Strategies for development: the role of planning in tourism

Due to the dynamic nature of the Tourism industry, flexibility and being able to make incremental and rapid adjustments becomes very important in planning process. As we can see in the planning model below, (Williams, 1998) almost in every stage of the process there is a chance to evaluate and make the necessary change.  As Williams puts it, this is a quality that is especially important in tourism planning.

Moving on from this general planning model, there are 3 main approaches to tourism planning. These are Master plan, incremental plan and systematic plan. They differ from each other on the emphasis they put on different levels of the general planning model above. To give a brief idea about each one: Master plans are usually framed around a certain time period, like 5 years, and set out definite goals at the beginning. They are usually not interfered during this period and allowed to run their course. It is after this period that they are evaluated and a new master plan is set in motion. As you can see, this is the least suitable approach for a dynamic, constantly changing industry such as Tourism.

On the other hand incremental plans differ from the master plans in that they allow for the constant adjustment. As Williams explains, where master plans focus on the stages 1 & 2 of the general planning model, incremental planning is focused on the stages 8, 9 and 10. This gives the planners and everybody involved in the planning process the flexibility to adjust policies matching the fluctuations in the demand. This gives planners room and the ability to stay on top of their programs.

Lastly, systems approach has been thrown out there as a more in-depth and suitable approach to planning, especially in tourism where the industry has many linkages with other industries around. According to Williams systems approach simply means that a change in one factor will produce consequential and predictable change in other parts of the system. Thus it requires extensive knowledge of the structure and the workings of the system, which means money. That is why systems approach is not preferred or used by many of the tourism and planning professionals.

So why is planning important? For many things. To quote Arthur Schopenhauer here, “As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself.” So is tourism growth just like that. If it is disorganized it can lead to no good or even the destruction of the surroundings, however, when planned carefully it can grow and sustain a region. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, if we want to be successful in Tourism we have to be on top of the this beast making sure it goes where we want it to go.