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should serve the community; a vision,which
flows from the philosophy and is a formal
statement describing the ideal future state of the tourism destination some 20, 50, or 100
years into the future; a positioning/branding strategy de
ning how the destination should be
perceived relative to competitors; a detailed development plan; a competitive/collaborative
analysis providing an evaluation of how the destination relates to and compares with other
destinations and the international tourism system; the monitoring and evaluation of policies,
programs, and their outcome; and
finally, all the foregoing brought together into a rigorous
destination audit,whichidenti
es the destination
'
s strengths, weaknesses, problems, chal-
lenges, and opportunities.
5. Destination management:
This component of the model focuses on the activities that
implement the policy and planning framework on a daily, operational basis. These nine activities
involve effective organization, marketing of the destination, ensuring a high-quality visitor
experience, gathering and disseminating information, human resource development, obtaining
adequate
financing and venture capital, effective visitor management, ongoing resource stew-
ardship, and being prepared to manage unexpected crises.
6, 7. Comparative versus competitive advantage:
An important characteristic of this model is
the distinction it makes between comparative and competitive advantages of destinations. The
former refers to the resources with which the destination is endowed and that enhance its
chances of success, while the latter refers to the effectiveness with which a destination
s
resources are utilized or deployed, thus enhancing its relative probability of success relative to
competing destinations.
8, 9. Global (macro) versus competitive (micro) environment:
'
A
final important dimension of
the Ritchie/Crouch (R/C) framework is the distinction it makes between the impact of macro-
versus microforces on destination success. Global/macroforces refer to the vast array of
phenomena that broadly affect all human activities, and that are therefore not speci
ctothe
travel and tourism industry in their effect. By comparison, the competitive or microenvironment
is part of the tourism system, and the forces it contains concern the actions and activities of
entities in the tourism system that directly affect the goals of each member of the system,
whether they be individual tourism
firms or the collection of organizations that constitute a
destination.
THE NATURE OF TOURISM PLANNING
Tourism planning seeks to provide a detailed,
outline as to how each of the factors
affecting the success of a tourism destination should be developed. Good tourism planning goes far
beyond schemes to maximize pro
t. Although pro
table development brings positive economic and
social bene
ts to the community, it also carries inevitable drawbacks. Therefore, developers must
incorporate ways to enhance human welfare and happiness. These include insistence on high-quality
architectural, landscape, and environmental design; planning for transportation; and energy conser-
vation and education.
If such diverse goals are to be achieved, planners must implement a model that will guide their
thinking by incorporating each aspect (including various political aspects) into a master plan. These
include zoning, road maintenance, water and sewage treatment systems, and promotional
expenses. An of
cial body,
financed through tourist earnings, is useful in keeping abreast of
socioeconomic activities in the industry as well as dealing with other problems such as stabilizing
prices, forecasting demand, keeping an inventory of potential national tourist resources, and
arranging publicity campaigns. Resort development also necessitates working out
financial arrange-
ments that will not only enable the developer to take out loans for construction but also to be
granted reduced or forgiven taxes for a period of time in order to improve the venture
''
on-the-ground
''
'
s
financial
success.
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