DOI 10.20544/HORIZONS.A.23.2.18.

P17
UDC: 338.48-026.23:[005.51:005.21
STRATEGIC PLANNING OF TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT – TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY 1

Dora Smolčić Jurdana

University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Opatija
suzanam@fthm.hrdoras@fthm.hr

ABSTRACT

Economic and social conditions in which tourism is nowadays developing

searching that strategic planning documents must be coordinated at all levels –
from national to destination level; and even with the strategic documents of
other sectors which are in connection with tourism development. Strategy of
tourism development is a broad and very complex document which must be
prepared using the scientific methodology. It is a framework of desired future
and an essential document in which are defined tourism development goals,
tasks, responsibilities and indicators for monitoring process.
Sustainable tourism development is accepted as a concept by the most tourism
planners. Sustainable tourism development must coordinate economic,
sociological, cultural and political aspects with the aspects of environmental
protection, the social and cultural identity and the quality of life of the local
community.

KEY WORDS: strategic planning, tourism development, sustainable tourism

development, destination

1
Plenary session paper

239
 INTRODUCTION

The meaning of tourism is based on the understanding of a concept of the

tourism destination as a complex social and economic system. A tourism
destination is multifunctional and attracts different market segments with
different needs and expectations. Therefore, there is a need for strategic planning
in order to attract new investors, to build a smart development and distribute
benefits for local stakeholders and especially local inhabitants.

STRATEGIC PLANNING OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Developing tourism provides destinations with the opportunity to open their

doors to the world, present their culture, customs, industrial and other
achievements, and to build their destination identity.
Today tourism has become of the utmost importance in the development of
many regions/cities; it is a crucial marker of the region/city image, not only as a
tourist destination, but also as a spatial unit of pleasant living. In planning
tourism development, a number of specific issues need to be addressed such as
the conflicting natures of various development options, traffic-related problems
(which tourism only aggravates) especially in city centers, and the excessive
pressure placed on certain attractions, which could result in their degradation.
Considering the received spatial distribution of buildings and roads, where only
minor interventions are possible in the majority of cases, in planning tourism
development many elements of the offer (historical buildings, museums,
theatres) should be considered at given variables. This makes planning the flow
of tourists more difficult, especially considering that tourism is intended to
contribute to increasing prosperity in destination, but in such a way as not to
disrupt (to any substantial degree) the living conditions of the local inhabitants.
At the same time, the development of tourism can help to maintain and support
various facilities – in particular cultural facilities faced with funding problems.
Exposure to tourism can provide such facilities with the new markets and
additional sources of income they need. It is this fact that could be the key
driving force behind the revitalization of different destinations or their various
parts, especially during the transitional processes which destinations are
undergoing in their transformation process. The strategy that post-industrial
regions/cities most frequently search for in spurring their economic growth
involves a turn towards information and a service-oriented economy. Their aim

240
is to rebuild their economies on service activities, including leisure time and
tourism, as well as financial, information and communication services. This type
of strategy focusing on leisure time and spending that is linked to restoration
calls for investments to the infrastructure and superstructure of the service
sector. The facilities provided in the restored areas included movie theatres,
museums, amusement parks, creative workshops, marinas and others.
The effects of tourism development in a destination will not be felt to any
greater extent without a substantially significant number of tourists, as both
tourists and residents alike take advantage of the many facilities offered.
Promoting these facilities is beneficial to residents, and at the same time it
fosters tourism development. Tourists paying for the use of these facilities
contribute to their value and maintenance over an extended period of time in
favor of residents.
Tourism development that strives to support the economic vitality and
competitive ability of local companies and the local economy of the tourist
destination is encouraging local companies to continue to collaborate in
promoting tourism with long-term objectives (Achana, 2003). Today, important
elements of destination tourism attractiveness are events. Reaching this optimum
level of events could also be linked to destination resource capacity. While
larger mega-events may exceed existing resources, if only temporarily for actual
event, with some returns and activity being subsequently lost to the destination,
those hosting a number of smaller events which do not maximize resource
capacity may also lose out on the full potential of having larger events (Bull,
2004; McCartney, 2005).

Tourism destination development is heading towards positions of mutually

beneficial partnerships and balanced tourism development. In other words, a lot
of understanding, research and cooperative efforts will be needed in shaping and
sustaining initiatives required for the tourism of a competitive tourism
destination.
Hence, destination management must be viewed as tourism activities that
mobilise local interests within the framework of purposeful collaboration with
tourism-supply providers in order to create a destination product.
A key reason behind the growing interest in partnerships in tourism development
is the belief that by uniting the knowledge, similar competencies, capital and
other resources of several stakeholders it will be possible to gain a competitive

241
advantage for a tourism destination and the companies within it. (Kotler, P.,
2002)
The greatest drawback in destination tourism planning will be creating an
optimum process of coordination within a destination. Considering experiences
in tourism planning in destinations, several of the potential impediments to
planning should be taken into account:
 Residents need to possess a certain level of tourism knowledge and
culture.
 Further development might be used as an excuse for personal gain.
 The lack of skilled planners makes planning difficult and results in
bringing tourism experts of disputable standing into the planning
process.
 The lack of development funding from local sources encourages an
inward flow of capital, thus reducing local ownership and control, which
may be dangerous.
 Within a tourism destination, there are many groups of supply providers
with differing agendas, which might lead to secret plans and possible
discrepancies between declared and actual intentions.

Tourism planning for a destination involves building consensus within a broad

circle of supply providers, some of which will always perceive change as a
threat.
Collaborative efforts in tourism planning are highly appropriate where long-term
disagreement regarding tourism-resource management exists in a destination that
possesses the right resources for alternative proposals.
When several options emerge in relation to how tourism development should be
managed, tourism-supply providers begin to demand a greater role in managing
a destination’s development.
Complex an economic and social condition in which tourism is nowadays
developing searching that planning documents must be coordinated at all levels
– from national to destination level; and even with the strategic documents of
other sectors which are in connection with tourism development.
Strategy of tourism development is a broad and very complex document which
must be prepared using the scientific methodology. It is a framework of desired
future and an essential document in which are defined tourism development
goals, tasks, responsibilities and indicators for monitoring process. (Tribe, 2016)

242
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – BASIS FOR FUTURE TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable tourism development is accepted as an appropriate concept by the

most tourism planners.
The terms “sustainable development” and “sustainable” are often used in
scientific and professional literature in various contexts. Appearing in
professional literature during the 70’s of the 20th century, these expressions have
been used intensively over the past two decades. Today, at the onset of the 21st
century, they have become an indispensable part of development considerations.
It should be pointed out that although the elements forming the integral part of
sustainable development can be found in earlier theoretical papers, the term
“sustainable development” itself was coined at a later date.
Sustainable development is the leading theoretical concept at the end of the 20 th
and the beginning of the 21st century. It has emerged as a specific reaction to the
fact that human activities have an adverse effect on natural processes and social
events, even though such activities are carried out for the benefit of the
development of the economy and society in general.
The definition most frequently cited is that of the World Commission of
Environment and Development (WCED) printed in 1987 in their report “Our
Common Future” (also know as the Brundtland Report): “Sustainable
development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.”
(WCED, 1987, 43) The definition comprises two important notions: human
needs and limitations of the environment.
The WCED places special attention on the fundamental needs of humanity,
above all the poor. According to the WCED meeting human needs and
aspirations must be founded on equity and/or impartiality in the availability of
resources and the distribution of developmental costs and benefits. There are two
terms, which are used intensively in literature in connection with sustainable
development. These are intra-generation equity and inter-generation equity.
Another important aspect of sustainable development is environmental
limitations i.e. the limited abilities of the natural surroundings to meet present
and future needs. In this sense, resources can be divided into renewable and
unrenewable resources. Resource management is therefore of the special interest
in the context of the sustainable development, but the limited space of the paper
does not allow explaining related problems in details.

243
Sustainable development is the long-term and global aspiration of humankind.
Keeping the above in mind we can conclude that sustainable development is a
process of changes aimed at enhancing the ability of meeting needs and
aspirations, both today and tomorrow, through the mutual co-ordination of
resource exploitation, investments, technological development and institutional
changes. (WCED, 1987) In the foreground, the concept emphasizes qualitative
improvements over quantitative growth.
The concept of sustainable development promotes controlled growth and
development through the maximum preservation and rational exploitation of
resources. This would provide for long-term economic and social development.
Development that would, in the long run, cause the disruption of the economic,
social and ecological basis is not development based on the principles of
sustainability.
According to Aronsson the term sustainable development has the following two
main dimensions: (a) A resource dimension associated with the long-term use
and development of the local countryside and local culture; (b) A dimension
associated with workplaces and material rewards. The rewards may be sufficient
to provide a basis for establishing family-firms and for generation shifts.
(Aronsson, 2000)
Due to the multidisciplinary character of tourism engaging the interests of
economists, sociologists, geographers, ethnologists, philosophers, linguists,
culturologists, ecologists and members of other fields of science, a
multidisciplinary approach is required to an even greater extent in the
sustainable development of tourism. Sustainable tourism development must
coordinate economic, sociological, cultural and political aspects with the aspects
of environmental protection, the social and cultural identity and the quality of
life of the local community.
As an economic activity, tourism has its specific features. Tourists travel. They
go towards the product and arrive at the destination. Being an activity, which is
carried out through a range of different agents belonging to various economic
branches, tourism is difficult to control. In judging its impact, attention should
be given to the seasonal factor which concentrates activities over a short period
of time and which could potentially cause considerable harm. An additional
problem is the desire of tourists to try new experiences during their travels.
When speaking of sustainability, it should be pointed out that we speak from the
economic viewpoint taking into consideration the necessity and imperative of
development. Tourism is becoming a massive world phenomenon and this is fact

244
that must be accepted, because it provides the tourism industry with the
possibility of making a living. It is necessary to differentiate between the term
“massive” which is inherent to tourism and the term “mass tourism”, which,
given its characteristics, will no longer be capable of meeting the tourist
demand. The requirements of the tourist demand are increasingly turning to the
values of sustainable development – personalized relations, unique experiences,
cultural events, ecological values. 3S (or 4S) destinations need to add new
elements and higher quality to their standard offer of sun and sea. In the harsh
competition of the world market, these new elements can tip the balance in favor
of a particular tourist destination.

PARTNERSHIP AND COOPERATION BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS

Development of tourism based on the principles of sustainable development has

to accept the different interest and attitudes of many different groups,
organizations and institutions that on direct or indirect way influence on the
development of tourism. Therefore, it is necessary get to know their attitudes,
otherwise it is not possible to develop a positive communication and partnership
which a must in a process of implementation of sustainable tourism
development.
Tourism has various types of consequences in an area, the main categories being
economic, social and cultural, and physical and ecological. These consequences
affect both the resources and the conditions for tourism as well as the tourism
product; they may have both a positive and negative impact. We shall consider
this impact. As is apparent, a large number of questions have to be answered in
order to create a basis for an analysis of tourism at a destination in terms of
development strategy. (Aronsson, 2000) When strategic documents are being
drawn up for tourism development in a region, sustainability issues should
permeate the whole analysis and not be limited to their own (isolated) section of
text. All main stakeholders must accept the main principles and codex to make a
sustainable strategy possible.
Ryan has defined stakeholders as simply any individual or identifiable group
who is affected by, of who can affect the achievement of objectives. It
presupposes a moral obligation to involve such parties in meaningful
participation in decision-making process. (Ryan, 2002).
Just like any other economic activity, tourism has its positive and negative
outcomes. Sustainable tourism development should maximise the benefits from

245
tourism, while at the same time minimising damages or expenses, and directing
and limiting tourism development in accordance with the principles of
sustainable development in tourism.
The main problems regarding sustainable development come out in the process
of the implementation of the concept. As the tourism is (just) a part of the
national economics the conflicts between tourism and the other sectors on
national economy cannot always be avoided. The situation in the reality mostly
asks for a finding an appropriate relationship between tourism and other sectors,
more cooperatives, and minimize conflicts. These conflicts especially could
appear in the attitude towards the natural environment and socio-cultural
environment.
Tourism should be developed in a way that it benefits the local communities,
strengthens the local economy, employs local workforce and wherever
ecologically sustainable, uses local materials, local agricultural products and
traditional skills. Mechanism, including policies and legislation should be
introduced to ensure the flow of benefits to local communities. Tourism
activities should respect the ecological characteristics and capacity of the local
environment in which they take place. All efforts should be made to respect
traditional lifestyles and cultures.
The tourism system, involving the interplay of tourists, business, agencies, and
the environment in which tourism occurs, is so complex that no one can
comprehend its totality. As a result managers, planners and analysts use selected
pieces of information – indicators – to monitor the system. As a part of integral
tourism planning for sustainable destinations World Tourism Organization has
developed a set of indicators in order to help specialists in monitoring the
process, keeping in mind principles mentioned above.Final selection of
indicators that will be used in tourism planning of a particular destination
depends on the present situation, most significant problems, level of tourism
development and strategic decision of tourism management toward future
tourism development.
Indicators are empirical quantitative measures and qualitative reports that serve
as a managerial tool in the process of tourism development. The tourism
industry needs not only economic indicators but also indicators of environmental
and social change. Indicators do not simply measure current conditions but also
serve as “early warning” devices to alert managers of imminent problems.
(Smith, S.L.J, 1995)

246
There have been different definitions of indicators. Hart describes an indicator as
something that helps you to understand where you are, which way you are going
and how far you are from where you want to be.(Miller, G., 2001)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states that
“an indicator is an empirical interpretation of reality and not reality itself.
Indicators are commonly used to present a quantitative account of a complex
situation or process. They can also be used to point out or identify something,
which is not immediately visible, audible or perceived in a precise situation.
Indicators usually translate data and statistics and can be aggregated and
attributed weighted values in order to produce composite measure known as
indices. Finally, three major functions of indicators are simplification,
quantification and communication.” (Weaver, D., 2001)
Indicators are empirical, qualitative and quantitative measurement/evaluation
within the current situation can be detected, and it is precious information in
preparing the tourism development plans and decision considering tourism.
Developing effective indicators for sustainable tourism has been particularly
challenging. The tourism industry is multi-sectoral and the actions and activities
of many other sectors affect the tourism product. The main problem is how to
reduce the number of indicators, but at the same time include measures of all of
the most important risks to the industry and the host region.

CONCLUSION

Tourism is a most dynamic economic and social phenomenon in the 21st century
with a great competitiveness of different destinations all over the world.
Different stakeholders and different interests must be considered in planning
future tourism development, with a special emphasis on local community. On
the competitive world tourism market only destination which are planning
development and anticipate future situations and trends can survive.

References:
Achana F.T. (2003) Primjenapristupakonkurentskeprednosti u
funkcijiodrživostiurbanogturizma: slučaj Indianapolis.Turizam51 (2), p. 135-
147.
Aronsson, L. (2000) The Development of Sustainable Tourism, London, New
York: Continuum

247
Bull, A.O. (2004) Mega of Multi-Mini? Comparing the value to a destination of
different policies towards events. In: Proceedings the 3rdDeHaan Tourism
Management Conference, The Impact and Management of Tourism-Related
Events, Nottingham University Business School
Gržinić, J., Bevanda, V., ur. (2014)Suvremenitrendovi u turizmu, Sveučilište
Jurja Dobrile u Puli, Fakultet ekonomije I turizma „Dr. MijoMirković“, Pula.
Hendija, Z. (2013), Trendovi na turističkom tržištukaopolazište u planiranju
razvoja turizma (88-119). U Bartoluci, M.
Upravljanjerazvojemturizmaipoduzetništva, Školskaknjiga, Zagreb.
Kotler et al., (2002) Marketing Places: Attracting investment industry, and
tourism to cities, states, and nations, New York: Free Press.
McCartney, G. (2005) Staging events as a destination tourism development
strategy and the implications for Macao, Innovation in Tourism, Creating
Customer Value, AIEST, St.Gallen, p. 143-158.
Miller, G., (2001) The Development of Indicators for Sustainable Tourism:
Results of a Delphi Survey of Tourism Researchers, Tourism Management, No.
22, pp. 351-362.
Ryan, C. (2000) Equity, Management, Power Sharing and Sustaianbility – Issues
of the ‘New Tourism’, Tourism Management, Vol. 23, p. 17-26
Smith, S.L.J. (1995) Tourism Analysis: A Handbook, 2nd edition, Addison
Wesley Longman, Essex
The Berlin Declaration on Biological Diversity and Sustainable Tourism,
International Conference of Environment Ministers on Biodiversity and
Tourism, Berlin, March, 1997
Tribe, J. (2016) Strategy for Tourism, Goodfellow Publishers Limited,
Woodeaton, Oxford

248