ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of the public sector and the ways it facilitates and constrains the development, operation and management of tourism. It identifies the roles and responsibilities of the public sector in tourism, focusing on tourism policy and why it is developed to guide tourism planning and development in different contexts and destinations. The chapter explains why the public sector needs to intervene in the tourism sector as a counterbalance to private sector interests focused on profit and presents examples of best practice in developing public sector models of intervention that balance the needs of stakeholders. The chapter also outlines why tourism planning is used as a tool and what are its problems in implementation.
