Introduction

It can be said that no other industry has a greater self-image problem. Tourism is inherently a complex field difficult to define, resisting comparability within itself and with other industries. Tourism is the practice of travelling and also the business of providing associated products, services and facilities. It is not a single industry but instead an amalgam of industry sectors – a demand force and supply market, a personal experience and a complicated international phenomenon. Tourism incorporates social, cultural and environmental concerns beyond physical development and marketing. It encompasses both supply and demand, more than the sum of marketing and economic development. Tourism has strong links to cultural and social pursuits, foreign policy

initiatives, economic development, environmental goals and sustainable planning. The industry includes the buying, selling and management of services and products (to tourists) that might range from buying hotel rooms to selling souvenirs or managing an airline. To accomplish these complex activities, the tourism industry demands the most creative and innovative managers because tourism represents one of the most perishable of products. If hotel rooms, airline seats, cruise ship births or restaurant tables are not filled daily and repeatedly, the point-of-sale moments to generate revenue from these ‘products’ are gone forever. There is no opportunity to put such unsold products on sale at a later time, in storage or in inventory (Figure 1.1). Tourism is also the most wide-ranging industry in the sense that it

demands products from other sectors of the economy. For example, the US State of North Carolina’s top agricultural exports include leaf tobacco, poultry and poultry products, live animals and meat, cotton and cotton linters and forestry products that supply demand throughout the United States and across the globe. These products are also ‘assistance goods’ used by the tourism industry. In addition to agricultural products, airplanes must be produced, computer reservation systems developed, steel and concrete manufactured and hotels constructed. There is no other industry in the economy that is linked to so many diverse products and services as is the tourism industry. In order to plan for and provide rational order to such a wide-ranging and dynamic industry, it is necessary to develop policies to assist the decision makers in the management of this complex industry. According to the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (2006), ‘It is

safe to say that the world is now entering a new golden age for travel

and tourism’. The United Nations World Tourism Organization indicated that the 4.5 per cent growth rate of tourism in 2006 ‘ exceeded expectations as the tourism sector continued to enjoy above average results ’ (2007). Demographic changes, increasing disposable income levels, heightened emphasis on sustainability, greater availability of leisure time, new communication tools and technology, higher levels of education, emerging tourismmarkets, growth in thesupplyof facilities anddestinationsandother

supplementary factors are having an impact on the demand for tourism. The supplysideof tourism, for themost part, is meeting most tourists’ demands. Tourism Policy and Planning: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow addresses

the state of current affairs, offers remedies for past mistakes and presents prescriptions to assure positive tourism results for the future growth of tourism. It provides policymakers, planning authorities, local communities, academic scholars, students of tourism and the public a blueprint for understanding the broad ramifications of the tourism industry. The case studies at the end of each chapter refer to situations encountered, a completed project, or important guidelines with respect to tourism issues and policies. For the tourism industry to be sustainable in the future, it is vital that

effective policy and planning take place today. The policymakers, planning officials and stakeholders must identify the emerging trends in tourism and orchestrate new measures that lead to orderly growth and quality products that benefit tourists and communities. Unfortunately, in the past, many governments have not given the tourism industry the same concern given to manufactured goods or other service industries. In part due to the terrorists’ attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, and tragedies elsewhere, this attitude is now changing globally. News of conflicts, terrorism, health concerns, natural disasters and weather conditions in many different countries throughout the world often bring the tourism industry to the forefront. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic and concerns about avian influenza have taken their toll on tourism, along with earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and other disasters. The escalation of petroleum prices, difficulties in the world economy and adjustments to new technologies are affecting the tourism industry in unprecedented ways. This book discusses many of these changes and issues and, in some cases, suggests remedies. Since the agricultural and industrial revolutions of the nineteenth cen-

tury, we have measured the wealth of nations almost entirely on the development and exportation of tangible goods: agriculture and livestock, mining andmanufacturing; on the construction of infrastructure: highways and dams; and transportation: ocean vessels, railroads, airplanes, buses, automobiles and other vehicles that transport people and assets from place to place around the world. In the twenty-first century, we are deep into the services revolution that is changing the way we live and evaluate the world’s wealth and economy. An ever-expanding world of innovation has already provided us with multi-use telephones, e-commerce tools within computer technology, digital cameras, high-definition television and practical applications of satellite technology. In this bright new world, we have found another major growth service sector – sometimes referred to as an ‘invisible’ or ‘intangible’ activity: tourism. This growing service industry embraces technology in its widespread use of e-commerce tools, for its applications to new products such as space and undersea tourism and

for developing new methods of marketing and promotion. The tourism industry has become one of the most dynamic industries throughout the globe as it adapts to technological change, product innovations and new markets. Managing sustainable tourism in today’s world adds an important dimension to the growth of the tourism industry. The policies we set for tourism in an ever-changing world will direct the courses of action for the travel and tourism industry in the future. This book is an effort to meet this challenge and provide policy and planning solutions for the orderly growth and development of tourism and add to its sustainability. The tourism industry’s ability to fashion policies and plans for global

tourism in the future will depend on solid research to better understand and accept new ideas and concepts as they appear. Such research, conducted in a chaotic world, may hammer out innovative and creative approaches that differ from the traditional guidelines for policy and planning once held by the tourism industry. The policies must be flexible and resilient enough to foster the development of new tourism products and services in a rapidly changing world. A static policy that is firmly in place can be rendered useless or in need of radical remedies, whenever a tragic event or global disturbance occurs, as has been the case in recent years. The opportunity offered by tourism for future economic, environmen-

tal and social benefits will depend on understanding the tourism industry of yesterday, making the best possible decisions today and addressing forward thinking trends for tomorrow. We can define clear plans and policy guidelines now for the future of tourism or let it happen haphazardly and hope for the best. This book provides new information and concepts to helpmeet thechallengeof charting a favourable course for tourism’s future. Tourism policy assembles the planning function and political goals for

tourism into a set of guidelines to give us direction aswemove ahead.Without such guidance, we might find tourism’s future considerably less beneficial thanwe had hoped.With the information and precepts presented in this book, students, professionals and policymakers will have a set of conceptual tools for understanding the myriad factors that make up the tourism policy and help foster the industry’s future growth in positive ways. In many communities and countries throughout the world, tourism is the

most valuable industry. Las Vegas, Nevada – shown in Figure 1.2 – along with Orlando, Florida, and Cancun, Mexico, and similar destinations are cities that would likely be unknown if not for the large numbers of domestic andinternational touristsvisitingtheir tourismattractions and environment. Economic changes taking place in China, India and the United States

(with almost three billion people, half the world’s population) will have major impacts on the global tourism markets of tomorrow. Social-cultural changes in Europe, with borderless tourism crossings and a common currency, are increasing the opportunities for tourism growth. East Asia and the Pacific Rim are experiencing unprecedented growth and change in

tourism. From the perspective of economic policy, tourism is a vital economic development tool for local communities and national governments, producing income, creating jobs, spawning new businesses, spurring economic development, promoting economic diversification, developing new products and contributing to economic integration. If local and national governments are committed to broad-based tourism policies, tourism will provide its citizens with a higher quality of life while generating sustained economic, environmental and social benefits. The wellspring of future growth for tourism throughout the world

is a commitment to good policy. Governments, private sector and notfor-profit agencies must work cohesively to be the leaders in creating sustainable tourism policy that transcends the economic benefits and embraces environmental and cultural interests as well. This book addresses key ingredients for positive tourism policies and planning that will lead this generation and the next toward a greater quality of life resulting from tourism growth. The aim of this book, then, is to provide government policymakers (at all levels), business leaders, not-for-profit executives, university professors, students, tourism industry managers and the general public with an introduction and examination of important policy and planning issues in tourism. A look at travel and tourism within this context mandates that poli-

cymakers must understand the need for developing wide-ranging strategies, adjusted as conditions fluctuate or mature. Policymakers must be knowledgeable about market trends and flexible enough to adjust

strategic plans in the face of rapidly changing market forces. In summary, policymaking within the new tourism horizon must fully encompass the complex nature of tourism and the far-reaching mechanics of its implementation. Tourism policy and planning will drive the appropriate management techniques and tools essential for meeting emerging trends. This transformation must take place in a new world of globalization and competition, in which, at the same time, the world’s population and economies are changing. New technology (particularly in communications and transportation), barriers to travel, political relations and many other factors will affect tourism policy and planning in the future.