ABSTRACT
This chapter examines tourism planning practices in China, particularly in Banna. It provides an overview of tourism planning in China and examines the evolution and current status of tourism planning. The chapter evaluates tourism planning in Banna with an emphasis on ethnic tourism. It reviews and analyzes planning techniques and approaches adopted in nine local tourism projects in China. The project, in collaboration with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlement, has measured stakeholders' tourism awareness and benefits sought, and identified issues in tourism development through round-table meetings, focus groups, surveys and household interviews. As demonstrated in the results of the surveys discussed earlier, local communities, tourists, tourism entrepreneurs and employees, and local organizations all can offer many insights into what issues should be addressed in tourism planning and what improvements need to be made in future development. Tourism planning is currently driven by bureaucratic aspirations and the interests of capital rather than communities' needs and professional knowledge.
