustainability in the tourism industry can only become reality if there is co-operation.

Occasionally, some problems result due to lack of information. Therefore, co-operation will minimise incidences of miscommunication and difficulties due to lack of collaboration among the industry stakeholders (Inskeep, 1997). This approach to sustainability is not effective due to challenges related to accessing information in a timely fashion.

One of the aims of ecotourism is the need for cultural exchange among the stakeholders. There is a need for mutual acceptance and accommodation of different cultural belief, and world views to enhance development of sustainability in tourism destinations (Davidson and Maitland, 1997). It is necessary that stakeholders of diverse views and beliefs promote dialogue and exchanges in tourism destinations, acceptance of the locals, conservation of the cultural diversity, and eradicate negative impacts of tourism.

We can use Senge’s system thinking to promote a common language that helps stakeholders who have differences in belief systems (Senge, 1990). The industry covers almost all cultures of the global. Thus, cultural exchange has limitations in relations to accommodation, acceptance, diversity, and eradication of negative stereotypes.

Sustainability of tourism destinations needs consultative approach on decision-making processes. The processes must involve all stakeholders including host communities. Sharman noted some issues that influenced participation of stakeholders in planning as poor representation, low participation and poor outcomes of the process among the participants (Sharman, 1999).

Power issues influenced the outcomes of all consultative processes. The industry can develop models which aim at creating power balance for accommodation of different point of views (Douglas and Butler, 2001). This approach helps in facilitating understanding, strategic planning and increasing stakeholders’ participation.

The uncertainty surrounding the future of tourism industry impacts decision-making process. Stakeholders are not willing to engage in long-term decisions without knowing their consequences. Participants should base their decisions on sound policies and welcome open discussions so that they can identity issues of common concerns and provide alternatives or solutions (Jamieson, 2001).

It is difficult for the tourism industry to have a single body to coordinate all decision-making processes that fit all the tourism destinations of the world. Tourism decisions depend on national policies regulating the industry.

The concept of adaptive management can help in improving sustainability of tourism destinations. Adaptive approaches can help the industry tackle emerging challenges that hamper growth (Knowles and Egan, 2000). Adaptive management enables the industry reacts to changes in a timely fashion.

The idea of adaptive management finds support in studies and ideas of Reeds (Reed, 2000). Adaptive management requires continuous studies, testing and developing adaptive models (Eaton, 1996). Adaptive management has been effective in enhance management of the tourism industry.

Given the reviewed literature, this research supports the view that despite the existence of many initiatives, sustainable tourism practices have not spread across the industry because the stakeholders of tourism are still divided on how to improve the sustainability of tourist destinations . These initiatives exist, but tourism has diverse components that vary from country to country. Thus, putting these together to enhance sustainability of the environment has remained a challenge across the industry.

Approaches to tourism destination sustainability such as regulations, market approaches, and soft tools may not work in every tourism situation. Still, attempts at developing sustainability of tourism destinations may not achieve the desired outcome due to minimal participation in processes such as sharing information, goals, co-operation and co-ordination, cultural exchanges, consultative decision-making and planning, and adaptive management.

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The sustainable tourism in New Zealand
Sustainable Tourism: Divisions among Stakeholders
Tourism Destination Management and Development
Improving Tourism Destinations Competitiveness
Sustainable Tourism Analysis
Development and Pro-Poor Tourism
Climate Change and Its Effects on Tourism in Coastal Areas
Purposes of Tourism Industry
The Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in Tourism Marketing
Social Cultural Impacts of Tourism
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What Is Sustainable Tourism and Why Is It Important?

Sustainable management and socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental impacts are the four pillars of sustainable tourism

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Sustainable Fashion
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What Makes Tourism Sustainable?

The role of tourists, types of sustainable tourism.

Sustainable tourism considers its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts by addressing the needs of its ecological surroundings and the local communities. This is achieved by protecting natural environments and wildlife when developing and managing tourism activities, providing only authentic experiences for tourists that don’t appropriate or misrepresent local heritage and culture, or creating direct socioeconomic benefits for local communities through training and employment.

As people begin to pay more attention to sustainability and the direct and indirect effects of their actions, travel destinations and organizations are following suit. For example, the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment is aiming to see every New Zealand tourism business committed to sustainability by 2025, while the island country of Palau has required visitors to sign an eco pledge upon entry since 2017.

Tourism industries are considered successfully sustainable when they can meet the needs of travelers while having a low impact on natural resources and generating long-term employment for locals. By creating positive experiences for local people, travelers, and the industry itself, properly managed sustainable tourism can meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.

What Is Sustainability?

At its core, sustainability focuses on balance — maintaining our environmental, social, and economic benefits without using up the resources that future generations will need to thrive. In the past, sustainability ideals tended to lean towards business, though more modern definitions of sustainability highlight finding ways to avoid depleting natural resources in order to keep an ecological balance and maintain the quality of environmental and human societies.

Since tourism impacts and is impacted by a wide range of different activities and industries, all sectors and stakeholders (tourists, governments, host communities, tourism businesses) need to collaborate on sustainable tourism in order for it to be successful.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) , which is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of sustainable tourism, and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) , the global standard for sustainable travel and tourism, have similar opinions on what makes tourism sustainable. By their account, sustainable tourism should make the best use of environmental resources while helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, respect the socio-culture of local host communities, and contribute to intercultural understanding. Economically, it should also ensure viable long-term operations that will provide benefits to all stakeholders, whether that includes stable employment to locals, social services, or contributions to poverty alleviation.

The GSTC has developed a series of criteria to create a common language about sustainable travel and tourism. These criteria are used to distinguish sustainable destinations and organizations, but can also help create sustainable policies for businesses and government agencies. Arranged in four pillars, the global baseline standards include sustainable management, socioeconomic impact, cultural impacts, and environmental impacts.

Travel Tip:

The GSTC is an excellent resource for travelers who want to find sustainably managed destinations and accommodations and learn how to become a more sustainable traveler in general.

Environment

Protecting natural environments is the bedrock of sustainable tourism. Data released by the World Tourism Organization estimates that tourism-based CO2 emissions are forecast to increase 25% by 2030. In 2016, tourism transport-related emissions contributed to 5% of all man-made emissions, while transport-related emissions from long-haul international travel were expected to grow 45% by 2030.

The environmental ramifications of tourism don’t end with carbon emissions, either. Unsustainably managed tourism can create waste problems, lead to land loss or soil erosion, increase natural habitat loss, and put pressure on endangered species . More often than not, the resources in these places are already scarce, and sadly, the negative effects can contribute to the destruction of the very environment on which the industry depends.

Industries and destinations that want to be sustainable must do their part to conserve resources, reduce pollution, and conserve biodiversity and important ecosystems. In order to achieve this, proper resource management and management of waste and emissions is important. In Bali, for example, tourism consumes 65% of local water resources, while in Zanzibar, tourists use 15 times as much water per night as local residents.

Another factor to environmentally focused sustainable tourism comes in the form of purchasing: Does the tour operator, hotel, or restaurant favor locally sourced suppliers and products? How do they manage their food waste and dispose of goods? Something as simple as offering paper straws instead of plastic ones can make a huge dent in an organization’s harmful pollutant footprint.

Recently, there has been an uptick in companies that promote carbon offsetting . The idea behind carbon offsetting is to compensate for generated greenhouse gas emissions by canceling out emissions somewhere else. Much like the idea that reducing or reusing should be considered first before recycling , carbon offsetting shouldn’t be the primary goal. Sustainable tourism industries always work towards reducing emissions first and offset what they can’t.

Properly managed sustainable tourism also has the power to provide alternatives to need-based professions and behaviors like poaching . Often, and especially in underdeveloped countries, residents turn to environmentally harmful practices due to poverty and other social issues. At Periyar Tiger Reserve in India, for example, an unregulated increase in tourists made it more difficult to control poaching in the area. In response, an eco development program aimed at providing employment for locals turned 85 former poachers into reserve gamekeepers. Under supervision of the reserve’s management staff, the group of gamekeepers have developed a series of tourism packages and are now protecting land instead of exploiting it. They’ve found that jobs in responsible wildlife tourism are more rewarding and lucrative than illegal work.

Flying nonstop and spending more time in a single destination can help save CO2, since planes use more fuel the more times they take off.

Local Culture and Residents

One of the most important and overlooked aspects of sustainable tourism is contributing to protecting, preserving, and enhancing local sites and traditions. These include areas of historical, archaeological, or cultural significance, but also "intangible heritage," such as ceremonial dance or traditional art techniques.

In cases where a site is being used as a tourist attraction, it is important that the tourism doesn’t impede access to local residents. For example, some tourist organizations create local programs that offer residents the chance to visit tourism sites with cultural value in their own countries. A program called “Children in the Wilderness” run by Wilderness Safaris educates children in rural Africa about the importance of wildlife conservation and valuable leadership development tools. Vacations booked through travel site Responsible Travel contribute to the company’s “Trip for a Trip” program, which organizes day trips for disadvantaged youth who live near popular tourist destinations but have never had the opportunity to visit.

Sustainable tourism bodies work alongside communities to incorporate various local cultural expressions as part of a traveler’s experiences and ensure that they are appropriately represented. They collaborate with locals and seek their input on culturally appropriate interpretation of sites, and train guides to give visitors a valuable (and correct) impression of the site. The key is to inspire travelers to want to protect the area because they understand its significance.

Bhutan, a small landlocked country in South Asia, has enforced a system of all-inclusive tax for international visitors since 1997 ($200 per day in the off season and $250 per day in the high season). This way, the government is able to restrict the tourism market to local entrepreneurs exclusively and restrict tourism to specific regions, ensuring that the country’s most precious natural resources won’t be exploited.

Incorporating volunteer work into your vacation is an amazing way to learn more about the local culture and help contribute to your host community at the same time. You can also book a trip that is focused primarily on volunteer work through a locally run charity or non profit (just be sure that the job isn’t taking employment opportunities away from residents).

It's not difficult to make a business case for sustainable tourism, especially if one looks at a destination as a product. Think of protecting a destination, cultural landmark, or ecosystem as an investment. By keeping the environment healthy and the locals happy, sustainable tourism will maximize the efficiency of business resources. This is especially true in places where locals are more likely to voice their concerns if they feel like the industry is treating visitors better than residents.

Not only does reducing reliance on natural resources help save money in the long run, studies have shown that modern travelers are likely to participate in environmentally friendly tourism. In 2019, Booking.com found that 73% of travelers preferred an eco-sustainable hotel over a traditional one and 72% of travelers believed that people need to make sustainable travel choices for the sake of future generations.

Always be mindful of where your souvenirs are coming from and whether or not the money is going directly towards the local economy. For example, opt for handcrafted souvenirs made by local artisans.

Growth in the travel and tourism sectors alone has outpaced the overall global economy growth for nine years in a row. Prior to the pandemic, travel and tourism accounted for an $9.6 trillion contribution to the global GDP and 333 million jobs (or one in four new jobs around the world).

Sustainable travel dollars help support employees, who in turn pay taxes that contribute to their local economy. If those employees are not paid a fair wage or aren’t treated fairly, the traveler is unknowingly supporting damaging or unsustainable practices that do nothing to contribute to the future of the community. Similarly, if a hotel doesn’t take into account its ecological footprint, it may be building infrastructure on animal nesting grounds or contributing to excessive pollution. The same goes for attractions, since sustainably managed spots (like nature preserves) often put profits towards conservation and research.

Costa Rica was able to turn a severe deforestation crisis in the 1980s into a diversified tourism-based economy by designating 25.56% of land protected as either a national park, wildlife refuge, or reserve.

While traveling, think of how you would want your home country or home town to be treated by visitors.

Are You a Sustainable Traveler?

Sustainable travelers understand that their actions create an ecological and social footprint on the places they visit. Be mindful of the destinations , accommodations, and activities you choose, and choose destinations that are closer to home or extend your length of stay to save resources. Consider switching to more environmentally friendly modes of transportation such as bicycles, trains, or walking while on vacation. Look into supporting locally run tour operations or local family-owned businesses rather than large international chains. Don’t engage in activities that harm wildlife, such as elephant riding or tiger petting , and opt instead for a wildlife sanctuary (or better yet, attend a beach clean up or plan an hour or two of some volunteer work that interests you). Leave natural areas as you found them by taking out what you carry in, not littering, and respecting the local residents and their traditions.

Most of us travel to experience the world. New cultures, new traditions, new sights and smells and tastes are what makes traveling so rewarding. It is our responsibility as travelers to ensure that these destinations are protected not only for the sake of the communities who rely upon them, but for a future generation of travelers.

Sustainable tourism has many different layers, most of which oppose the more traditional forms of mass tourism that are more likely to lead to environmental damage, loss of culture, pollution, negative economic impacts, and overtourism.

Ecotourism highlights responsible travel to natural areas that focus on environmental conservation. A sustainable tourism body supports and contributes to biodiversity conservation by managing its own property responsibly and respecting or enhancing nearby natural protected areas (or areas of high biological value). Most of the time, this looks like a financial compensation to conservation management, but it can also include making sure that tours, attractions, and infrastructure don’t disturb natural ecosystems.

On the same page, wildlife interactions with free roaming wildlife should be non-invasive and managed responsibly to avoid negative impacts to the animals. As a traveler, prioritize visits to accredited rescue and rehabilitation centers that focus on treating, rehoming, or releasing animals back into the wild, such as the Jaguar Rescue Center in Costa Rica.

Soft Tourism

Soft tourism may highlight local experiences, local languages, or encourage longer time spent in individual areas. This is opposed to hard tourism featuring short duration of visits, travel without respecting culture, taking lots of selfies , and generally feeling a sense of superiority as a tourist.

Many World Heritage Sites, for example, pay special attention to protection, preservation, and sustainability by promoting soft tourism. Peru’s famed Machu Picchu was previously known as one of the world’s worst victims of overtourism , or a place of interest that has experienced negative effects (such as traffic or litter) from excessive numbers of tourists. The attraction has taken steps to control damages in recent years, requiring hikers to hire local guides on the Inca Trail, specifying dates and time on visitor tickets to negate overcrowding, and banning all single use plastics from the site.

Traveling during a destination’s shoulder season , the period between the peak and low seasons, typically combines good weather and low prices without the large crowds. This allows better opportunities to immerse yourself in a new place without contributing to overtourism, but also provides the local economy with income during a normally slow season.

Rural Tourism

Rural tourism applies to tourism that takes place in non-urbanized areas such as national parks, forests, nature reserves, and mountain areas. This can mean anything from camping and glamping to hiking and WOOFing. Rural tourism is a great way to practice sustainable tourism, since it usually requires less use of natural resources.

Community Tourism

Community-based tourism involves tourism where local residents invite travelers to visit their own communities. It sometimes includes overnight stays and often takes place in rural or underdeveloped countries. This type of tourism fosters connection and enables tourists to gain an in-depth knowledge of local habitats, wildlife, and traditional cultures — all while providing direct economic benefits to the host communities. Ecuador is a world leader in community tourism, offering unique accommodation options like the Sani Lodge run by the local Kichwa indigenous community, which offers responsible cultural experiences in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.

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Costa Rica’s Keys to Success as a Sustainable Tourism Pioneer
How to Be a Sustainable Traveler: 18 Tips
Regenerative Travel: What It Is and How It's Outperforming Sustainable Tourism
What Is Ecotourism? Definition, Examples, and Pros and Cons
What Is Experiential Tourism?
What Is Community-Based Tourism? Definition and Popular Destinations
3 More Rules for Sustainable Tourism
What Is Overtourism and Why Is It Such a Big Problem?
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The World Doesn't Want Your Inukshuk
8 Incredible Rainforest Destinations Around the World
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15 Travel Destinations Being Ruined by Tourism
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Stakeholder Engagement in Tourism Planning and Development

First Online: 01 January 2011

Cite this chapter

Lisa C. Chase 4 ,
Benoni Amsden 5 &
Rhonda G. Phillips 6

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

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Quality-of-life is at the center of decisions about tourism planning and development for residents of host communities. Stakeholders are affected in different ways by tourism development; as some stakeholders may see an increase in their quality-of-life, others may experience a decrease in quality-of-life, and still others may experience mixed impacts. Understanding diverse perspectives of stakeholders and how they are affected by tourism development is critical for constructively engaging stakeholders in planning, but designing an effective strategy is not straightforward. Several techniques exist to engage stakeholders, ranging from information dissemination to public meetings to task forces. Case studies of participatory modeling workshops, training and technical assistance, and surveys and focus groups illustrate the effectiveness of different techniques applied in different situations. Challenges to constructively engage stakeholders include resistance among stakeholder sets, ensuring equity and fairness, problematic relationships among institutions, communication issues, lack of time and money, and difficulty defining and measuring quality-of-life. To address these challenges, researchers are working closely with practitioners to expand the body of knowledge and practical tools available for engaging stakeholders and assessing quality-of-life indicators for residents of host communities.

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Quality of Life and Stakeholder Involvement in Sustainable Tourism Planning

Collaborative Policy Making and Stakeholder Engagement: A Resident–Based Perspective

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Lisa C. Chase

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Benoni Amsden

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Rhonda G. Phillips

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Muzaffer Uysal

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M. Joseph Sirgy

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Chase, L.C., Amsden, B., Phillips, R.G. (2012). Stakeholder Engagement in Tourism Planning and Development. In: Uysal, M., Perdue, R., Sirgy, M. (eds) Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2288-0_28

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