Key Stakeholders and Tourism Planning and Development

Key Stakeholders and
Tourism Planning and

Development
Stakeholder Theory
• The theory adopted to study the subject at hand is stakeholder theory.
• The theory was initially designed in consonance with the needs of business
management discipline, to ascertain the primary stakeholders in an organization,
who are capable of winning the leadership.
• An initial advocate of the stakeholder theory, Freeman (1984), suggested that
managers should ideally explore a useful interaction with multiple elements, to
succeed in their endeavours at managing business.
• Stakeholder theory determines the participation of several parties in the process of
management inclusive of governmental organizations, political parties, local
population and allied business concerns.
•
Stakeholders in tourism: What does it mean?
• A stakeholder in tourism can be an individual person, such as a tourist or a taxi driver.
They could be a group of people such as a student group or a family. They could be a
company or organisation.
• “A stakeholder is a person, group, or organization that can affect or be affected an

organisation.” Or
• “Stakeholders refer to individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil

their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends” (Johnson, Scholes &
Whittington,2006).
Stakeholder in tourism development
• Stakeholder Theory presupposes that an organisation should take into account and
create value for all stakeholders when undertaking their planning and operational
activities.
• Participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process is very important for

sustainable tourism development.
• According to UNWTO (2005) there are several stakeholders who may impact directly
or indirectly on tourism planning and development.
• They play a wide variety of roles and may sometimes have competing aims and
Key stakeholders and their roles in tourism
planning & development: National governments
• National governments play an important role in tourism development.
• They plan tourism activities at national levels. Planning at national levels

require appropriate policies being designed and implemented.
• National governments’ roles include but not limited to developing and

maintaining infrastructures such as roads, railways, and ports; promoting
destinations to local and international tourists; and ensuring safety and
security of tourists.
planning & development: Local
governments
• The local governments with specific competence in tourism matters also
play an important role in tourism development.
• They promote local tourist attractions, provide infrastructure and services

to support tourism and manage the impacts of tourism.
• The local governments are also in a better position to understand unique

characteristics of a destination and can create an authentic experience for
the people who want to visit it.
Key stakeholders and their roles in tourism planning &
development: Tourism establishments and enterprises
• Tourism establishments and enterprises play a variety of roles in tourism

development.
• For example, airlines, trains, and buses transport tourists from one place to another,
restaurants provide them with food and drinks, and hotels provide accommodation.
• Tour operators, travel agencies, and tourist information centres also fall into this
category. In fact, travelling abroad is almost impossible without tourism
organisations.
planning & development: Tourists
• Travellers, including business travellers, and visitors to tourism destinations,
sites and attractions are perhaps the most important stakeholders.
• Tourists visit attractions; spend money; and may promote the attractions
through word of mouth and social media if their experience is positive.
• If the experience is not positive, tourists may not return to the attractions
again, and may even spread negative word of mouth. This could be very fatal
for any destination.
planning & development: Tourism employees
• Tourism employees, professionals and consultants also play a very
important role in tourism development.
• Some have argued that the travel and tourism industry employs more
people, directly and indirectly, than any other industry in the world.
• Employees in the tourism industry are commonly undertaking low-

paid jobs in areas such as hospitality, catering and customer service.
planning & development: Local people
• Local people are also very important in tourism development. They may have legitimate
concerns and may resist any tourism development.
• Therefore, they need to be involved in the decision-making process where appropriate.
• Local communities can provide valuable insights into the needs and concerns of the local
population, as well as valuable feedback on proposed tourism development projects.
• Local people with their distinct values and cultures can add value to any tourist
destinations. Tourists may also benefit from local people in many ways.
Key stakeholders and their roles in tourism planning &
development: Non-governmental organisations
• Non-government organizations are also important stakeholders in
tourism development.
• They often focus on social and environmental issues and can provide
valuable insights into potential impacts of tourism development
projects.
planning & development: Other stakeholders
• There are some other stakeholders that tourism planners should
consider.
• For example, institutions engaged in financing tourism projects, trade
unions of employees, and professionals working in tourism, tourism
educational centres, and other tourism specialist organisations play a
variety of roles in tourism development.

Importance of stakeholders in tourism
development
• Modern tourism world is a complex web of interconnected stakeholders.
Therefore, understanding their needs and desires is important to get the best
results in planning and developing tourism projects.
• Stakeholders can provide valuable feedback on proposed projects, which can

help identify potential problems before they become actual problems. This
can lead to cost savings and more efficient management of projects.
Tourism Planning model (Moscardo, 2011)
with the involvement of tourism stakeholders
1. Establishing goals, visions, and objectives
2. analyse the current situation in terms of inventory and data to
ensure the availability of accurate information and facts on which
decisions can be made.
3. Seek input from relevant stakeholders which is then used to
develop strategies, plans and policies.
4. Implementation of the plans or policies.
Class room activity
• Discuss in groups and present your thoughts regarding the logical
reasons behind considering the stakeholders in tourism planning.
The Rationale for Stakeholder Participation
in Tourism Planning
1. Tourism planning cannot be undertaken effectively by a single decision-maker due to the fragmented
nature of the tourism sector.
2. Participation and backing of stakeholders such as local communities, citizens, and entrepreneurs can
reduce local resistance to development projects.
3. The only way to resolve anxieties over the impact of tourism on culture and other concerns impacting
local communities is through discourse and collaboration between the various interest groups.
4. Stakeholder participation in planning reduces tensions over tourism development plans that
inevitably occur between different groups.
5. More stakeholder participation in tourism planning can encourage more people to get involved in
tourism projects leading to better returns and benefits in the longer term.
The Rationale for Stakeholder Participation
in Tourism Planning
6. Stakeholder participation is an important safeguard in ensuring
sustainability by preventing imbalanced tourism development and
exploitation of local communities and the environment by powerful
tourism developers.
7. Unless all stakeholders are on board with the planning of tourism

projects, there is a risk that the tourist experience will be spoiled.
Public and Local Community Participation
• A participative approach which emphasises the inclusion of local or

destination communities in tourism related decision making has gained
popularity in the literature especially in the last two decades and is
referred to as the community-based tourism model (CBT).
• The argument for local community participation is that it is

indispensable for sustainable tourism development and minimises the
adverse impacts of tourism.
Challenges of involving stakeholders in tourism development
• Lack of trust between stakeholders
• This can lead to conflicts between them, which can make it difficult to engage them in the
tourism development process.
• Lack of resources
• It can be difficult to engage stakeholders if there are not enough resources to support the
engagement process. This can include lack of time, money, and personnel. Therefore, it is
important to ensure that there are adequate resources available to successfully engage
stakeholders.
• Resistance to participate
• Leadership hinders
• Lack of institutional structures
• Stakeholders' narrow vision, lack of strategic orientation and financial focus
based on self-interest may impede the realization of sustainable tourism despite
the local community's involvement in the planning process.
Strategies for overcoming challenges of
involving stakeholders in tourism development
• Ensure that all stakeholders have access to relevant information, and
they feel that their input is valued and appreciated.
• Ensure that the engagement process is transparent and inclusive. This
can help to build trust between stakeholders and can help ensure that
they are engaged in the process very well.
Thank You

Key Stakeholders and Tourism Planning and Development

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Key Stakeholders and Tourism Planning and Development

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Key Stakeholders and Tourism Planning and Development

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Key Stakeholders and

Tourism Planning and

• “A stakeholder is a person, group, or organization that can affect or be affected an

• “Stakeholders refer to individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil

• Participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process is very important for

• They plan tourism activities at national levels. Planning at national levels

• National governments’ roles include but not limited to developing and

• They promote local tourist attractions, provide infrastructure and services

• The local governments are also in a better position to understand unique

• Tourism establishments and enterprises play a variety of roles in tourism

• Employees in the tourism industry are commonly undertaking low-

concerns and may resist any tourism development.

• Therefore, they need to be involved in the decision-making process where appropriate.

population, as well as valuable feedback on proposed tourism development projects.

• Non-government organizations are also important stakeholders in

valuable insights into potential impacts of tourism development

• For example, institutions engaged in financing tourism projects, trade

unions of employees, and professionals working in tourism, tourism

educational centres, and other tourism specialist organisations play a

variety of roles in tourism development.

• Stakeholders can provide valuable feedback on proposed projects, which can

7. Unless all stakeholders are on board with the planning of tourism

• A participative approach which emphasises the inclusion of local or

• The argument for local community participation is that it is

You might also like