Tourism Policy: Structure, Content, and Process - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 332

& Minimum wage policy

— can affect labor markets

& Welfare policy

— can in uence nature and behavior of workforce

Education policy — can affect quality of workforce

&

Cultural policy—can affect preservation and promotion of national heritage

&

Foreign investment policy/regulations — can affect availability of investment capital

&

can restrict or encourage tourism facility development
& National/provincial/local policy pertaining to funding support for major public facilities (e.g.,
stadiums, convention centers, museums, parks)

Local zoning policy/bylaws —

&

— can drastically affect destination attractiveness

Infrastructure policy — can make destination safer for visitors, or restrict resident travel to foreign

&

destinations

Currency/exchange-rate policies — directly affect destination cost competitiveness

&

Legal system determines consumer/visitor protection legislation (e.g., liability for failing to deliver

advertised facilities/tours/experiences)

—

&

To summarize, a whole range of social, economic, legal, and technological policies greatly affects
the appeal, attractiveness, competitiveness, and sustainability of a tourism destination. Some are
under the control of the tourism sector (such as visitor satisfaction, guarantee policy, truth-in-
advertising policy), but most are not. Thus, the challenge facing tourismmanagers is to try to in uence
global policies where they can, and adapt to them as effectively as possible where they cannot.

The Many In uences on Tourism Policy

As stressed earlier, tourism does not exist in a vacuum. It can function smoothly only if it shares,
cooperates, and dialogues effectively with many other sectors of society and of the economy
(Figure 15.4). Many of these sectors have little understanding of, or explicit interest in, tourism
in the region

— unless, of course, visitor activity somehow appears to detract from the functioning or

Legal/Political Players

Environmental Movement

Technology Sector

T
O
U
R
I
S
M

Entertainment Industry

Health Services Sector

Financial Sector

Resource Extraction
Industries

Education Sector

Transportation Industries
and Infrastructure

Other Interfaces:
￿ Manufacturing
￿ International Relations
￿ Agriculture Sector

Figure 15.4

Tourism: Some of its
multiple interfaces with other sectors
of the economy and society.