tourism management action strategy

Strategy: Tourism

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• Fevzi Okumus 3  

The word strategy comes from the Greek strategos , which means “general.” It refers to “leader of the army.” The strategy field has been influenced by various disciplines including history, military, biology, psychology, political science, economics, marketing, finance, and organizational behavior (Mintzberg et al. 1998 ). Reflecting these different disciplines, strategy is generally seen as a design, plan, process, experience, ideas, policies, and discourse (Whittington et al. 2020 ). On the other hand, military strategy focuses on planning and execution in a war setting, while taking into consideration the strategy and tactics required to execute the war plan.

Given this, there are diverse views on defining strategy and strategic management. For example, strategy is the basic pattern of present and planned resource allocations and environmental interactions that determine how the objectives of an organization can be achieved (Schendel and Hofer 1979 ). Another view refers to it as the...

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Barney, J. 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management 17 (1): 99–120.

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Harrington, R.K., P. Chathoth, M. Ottenbacher, and L. Altinay. 2014. Strategic management research in hospitality and tourism: Past, present and future. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 26 (5): 778–808.

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Okumus, F., L. Altinay, P. Chathoth, and M.A. Koseoglu. 2020. Strategic management for hospitality and tourism . Oxon: Routledge.

Schendel, D., and C. Hofer. 1979. Strategic management: A new view of business policy and planning . Boston: Little Brown.

Whittington, R., P. Regnér, D. Angwin, G. Johnson, and K. Scholes. 2020. Exploring strategy text and cases . Pearson UK.

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University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

Fevzi Okumus

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Correspondence to Fevzi Okumus .

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School of Hospitality Leadership, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI, USA

Jafar Jafari

School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

Honggen Xiao

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Department of Tourism, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Nevenka Cavlek

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Okumus, F. (2023). Strategy: Tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_190-2

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_190-2

Received : 22 September 2021

Accepted : 01 June 2023

Published : 27 March 2024

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-319-01669-6

Online ISBN : 978-3-319-01669-6

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_190-2

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GMRMPA and QPWS Tourism Management Action Strategy

Posted on September 21st, 2021

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (Authority) and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service are proud to release the final Tourism Management Action Strategy (Strategy).

Through both targeted and public consultation phases, the Strategy benefited from a number of submissions providing detailed comments. Comments were received from the tourism industry, Traditional Owners, local community members, non-government organisations, local government and more.

The Strategy guides future management and will help the Authority simplify and improve tourism management in the Great Barrier Reef whilst protecting the Reef’s values. The Strategy outlines the actions that will be implemented over the next 15 years in collaboration with the tourism industry, Traditional Owners, Marine Park users and other interested partners.

The Implementation Plan on pages 16 to 18 displays detail our marine operators should read.

The final Strategy is available on the Authority’s website link . For more information or if you would like to discuss the Strategy, please email GBRMPA’s Policy Team or call 07 4750 0700.

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• Models to Manage Tourism
• Management Strategies
• Adaptive Management
• Measuring Effectiveness
• Effective MPA Management
• Representation and Replication
• Critical Areas
• Connectivity
• Socioeconomic Criteria
• Marine Conservation Agreements
• Coral Bleaching
• Ocean Acidification
• Tropical Storms
• Protecting Herbivores
• Temporary Closures
• Land-based Impacts
• Recreational Use
• Invasive Species
• Coral Predators
• Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
• Managing Tourist Behavior
• Diversifying Livelihoods
• Managing Social Resilience
• Restoration Introduction
• Sustainable Financing
• Coral Nurseries
• Larval-based Coral Propagation
• Outplanting
• Reef Substrate
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• Sea Cucumber
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• Adaptation Design Tool
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• Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Handbook
• Communicating Climate Change
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• Blue Carbon Benefits
• Ecosystem Loss
• Assessing Carbon Stocks
• Gender Equity
• Integration into National Policies

Identifying and Managing Tourism Using Models

Understanding and monitoring optimal ecological, social, and economic conditions at a reef site enhances sustainable tourism objectives. Both the optimal number of tourists and the number of tourists that represents a threshold when conditions (e.g., tourist experiences, environmental conditions) have declined is not a specific/single number, but rather a range of numbers that vary based on circumstances (e.g., location, season, durability of the resource). The acceptable ranges and thresholds for these conditions will vary site to site and over time shifting with the changing health and condition of the reef and reef communities.

A note on terminology:

The concept of “carrying capacity” is outdated and impractical. Calculating a capacity based on a maximum number of tourists at a given site is at odds with tourism behavior (i.e., not all tourists act the same) and the resilience of the environment to tourism impacts, which is also variable. For this reason, there are very few examples of successful carrying capacity in practice. Nonetheless, we found that the term carrying capacity is entrenched amongst many marine managers and still used when discussing managing tourist numbers at reef sites. Therefore, the term carrying capacity was used during the Resilient Reefs Initiative Solution Exchange on sustainable tourism to discuss how monitoring ecological, social, and economic impacts of tourist use is critical to improving management.

Negative impacts from tourism can include:

• Ecological: Environmental degradation of physical resources (water, soil, or air) or disturbance of ecological features such as wildlife, corals, coastal vegetation, and dunes
• Social: Social crowding, conflict, and loss of core community values and amenities
• Economic: Infrastructure over-utilization, reduced business profitability and capability to reinvest in continual improvement, and a shift in tourism markets from ecotourists to mass tourists who have lower environmental sensitivity and preparedness to pay for sustainable management

Key Takeaways

• Engage stakeholders across sectors early and often to work toward effectively managing tourist numbers . Achieving sustainable tourism goals requires an alignment of values from the different sectors, which is extremely challenging. Working together from the beginning, instead of bringing stakeholders in later in the conversation, is critical for buy-in.
• Tourism management models work best in conjunction with other supporting interventions such as education to influence tourist behaviors, responsive restoration of impacted areas, infrastructure improvements that reduce visitor contact with the resource, and, when necessary, enforcement.
• Identify tourist hotspots and reduce impacts where possible . Many tourist destinations have hotspots where visitation and use are intensified. Intensified pressure can be reduced through an array of methods (e.g., reducing contact between the tourist and the sensitive areas, developing and marketing lower significance sacrificial tourist hotspots and closing access to the higher significance sites, or developing substitution experiences at other locations).
• Reduce tourist pressure at specific sites by appropriately pricing the experience . Another method to reduce tourist pressure is through dynamic pricing – a pricing strategy in which businesses set flexible prices based on current market demands. The more something costs the more it is appreciated, and the higher the proportion of respectful tourists make up the mix. *Managers need to be mindful that high prices can lead to inequities and should also include differential pricing (e.g., local prices, off-peak prices, fee-free days), so underserved people within communities are not priced out.
• Encourage communication between local developers/planners and marine managers to increase the sustainability of tourism . Greater communication between jurisdictions and authorities helps build shared understanding that bridges gaps between differing objectives.
• Develop a cooperative action plan instead of a Visitor Use Management Plan . A comprehensive Visitor Use Management Plan can take years to develop; it can result in stakeholder fatigue and agencies can get a reputation for being too bureaucratic and not nimble enough to address immediate needs and/or changing circumstances. One mitigation method is to develop a cooperative action plan. This 1-year plan is a non-binding agreement that is updated every couple of years.
• *Introduce an integrated monitoring and adaptive management system . When monitoring reveals trends and relationships, and when this is shared among stakeholders, there is a basis for shared understanding and trust, which in turn permits the introduction of adaptive management. Adaptive management is a collection of responses prepared and representing varying levels of intervention to reflect varying levels of an impact or issue. Each indicator being monitored is given a suite of potential adaptive management responses, and a group of stakeholders jointly select one when monitoring suggests it is needed. If the response works, it can be scaled back and even removed.

Spotlight on Ningaloo

How can we adaptively manage tourist numbers to reduce impacts at our site?

Photo © Joel Johnsson

Hugging the western edge of Australia, Ningaloo Reef is one of the longest fringing coral reefs in the world. The Ningaloo Coast was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2011. It is an iconic attraction for domestic and international travelers visiting Western Australia (WA), with a thriving tourism industry based around the reef and coastline, which adds approximately AU$110 million to the local economy each year. Tourism at Ningaloo is seasonal, the region swells from about 3,000 permanent residents to hosting up to 20,000 visitors at any one time during the peak winter months. This influx stresses the ecological, social, and economic systems. Ningaloo’s stakeholders were particularly interested in learning about potential management frameworks for operationalizing assessments so they can adaptively respond to tourist numbers and impacts.

Presentations

Visitor capacities based on social impact – doug whittaker, confluence research and consulting, coastal visitor use and impact monitoring – abby sisneros-kid, utah state university, sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges in managing human recreational use of coral reef ecosystems – mark orams, auckland university of technology, carrying capacity – sally harman, great barrier reef marine park authority, evaluation de la capacité de charge basée sur l'impact social – doug whittaker, confluence research and consulting, suivi des usages et impact des visiteurs sur le littoral – abby sisneros-kid, utah state university, solutions durables aux défis contemporains de gestion des usages récréatifs des écosystèmes de récifs coralliens – mark orams, auckland university of technology, échange de solutions - capacité de charge – sally harman, great barrier reef marine park authority, advancing sustainable tourism strategies.

The Solution Exchange was intended to inspire thinking, bring together the Resilient Reefs Initiative managers and partners for knowledge exchange and learning, and help catalyze action on the ground. Toward that end, here is the potential next step that was identified during discussion around tourism numbers and their management:

Engage experts in developing studies that integrate social, ecological, managerial, and economic assessments of tourist numbers and behaviors, and their associated impacts at sites.

There is currently no “gold standard” example of an integrated model to manage tourist numbers in the reef space. For RRI sites to accomplish this holistic approach effectively, they will need to design something new, with the support of social, ecological, and economic experts. Watch this space as RRI managers at Ningaloo have begun scoping a local integrated study.

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What is Wrong with the Concept of carrying Capacity? In Challenges in Tourism Research

Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations A Guidebook

Visitor Management, In Protected Area Governance and Management

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

• All Regions
• A Practical Guide to Tourism Destination Management

This publication represents a major contribution to developing professionalism in the field of destination management. It is intended as a practical guide, showing how concepts of destination management may be translated into practice. Besides it will be of considerable interest to academics as we acknowledge the work of other experts and academic leaders who have contributed to the field of destination management. As the main purpose of Destination Management Organisations is to attract people to visit in the first place, this practical guide will explain through models, guidelines and snapshot case studies how to create a suitable environment and quality delivery on the ground and how to ensure that visitors’ expectations are met at the destination.

ISBN : 978-92-844-1243-3

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, strategic tourism planning in practice: the case of the open academy of tourism.

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes

ISSN : 1755-4217

Article publication date: 31 August 2010

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of a sound and participatory strategic planning process for the management of tourism at national and regional levels and its contribution to the sustainable development of destinations.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study presented in this paper is based on an academic/industry project, launched to support the practical learning of strategic tourism planning and the strategic management of tourism destinations by MBA students. The Open Academy of Tourism, a partnership between the Institute of Tourism, and the Portuguese National Association of Tourism Regions, was created to support the development of strategic plans for Portuguese tourism regions, while allowing students to test and fine tune a model for strategic planning and managing tourism destinations. To better understand the applicability of this model, 13 case studies based on the same number of strategic plans were developed.

The paper reveals that the effective management of any tourist destination can be enhanced by following a carefully developed tourism strategy which contemplates the involvement of all stakeholders. It also demonstrates that academia can work closely together with public tourism organisations to develop meaningful plans of action for destinations.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the potential and importance of strategy development in tourism, while alerting for the need of a clear vision and leadership of the process to improve success.

• Tourism development
• Tourism management
• Strategic planning

Ladeiras, A. , Mota, A. and Costa, J. (2010), "Strategic tourism planning in practice: the case of the Open Academy of Tourism", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes , Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 357-363. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554211011074010

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Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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HTA Publishes Community-Based Tourism Management Plan for Hawai‘i Island

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) has published the 2021-2023 Hawai‘i Island Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP). It is part of HTA’s strategic vision and continuing efforts to manage tourism in a responsible and regenerative manner. It was developed by the residents of Hawai‘i Island, and in partnership with the County of Hawai‘i and the Island of Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau (IHVB). The DMAP serves as a guide to rebuild, redefine and reset the direction of tourism on Hawai‘i Island. It identifies areas of need as well as solutions for enhancing the residents’ quality of life and improving the visitor experience.

“Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the resident participants of Hawai‘i Island who committed themselves to the DMAP process and were willing to face tough issues, embrace diverse viewpoints, explore a range of possibilities, and identify actionable priorities. Enhancing the quality of life within our local communities by protecting and caring for the things we cherish most, will subsequently provide a unique array of experiences for travelers who are mindful of and respectful to the places they will visit on the island,” said John De Fries, HTA’s president and CEO.

The community-based plan focuses on key actions that the community, visitor industry and other sectors deem necessary over a three-year period. The foundation of the Hawai‘i Island DMAP is based on HTA’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan and the 2020-2025 Hawai‘i Island Tourism Strategic Plan (TSP).

“The vision for tourism on Hawai‘i Island is ‘Ola ka ‘Āina, Ola ke Kānaka’ – ‘Healthy Land, Healthy People.’ What this means is destination resilience: protecting our natural and cultural resources, and helping our community thrive not just survive. The County of Hawai‘i is working on strategies that lift up tourism as a catalyst for economic diversification. The Destination Management Action Plan identifies actions that help the county partner with the visitor industry to get people back to work in a diversified way, while protecting our land and our people,” said Hawai‘i County Mayor Mitch Roth.

The actions of the Hawai‘i Island DMAP are based on the four interacting pillars of HTA’s Strategic Plan – Natural Resources, Hawaiian Culture, Community and Brand Marketing:

Natural Resources

• Protect and preserve culturally significant places and hotspots.
• Support and promote ‘āina-based education and practices to protect and preserve our natural resources so that residents and visitors will aloha ‘āina.
• Connect with community networks and partner with community-based organizations to collaboratively identify sites, set carrying capacities, and implement stewardship plans to protect and preserve our natural resources.

Hawaiian Culture

• Develop resources and educational programs to perpetuate authentic Hawaiian culture and ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i. April 1, 2021 (21-09)
• Create opportunities for ongoing dialogue, communications, and engagement between the visitor industry, government and communities to improve community-industry relations and better serve the community.
• Promote agritourism, and partner with Hawai‘i Island’s agriculture industry to support local food security.
• Invest in community-based programs that enhance quality of life for communities.
• Advocate/create more funding sources to improve infrastructure.

Brand Marketing

• Implement a comprehensive communications and education plan that facilitates positive community-visitor relations and pono practices, including the Pono Pledge.
• Improve enforcement of vacation rental regulations.

These actions were developed by the Hawai‘i Island steering committee, comprised of residents representing the communities they live in, as well as the visitor industry, different business sectors, and nonprofit organizations, with community input. Representatives from the County of Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i Island TSP Action Cohorts, HTA and IHVB also provided input throughout the process.

“It is truly my desire that these recommendations manifest into positively changing the level of consciousness of both residents and visitors. As residents, we greatly value and care for our island home and lifestyle and need our visitors to respect and value it as well. Travelers that walk and explore with a heightened level of purpose and intention can be a part of improving and preserving our beautiful home,” said Ka‘iulani Blankenfeld, director of Hawaiian culture at Fairmont Orchid and steering committee member.

The Hawai‘i Island DMAP process started in July 2020 and continued with a series of virtual steering committee meetings, as well as two virtual community meetings in November.

“It was very rewarding for me personally to have been invited to participate in helping to shape a new path and strategy for rebuilding our tourism industry. I learned a lot from my colleagues and am particularly enthusiastic that addressing the resident and community concerns around the social, cultural and environmental impacts are treated as actionable issues,” said Charles Young, Ho‘okena representative for the ‘Aha Moku Advisory Committee and steering committee member.

Click here for the Hawai‘i Island Destination Management Action Plan.

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