1.

5 Planning Theories
Planning theories and policies are being undertaken by local level and other regulatory
initiative. There are from the “Above” theory and from the “Below” theory in regional
development planning.
(i) From the Above theory:
The 'Growth Centres' theory shall be treated under this category (from 'above'
theory). This is a strategy or” regional development that places emphasis on the
concentration of investment in the urban industrial areas and centres (Growth Centres)
rather than spreading investments to various parts of a region.
This theory is based on the belief that concentrating investment in the urban
centres would develop and promote the economy of such centres,
generate employment and also have good economic 'Spread' effect in the surrounding.

(ii) From the Below Theory:

The theory of regional development from below implies that there should be major
changes.
(a) Instead of adopting policy of selected growth centres, policies of integrated
resources mobilization should be adopted. This is done by asking basic questions
like: what are the basic resources of the region? How could they be equitably
distributed? e.t.c
(b) It implies that principles of comparative advantage in commodity exchange
should be emphasized.
(c) There should be socio-economic re-organisation of the production system in the
region.
(d) That there should be changes in basic concept of development itself. That is
development should be viewed as qualitative, rather than quantitative.

1.6 Application of planning theories to Tourism

 Planning and policies are being mainly undertaken from “below” and “above”.
Application of planning to tourism largely rests on the planner. The planner could be
described as a person who designs, directs and coordinates the activities of a plan. Since
there are many types of plan, the planner is expected to relate the planning type to the
appropriate context. The application of planning to tourism will require the planner to
do the following:
1. The rate of growth of the tourism sector should be decided whether the planner
wishes to encourage mass tourism or develop tourism slowly and selectively.
2. The importance of tourism in the nation's economy should be decided and how
its development will fit into the nation or state development. For example,
(a) Fixing tourism project in an already developed area of the country (where
necessary infrastructures are available).
(b) Fixing the projects in retarded areas with a view to balancing the economic
lopsidedness in favour of such remote locations.
3. The roles of the public and private sector in tourism should be decided.
4. It should decide the status of tourism in the country whereby, if it is a preferred
sector or industry among others, special administrative and financial
arrangements should be made.
5. The application should be done in such a manner that social and economic lives
of the community are not jeopardized by tourism.
6. Income of the people in area should be noted.

1.7 Problem associated with the theories

From Above Theory
(i) There may be selective labour migration to urban centres whereby the able
bodied people will leave the rural areas and leave the weak ones behind
(ii) There may be financial drains to the growth centres for investment
(iii) There may be competition between products form the industries in urban centres
and those from local cottage industries.
(iv) Some of the contact often induced changes which may be negative and
detrimental to the productivity of the region e.g. crime
From Below Theory: -
(i) Some areas of the region may be lacking the factors of production (land, labour,
entrepreneur, capital e.t.c)
(ii) The basic infrastructures may be lacking in some area.

1.8 THEORIES ON TOURISM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

 There are several theories on the development of a tourist destination.

CHRISTALLER’S THEORY 
 There was a process of continuous development of tourist areas that are summarized as
follows:
•Destinations develop and change overtime.
• There are different types of visitors at different times.
• The tourist experience changes over time.
• The impacts of destinations change over time
• The involvement of locals in tourism destinations change overtime
•New cycles involving new tourist destinations will occur.

STANLEY PLOG’S THEORY

 The popularity of a destination is related to the inherent personalities of
travelers. Travelers can be classified based on their personalities as psychocentrics,
allocentric and midcentric.
Psychocentric tourists are self-inhibiting, nervous, and non-adventurous; they often
refuse to travel by air for psychological reasons rather than financial or other practical
concerns. Psychocentric tourists prefer destinations which they can reach by car and
select familiar destinations equipped with well-developed tourism amenities, such as
hotels, family-type restaurants, and shops. They like comprehensive tour package with
well-organized schedules; they expect foreigners to speak their home languages,and
they have the habit of purchasing souvenirs

 Like to visit familiar environment and cultures they prefer safe destinations they do not
like to experiment with accommodations, food or entertainment they see" experiences
that will not create personal stress or be involve in any unusual situations.
Allocentrics
Allocentric tourists are outgoing, self-confident, and adventurous. Allocentrics often fly
to destinations. They prefer less-developed spots to crowded and typical places. They
do not pay special attention to the conditions of accommodation and food, but they
prefer tour arrangements that allow for considerable freedom and flexibility. They learn
foreign languages or at least basic expressions before and during the trips, buy local
crafts, and enjoy meeting people from different cultures. H a v e a s t r o n g n e e d f o r
n e w a n d v a r i e d e x p e r i e n c e s t h e y s e e destinations that are unfamiliar and
with totally different culture and environments they prefer to stay in native lodgings
and try new food and entertainment.

Midcentrics
The midcentrics have characteristics of both types. They typically look for relaxation
and pleasure in relatively familiar environments with friends and relatives. For them,
holidays
mean escapes from daily routines, and their favorite places for holidaying are healthy
environment with natural scenery, such as forests or lakeside resorts.
 These are the majority of the tourists or the mass market their personalities are located
between the personalities of the psychocentrics and the allocentrics they are not
adventurous but they are not afraid to try new experiences as long as these are not too
challenging. Popular destinations nowadays are visited by midcentrics. The major
implications of this theory for destination development are as follows:
• Tourist destinations are attractive to different types of tourists as the areas evolve.
• indicates that the majority of tourists prefer to travel short distances to
take holidays.
•it suggests that destinations, particularly in developed countries, near the
major population areas are likely to be developed and grow more quickly than those in far remote
areas.

COHEN’S THEORY 
In 1972, he developed a theory which is related to the behavior of tourists
and classified the theory into four namely:
Organized mass tourist: travel in groups buy a packaged tour which is arranged in
advance by travel agents or tour operators.
Individual mass tourist: each member of the group has a certain degree of control over
his time and itinerary and is not bound to a group. He makes his individual decision about
his activities.
Explorers: such tourists arrange their own trip. They associate with the local residents
and try to speak the local language, but they do not completely adopt the lifestyle of the
host community or country.
Drifters: they avoid contact with other tourists. They stay with the locals and share
their food, shelter, and habits. They are almost totally immersed in the host culture.
They retain only the most basic of their native customs.  They do not consider
themselves as tourists.

1.9 Level of Planning

(i) Individual planning
(ii) Local planning
(iii) Regional planning
(iv) National planning
(v) International planning
2.0 PLANNING AND TOURISM

Tourism planning is a multidimensional activity that seeks to be integrative; it

embraces social, economic, political, psychological, anthropological, and technological
factors; it is concerned with the past, present and future.
The destruction of natural resources and environmental, socio-cultural, and unfair
distribution of tourism benefits derived from unplanned tourism growth or lot of
market-oriented development emphasize logical planning to cope with all level of
tourism elements together with globalization impacts.
In order to cope with or to survive with changes affected from globalization there must
have been integrated tourism plan that balance all aspects relevant. For example,
utilizing resources, land using, physical structure constructions, social facilities, and
preparation of manpower upon changing, etc. Nevertheless tourism planning have
been discussed in modern stage, it has diversification of such planning that depends on
the particular characteristics of destination and tourism.

2.1 Definition of tourism planning:

In the field of tourism, the need for planned development is of paramount importance.
Many countries in the world, especially the developing countries have lately realized
the importance of tourism and the benefits which it brings. Tourism development refers
to the growth and maintenance of the tourism industry in a given locality. And, of
course, tourism planning is a very important part of this. On a basic level, tourism
development can be defined as creating strategies and plans to
increase/develop/encourage tourism for a destination. The fundamental reason behind
planning and implementing strategies for developing the tourism sector is primarily to
make money and to subsequently increase the GDP of a country/area. Tourism
development consists of many elements including, but not limited to: developing and
managing private-public partnerships, assessing the competitors to gain competitive
advantage, ensuring responsible and sustainable development, viewing tourism as an
interconnected system and a demand-driven sector, assessing private sector investment
and international cooperation, tourism clustering and involvement by the Government.
 According to Williams cited in Mason (2003);  ‘The aim of modern planning is to seek

optimal solutions to perceived problems and that it is designed to increase and,

hopefully maximise development benefits, which will produce predictable outcomes’.

The benefits of tourism development

Tourism development planning enables a range of benefits to all stakeholders involved,

for example:
 It increases income and jobs from tourist spending
 It helps preserve cultural and natural heritage for tourists
 It increases understanding of other cultures
 It builds new facilities such as sewage for whole communities or new roads

According to Getz, tourism planning is a process based on research and evaluation

which seek to optimize the potential contribution of tourism to human welfare and

environmental quality.
Tourism planning is the process leading to tourism development as it is through
the planning process that the set developmental goals are achieved.
Tourism planning is also a tool for addressing the various choices associated
with tourism development.
Tourism planning is the process of considering the needs of people planning a
trip and using those factors to determine the best resources, programs and activities for
their trip. Tourism planning is intended for local residents and businesses of the
location, as well as tourists who travel there.
Tourism planning, could be explained as a systematic approach of organizing
tourism processes, to guide future actions in order to meet predetermined objectives in
a way that reduces conflicts and maximizes its benefits. As such, planning is an
essential pre-requisite for .tourism development and also lays the foundation for
effective management.
 It fosters the achievement of tourism objectives and goals and also the
assessment of tourism benefits and cost.
Tourism planning is a continuous and long term process of preparing a
destination for receiving tourist and also continuously upgrading and improving
destinations attractiveness for the tourist.

2.2 ESSENCE OF TOURISM PLANNING

Tourism planning involves the coordination with other government agencies to
improve tourism related infrastructure. The planning also extends to participation of
the private sector, the hotels and restaurants, travel transport, and even popular outlets
that can help as information centers (in the absence of actual tourist information
centers)
The planning process is essential as it provides plenty of resources and information for
travelers, while ensuring that the location and local businesses provide everything
needed to improve their tourism.
In tourism planning, every factor is considered, ranging from finding a variety of
accommodations to fit travelers' different wants and needs to locating special programs
and activities in that location.
What are the consequences of having a lack of tourism planning or poor tourism
planning? The consequences of having a lack of tourism planning or poor tourism
planning is that the tourism industry is unorganized, the tourist does not take the
opportunity to travel, the numbers of tourists decrease and profits decrease.
A. PHYSICAL IMPACTS
• Damage or permanent alteration of the physical environment
• Damage or permanent alteration of the historical/cultural landmarks and resources
• Overcrowding and congestion
• Pollution
• Traffic problems
B. HUMAN IMPACTS
• Less accessibility to services and tourist attractions for local residents resulting in
local resentment
• Dislike of tourist by local residents
• Loss of cultural identities
• Lack of education of tourism employees in skills and hospitality
• Lack of awareness of the benefits of tourism to the destination area.
C. MARKETING IMPACTS
• Failure to capitalize on new marketing opportunities.
• Erosion of market shares due to the actions of competitive destination area.
• Lack of sufficient awareness in prime markets
• Lack of clear image of destination area in potential markets.
• Lack of cooperative advertising among individual operators
• Inadequate capitalization in packaging opportunities.
D. ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACTS
• Fragmental approach to the marketing and development of tourism, often involving
“competitive splinter groups”.
• Lack of cooperation among individual operators.
• Inadequate representation of the tourism industry’s interests.
• Lack of support from local public authorities.
• Failure to act on important issues, problems and opportunities of common interest to
the industry.
E. OTHER IMPACTS
• Lack of sufficient attractions and events.
• High seasonality and short lengths of stay.
• Poor or deteriorating quality of facilities and services.
• Poor or inadequate travel information services.
2.3 Forms of Tourism Planning
The need for tourism planning premised on the fact that tourism has both
positive and negative impacts on the tourists, host community, the environment and the
attractions. Planning in tourism industry becomes necessary in order to enhance its
sustainability by addressing the possible impacts that may arise from its operations.
The rationales for tourism planning are:
 Rationale for tourism planning
Factors to be considered during planning
(i) Economic Factor: - Planning of tourism can help to maximize the industry's
economic returns through job creation, revenue generation and increased standard of
living of the people. This is primarily concerned with facilitating the development of
various industries and sectors.
(ii) Environmental Factor: Effective planning helps with conserving the physical
nature and integrity of tourism destination and facilities whether man-made or
natural. It can also help to reduce the negative impact on tourist environment
which is crucial to tourism appeals.
(iii) Socio-Cultural Factor: - Sensitivity to tourism planning can help to reduce
negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism on both the tourists and the local
people, by promoting good interaction among them (host and visitors) and
show respect for their traditions, cultures and values .
(iv) Marketing Factor: - Good planning will marry tourism to some other interrelated
factors that would make a tourist destination remain viable and remain in the
competitive market of tourism industry.
(v) Safety planning which addresses internal security problems, crime control,
risk coverage and special provision for tourist who require speedy remedies.
Enviable marketing strategies through available human and physical resources
would be crowned by planning to enhance promotion of good image of destination in
the world market and ensure cooperation among them.

2.4 Tourism Planning as Human Activity

The environment comprised the universe and all creatures in it. Human
interaction with the environment brought the idea of its conservation and management
to ensure its sustainability and development through man's efforts.
Tourism as a human activity is one of such ways by which man interacts with
and consumes it for some perceived benefits. Tourism activities on its other side are
capable of degrading this environment, a development which is capable of killing
tourism itself if concerted efforts are not made towards effective planning.
In order to make tourism sustainable, man came up with the idea of its effective
planning and development. In this direction, the integration of planning, and
development with management concepts became highly focused.

2.5 Tourism Planning In Developed Countries

In general planning for tourists is less difficult in developed countries than it is in
developing ones or under developed ones.
Planning is important and should provide a quality environment for both tourists and
residents.
The planning process for tourism development is the same as in city or regional
planning. Most problems involve policy decisions on alternative land uses for the health
and welfare of the citizens.
In countries with less control over the economic sector, guidelines and ordinances can
restrict private development to prescribed areas, while in others, all development can
be directed by the central government. Target countries or states can be identified as
potential tourist generators through research and market analysis. Proper planning
include government assistance in direct advertising to attract tourist.
In developed countries, planning and construction of infrastructure facilities is a must
particularly in areas that do not have them. For regions that have existing
infrastructure, the planning process should include alternatives to improve or further
develop it.

2.5.1 Tourism In Developing Countries

Tourism is important in bringing the much needed foreign currency for developing
countries. Mexico and Spain for example have benefited very much from tourism.
Other advantages are increased employment opportunities and the development of
infrastructure. Roads, water and sewage systems provided for tourists also help local
industries.
Planning in developing countries should consider the cultural impact of tourism on the
area. Many times the culture may be so fragile that tourism can greatly influence it
particularly in developing countries. In a developing society, people tend to adopt the
lifestyle of the tourists changing their clothing, food and other customs. In this way the
local culture is greatly influenced or altered.

2.6 Limitations to Effective Tourism Planning

(i) It is highly influenced by the attitude of government to the industry whether it is
preferred sector or not.
(ii) The ever-changing character of the industry e.g. changes in consumer's tastes,
multiple sectors e.t.c.
(iii) Human resources e.g. formulation and implementation.
(iv) Inadequate funding.
(v) The unpredictability of future and nature,
(vi) The problems of sustainability development (scale e.t.c)

2.7 The need for tourism planning

. The need to have a common vision, direction and commitment for tourism
establishment through a participative process of involving many stakeholders.
. Tourism socio cultural and environmental impact and the need for a long term
perspective in assessing those impacts.
. Resource problems faced by communities that may not have the political
framework or trained labour force to create a service based industry.
. Destination survival in an increasingly competitive market and the need to
respond to changes in the travel market.
. The rapid pace of change in the tourism industry in areas such as transportation
and communication.
. The need to provide the private sector especially those parties providing
investment funds with a certain level of stability and predictability in the
progress of the overall development.

2.8 Tourism Planning Approach

According to Inskeep (1991) emphasized tourism planning with general planning
approach framework which can describe as follows:

Comprehensive approach- Related to systems approach, all aspects of tourism

development including its institutional elements and environmental and socio-
economic implications are analyzed and planned comprehensively, that is, a holistic
approach.

Integrated approach- Related to the systems and comprehensive approach, tourism is

planned and developed as an integrated system within itself and also is integrated into
the overall plan and total development patterns of the area.

Environmental and sustainable development approach- Tourism is planned,

developed, and managed in such a manner that its natural and cultural resources are
not depleted or degraded, but maintained as viable resources on a permanent basis for
continuous future use. Carrying capacity analysis is an important technique used in the
environmental and sustainable development approach.

Community approach-There is maximum involvement of the local community in the

planning and decision-making process of tourism and, to the extent feasible and
desirable, there is maximum community participation in the actual development and
management of tourism and its socio-economic benefits.

Implementable approach -The tourism development policy, plan, and

recommendations are formulated to be realistic and implementable, and the techniques
of implementation are considered throughout the policy and plan formulation with the
implementation techniques, including a development and action program or strategy,
specifically identified and adopted.

Application of a systematic planning process

The systematic planning process is applied in tourism planning based on a logical
sequence of activities. Further, Gunn and Var (2002) examined that tourism planning
have difference objectives and processes; the most popular today is at the Site scale-
individual property development for hotels, restaurants, resorts, roads and attractions.
The Destination zone can define as a community (or several) and the surrounding area
when tourism functions are better understood. In order to determine greatest potential
for a larger area, a Regional scale (nation, province, state) of planning is needed.

2.9 Formulating An Approach To Tourism Policy And Planning

There are six ‘golden rules’ that should be applied when formulating an approach to

tourism planning and policy, as outlined by Inskeep (1991).

Goal oriented

Clear recognition of tourism’s role in achieving broad national and community goals
Integrative

Incorporating tourism policy and planning into the mainstream of planning for the

economy, land use and infrastructure, conservation and environment

Market driven

Planning for tourism development that trades successfully in a competitive global

marketplace
Resource driven

Developing tourism which build on the destination’s inherent strengths whilst

protecting and enhancing the attributes and experiences of current tourism assets
Consultative
Incorporating the wider community attitudes, needs and wants to determine what is

acceptable to the population

Systematic

Drawing on primary or secondary research to provide conceptual or predictive support

for planners including the experiences of other tourism destinations