Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Infractions of IAATO guidelines by members have been documented, but it is not known
to what extent the environment was seriously affected by them (Enzenbacher 1992).
STRATEGIC PLANNING TO SUPERSEDE CONVENTIONAL
APPROACHES
Strategic planning is becoming increasingly important in tourism (e.g. Dowling 1993).
Strategic planning aims to be proactive, responsive to community needs, to incorporate
implementation within a single planning process, and to be ongoing. A 'strategy' is a
means to achieve a desired end. Strategic planning is the process by which an
organisation effectively adapts to its management environment over time by integrating
planning and management in a single process. The strategic plan is the document which
is the output of a strategic planning process, it is the template by which progress is
measured and which serves to guide future directions, activities, programmes and actions.
The outcome of the strategic planning process is the impact the process has on the
organisation and its activities. Such impacts are then monitored and evaluated through the
selection of appropriate indicators as part of the ongoing revision and readjustment of the
organisation to its environment. Strategic planning therefore emphasises the process of
continuous improvement as a cornerstone of organisational activity in which strategic
planning is linked to management and operational decision-making. According to Hall
and Me Arthur (1998) there are three key mechanisms to achieving strategic planning
which differentiate it from conventional planning approaches:
• a planning framework which extends beyond organisational boundaries and focuses on
strategic decisions concerning stakeholders and resources
• a planning process that stimulates entrepreneurial and innovative thinking
• an organisational values system that reinforces managers and staff commitment to the
organisational strategy.
Effective strategic planning for sustainable tourism recognises the importance of factors
that affect the broad framework within which strategies are generated, such as
institutional arrangements, institutional culture and stakeholder values and attitudes.
These factors are significant because it is important to recognise that strategic plans will
be in line with the legislative powers and organisational structures of the implementing
organisation(s) and the political goals of government. However, it may also be the case
that once the strategic planning process is underway, goals and objectives formulated and
the process evaluated, the institutional arrangements may be recognised as being
inadequate for the successful achievement of sustainable goals and objectives. In
addition, it must be recognised that in order to be effective, the strategic planning process
needs to be integrated with the development of appropriate organisational values (see
Hall and Jenkins 1995 on the role of values in planning and policy). Indeed, with respect
to the significance of values it may be noted that the strategic planning process is as
important as its output, i.e. a plan. By having an inclusive planning process by which
those responsible for implementing the plan are also those who helped formulate it, the