ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the key players in tourism planning and management. The major players are the tourists themselves, members of host communities, representatives of the travel industry and government agencies. Tourism management clearly relates to the tourists themselves and will also need to consider the host or resident population. Tourism marketing media reveals that different types of holidays are targeted at male and female, heterosexual and homosexual tourists. In some cases, actually meeting members of a particular community and staying with them is a key motivation for certain types of tourist. In addition to obvious variations in gender and age, a host community is likely to have individuals and groups with several different value positions, political persuasions and attitudes to socio-cultural phenomena, including tourism. There are many examples, particularly in developed countries and increasingly in the developing world, where local residents in a tourist destination are actively involved in the provision for tourism and also its planning and management.
