Introduction

When we think of tourism, we think primarily of people who are visiting a particular place for
sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives, taking a vacation, and having a good time. They may
spend their leisure time engaging in various sports, sunbathing, talking, and singing, taking rides,
touring, reading, or simply enjoying the environment. If we consider the subject further, we may
include in our definition of tourism people who are participating in a convention, a business
conference, or some other kind of business or professional activity, as well as those who are
taking a study tour under an expert guide or doing some kind of scientific research or study.

These visitors use all forms of transportation, from hiking in a wilderness park to flying in a jet
to an exciting city. Whether people travel by one of these means or by car, motor-coach, camper,
train, taxi, motorbike, or bicycle, they are taking a trip and thus are engaging in tourism. This
lesson will discuss tourism planning approaches to achieve the goals and objectives of tourism
development for a destination. For the purposes of discussion, a tourism destination can mean an
entire country, a region, an island, a resort area, or a single project. The tourism plan is generally
a formal document to guide both public sector and private sector development activities.

Destination planning includes many different forms of planning such as economic development
planning, land use planning, infrastructure planning, and social services planning and involves
many groups with different perspectives including governments, private investors and
developers, and local communities.

What is Tourism?

According to Hunziker and Krapf tourism is “the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising
from the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far as it do not lead to permanent residence and is
not connected to any earning activity”.

The Rome Conference on Tourism in 1963 adopted the recommendation to replace the term
“tourist” with the term “visitor” and defined tourism as a visit “to a country other than ones own
or where one usually resides and works”; for the following reasons:

Tourism - the activity of temporary visitors staying at least 24 hours for leisure, business,
family, mission or meeting.

Excursion - the activity of a temporary visitor staying less than 24 hours but excluding people in
transit.

What is Destination?

Burkart and Medlik’s (1974) defined the destination as ‘the geographical unit visited by a tourist
may be a self contained centre, a village or a town or a city, a district or a region, an island, a
country or a continent. This geographical unit may be described as the tourist destination….The
tourist destination, however defined geographically, provides a convenient focus for the
examination of the tourist movement and of its manifold impact and significance. How important
any geographical unit is as a tourist destination, or how it is potentially, is determined by three
prime factors: attractions, accessibility and amenities which may be termed the tourist qualities
of a destination.

What is Tourism Destination?

A tourism destination is a physical space in which a tourist spends at least one overnight. It
includes tourism products such as support services and attractions and tourist resources within
one day’s return travel time. It has physical and administrative boundaries defining its
management, and images and perceptions defining its market competitiveness. Local destinations
incorporate various stakeholders often including a host community, and can nest and network to
form larger destinations. Destinations could be on any scale, from a whole country (e.g. India), a
region (such as South India) or island (Andaman), to a village, town or city, or a self-contained
centre (MGM Park, Chennai).

Elements of Tourism Destination

Tourism destination is constituted by the following six elements:

Attractions: These are often the focus of visitor attention and may provide the initial motivation
for the tourist to visit the destination. These can be categorized as natural (e.g. beaches,
mountains, parks, weather), built (e.g. iconic buildings such as the Eiffel tower, heritage
monuments, religious buildings, conference and sports facilities), or cultural (e.g. museums,
theatres, art galleries, cultural events). They could be in the public realm such as a nature park,
cultural or historical sites or could be community attractions and services such as culture,
heritage or lifestyle. Other, less tangible factors, such as uniqueness and emotional or
experiential triggers are also attracting tourists to destinations.

Amenities: These are the wide range of services and facilities which support the visitors’ stay
and include basic infrastructure such as utilities, public transport, and roads as well as direct
services for the visitor, ‘Destination’, includes accommodation, visitor information, recreations
facilities, guides, operators and catering and shopping facilities.

Accessibility: The destination should be accessible to a large population base via road, air
passenger services, rail or cruise ships. Visitors should also be able to travel with relative ease
within the destination. Visa requirements, ports of entry, and specific entry conditions should be
considered as part of the accessibility of the destination.

Image: A unique character or image is crucial in attracting visitors to the destination. It is not
sufficient to have a good range of attractions and amenities if potential visitors are not aware of
this. Various means can be used to promote the destinations image (e.g. marketing and branding,
travel media, marketing). The image of the destination includes uniqueness, sights, scenes,
environmental quality, safety, service levels, and the friendliness of people.

Human Resources: Tourism is labour intensive and interaction with local communities is an
important aspect of the tourism experience. A well-trained tourism workforce and citizens who
are equipped and aware of the benefits and responsibilities associated with tourism growth are
indispensable elements of tourism destination delivery and need to be managed in accordance
with the destination strategy.

Price: Pricing is an important aspect of the destination’s competition with other destinations.
Price factors relate to the cost of transport to and from the destination as well as the cost on the
ground of accommodation, attractions, food and tour services. A tourist’s decision may also be
based on other economic features such as currency exchange.

What is Planning?

Planning is mental activity, which involves desk work to decide or answer the questions what,
how, when, where and who. It is all about setting and meeting objectives and preparing future
course of action.

Tourism Destination Planning

Tourism provides a major economic development opportunity for many countries and a means
of improving the livelihoods of its residents. Both the public and private sectors involved in
tourism depend on planning to achieve sustainable tourism development that respects the local
community, creates appropriate employment, maintains the natural environment, and delivers a
quality visitor experience. However, many tourism destinations have pursued development
without proper planning and without considering the many impacts such development will bring
to the community

The Tourism Planning Process

Levels of Tourism Planning: Tourism planning is implemented at different levels from the
general level which may apply to an entire country or region down to the local level which may
apply to detail planning for specific resort. What is important to emphasize is the tourism
planning and development must be integrated among all levels to take into account different
levels of concern and to avoid duplication of efforts and policies. Each level involves different
considerations as follows:

International level - Tourism planning at the international level involves more than one country
and includes areas such as international transportation services, joint tourism marketing, regional
tourism polices and standards, cooperation between sectors of member countries, and other
cooperative concerns.
National level - Tourism planning at the national level is concerned with national tourism
policy, structure planning, transportation networks within the country, major tourism attractions,
national level facility and service standards, investment policy, tourism education and training,
and marketing of tourism.

Regional level – Tourism planning at the regional level generally is done by provinces, states,
or prefectures involving regional policy and infrastructure planning, regional access and
transportation network, and other related functions at the regional level.

Local or community level- Tourism planning at the local level involves sub-regions, cities,
towns, villages, resorts, rural areas and some tourist attractions. This level of planning may focus
on tourism area plans, land use planning for resorts, and planning for other tourism facilities and
attractions.

Site planning level - Site planning refers to planning for specific location of buildings and
structures, recreational facilities, conservation and landscape areas and other facilities carried out
for specific development sites such as tourism resorts and may also involve the design of
buildings, structures, landscaping and engineering design based on the site plan.

Importance of Tourism Destination Planning

Tourism planning is primarily economic development planning that is directed towards tourism-related
objectives which differ between the public sector and the private sector. In the public sector, most
planning is done by different levels of government. Public sector tourism planning includes
consideration of economic and social factors, land use policies and zoning controls, environmental
concerns, infrastructure development, employment concerns, and the provision of public services.

Private sector tourism planning is usually concerned with investment objectives involving various
aspects of product development, building and design, financial feasibility, marketing, management and
operations. Tourism planning is important because it provides a common vision, direction and
commitment for tourism which are the result of participation of many representatives. The process of
tourism planning includes:

1. Assessing the possible impacts of development and the resource problems which will be faced
2. Analyzing the competitive status of a destination and its ability to respond to changes in the
travel market
3. Providing a level of stability and predictability in the progress of the overall development of
tourism in a given area

Elements of a Tourism Destination Plan

Tourism destination plans generally include the following elements:

Tourism Demand Analysis - Demand analysis examines the existing and intended visitor
markets for the destination. It involves a market analysis that examines the likely tourist arrivals
and characteristics and the travel patterns and trends of the markets. Demand analysis is essential
in understanding the competitiveness of the destination with other tourism destinations with
similar attractions.

Tourism Supply Analysis - Supply analysis examines the destination itself including its
attractions, accommodations, and facilities. The analysis should include transportation,
infrastructure, human resources, and other factors which have a direct or significant impact on
the quality of the visitor experience. In the assessment of a new development for a previously
undeveloped area, site selection is an important element and the analysis will examine various
locations or sites for proposed hotels and commercial buildings. In the case of self-contained
resort destinations where planning is for integrated resort development, consideration must be
given to a number of factors including:

a. Relationship of the site to tourist attractions

b. Desirability of climate
c. Attractiveness of physical environment
d. Availability of land for development
e. Access to tourism gateways and regional attractions
f. Adequate transportation and utilities infrastructure
g. Attitudes of the resident population to the development
h. Availability of a local work force and sufficient housing

Tourism Impact Analysis - Two of the most important impacts in a tourism plan are the
environmental impacts and the social cultural (socio-cultural) impacts of development. While
tourism generally is considered environmentally friendly, sustainable tourism development
places a high priority on preservation of the environment including land use, water quality,
natural scenery, and waste disposal. An important goal of tourism planning should be to protect
the natural setting and avoid exploitation of the natural resources. Many analyses include a study
of the carrying capacity of a destination which defines the environmental and physical limits and
ability of the destination to accommodate a given level of visitors with the least destruction to the
natural resources. Socialcultural impacts concern the pressures and changes that tourism might
bring to the resident population in a particular destination. Tourism can have both beneficial and
harmful effects on local culture as a result of the use of culture as a tourist attraction and the
direct contact between residents and tourists.

Economic and Financial Analysis - For most destinations, economic development is the
primary reason for tourism development. Tourism is viewed as a source of visitor expenditures
which will benefit the local economy, creating spending and employment while increasing the
standard of living of the local population. However, the economic perspective differs between
the public sector or government and the private sector. For the public sector, the economic
benefit for the local community is the most important concern. In the economic analysis for the
public sector, the areas which are examined are the type of visitor and spending habits of the
visitors, the products and services that the visitors seek, the importation costs and supply of
goods required by visitors, the costs related to infrastructure development and maintaining an
adequate work force with the required skills and training for the industry. The economic effects
of tourism include changing work and consumption patterns, standards of living, and social roles
and practices. For the private sector, financial risk and profitability are the primary concerns
including the sources of capital for the planned project, extent of foreign ownership or control,
wage rates for the local labor force, and availability of private sector funds for investment.

Action Plan and Recommendations – The action plan is the final product of the planning
process and will depend on the goals of the plan. It generally includes a summary and analysis of
all of the data used in the planning process and includes strategies, guidelines, recommendations,
and schedules for development.

Characteristics of Tourism Destination

In the conceptual estimation of destination, different standingpoints can be followed. In the

whole, destination (Dr. Roger Carter – Dr. Mike Fabricius, 2007) is a physical location where the
tourist is spending at least one night. It is containing tourist attractions, products, relating
services that are necessary to meet the stay of a tourist on the place at least for one day.
Destination has physical and administrative limits, which are determining its management, and
has an image and perception. It includes a lot of elements being concerned, it is capable for
constructing a network, a cooperation and to become a bigger destination; the determination of
destination is made from the point of view of the tourist.

To become a tourist destination the location, the region has to have the factors that determine the
tourist destinations. These factors are determinants in the bordering, determination of the core
area destination; their development is essential by the increase of the competitiveness of the
specific destinations.

The characteristics of destination can be summarized as follows:

1. Area target that is chosen by the tourist as the target of his travel
2. Receiving area that is providing services for the tourist and people living on the spot
3. It is defined from the point of view of the tourist
4. A place/region that is confinable physically and geographically
5. A place/region that is containing tourist attractions, products, services and other
background services being necessary for spending at least one day
6. The tourist is spending at least one night here
7. It is containing a lot of persons being concerned who are cooperating with each other
8. It has an image
9. It has perception (it means that each of the tourists can form an opinion about a
destination through his own “screen” subjectively)
10. It is providing integrated experience for the tourist
 11. In a wider sense it is a tourist product that is competing with other tourist products
(destinations) on the market of tourism
12. A kind of a complex and integrated system that is taking the existence of a modern
tourism controlling and management system to the successful operation for granted
13. It is a system being built from below and supported from above.

Not all locations, regions can become a tourist destination. There are such kind of basic
criterions that has to be met so that a location, region could become a tourist destination. The
above mentioned are only the most basic criterions. The determination and bordering of the
destinations or the core area destinations are supposing the development of a special system of
criterions that is made according to preferences, expectations, points’ of view of the tourist first
of all.

Features of Tourism Destination

Features of destinations include quality, authenticity, uniqueness, drawing power, and activity
options. It is the combination of these elements that sets destinations apart from one another.

High Quality is a key guiding value in tourism development. For any attraction this means
having a pleasing clean appearance, offering smooth customer oriented operations and
procedures, resource protection, friendly hospitality.

Authenticity, being real, matters. It means letting the distinctive local flavor of a community
shine through in ways that create and produce a “sense of place”.

Uniqueness is the “edge” that sets an attraction in your community apart from the competition
somewhere else.

Drawing Power is measured in terms of the number of visitors who will travel a specified
distance to visit your community and whether they will return for repeat visits.

Activity Options are important characteristics of destinations. The first impulse is to concentrate
on buildings, sites, facilities. But, it is important to remember the activities that provide resident
and visitors things to do.

Development of Tourism Destination

The destinations – as the organizational systems developing on the regional concentration and
cooperation – have to be taken into connection with the economic processes in the world; one
basic principle of which is that the durable industrial and business competitive advantages are
appearing concentrated geographically more and more. In the competition there are not taking
part separate persons of the market but the basic units of the market competition, the companies,
enterprises and regional institutions. The establishment and operation of these systems are helped
by the government schemes and supporting resources as well. The regional concentration
principle is playing a determinant role in the effective operation of the destination as well, which
is generating competitive advantages. The tourist target areas are worth settling to a regional
concentration being significant from the point of view of tourism, based on definitive basic
principles, so that the economic potential of the region can be increased.

Determinant factors of the tourist competitiveness of each region are the development and
operation of the management system with the effective, suitable competences and calculable
financing and organizational background. Modern tourism management and operation, that is the
revaluation of the current traditions, are needed to the development of an effective management
system organized on the basis of the regional concentration principle. The integrated planning,
management and operation of tourism are needed on all levels of tourism. Development of the
system is taking for granted such kind of regional and organizational planning basic principles
are:

a) Revaluation of cooperation, development of consciousness in the cooperation,

development, planning, organization, operation of the forms of cooperation
b) More close cooperation with other regions, branches in the processes of planning and
development originating from the multiplier effect of tourism
c) More complex approaches in the development of the service system of tourism: beside
the development of the tourist infra- and superstructure the development of the
background infrastructures, the supporting factors have to be emphasized too
d) The use of innovative, modern, up to date technologies in the processes of development.

Characteristics of Tourist Destination Management

On the basis of some definitions summing up the point of the tourist destination management
organization

a) The tourist destination management organization (Buhalis, 2000) takes the entire
responsibility for the tourist products of the whole destination, for their development
through controlling, encouraging and other means and for the development of a
partnership that is able to provide positive experience for the tourists;
b) Its main role, function is the establishment of the cooperation and coordination between
the non-profit and private characters of tourism. Its purpose (Dr. Hilda Faragó, 2006) is
to increase the tourism, the tourist income of the specific area and to strengthen the image
of the territory.

Destination Management System

According to UNWTO (2007), there are already clear signs that tomorrow’s successful
destination and other tourism industry stakeholders will be those that adapt to the new operating
environment and cater to all forms of distribution. Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) has become the key. Tourism destinations emerge as umbrella brands and
they will need to be promoted in the global marketplace as one entity for each target market they
try to attract. The emerging globalization and concentration of supply increase the level of
competition and require new Internet marketing strategies for destinations (Rita, 2000).

Palmer (2006) discusses that Destination Management Systems (DMS) take the development of
an online destination brand beyond the stages of merely offering an online brochure, or
providing an online reservation service. A DMS provides a suite of tools for managing a
destination’s tourism activities. This includes systems for managing information for all of the
constituent tourism organizations’ websites as well as sales offices, call centers, literature
fulfilment and marketing functions. Many researches agree that DMSs are strategic ICT tools
that can help operators and tourism enterprises in developing countries integrate, promote and
distribute tourism products and services.

According to UNCTAD (2005), the two primary functions of a destination management system
are to:

1. Provide consumers with comprehensive and accurate information for the preparation of their
vacations, and with booking facilities for tourism services and products,

2. Provide tourism enterprises with the means to be better integrated into the tourism supply
chain by organizing and promoting personalized and enriched tourism experiences.

The primary goal of the system is to function as the main channel of distribution of information
and reservations on all major aspects of tourism in India.

The objectives of the system are:

1. To make it easier for a tourist to choose as a destination;

2. To improve visitor servicing while in India

The system is supposed to have two main functions:

1. To make tourist information about India more available in the marketplace and

2. To facilitate communication between the service providers and tourists The DMS forms a
large network, with the provincial tourism departments all participating in the formulation of
overall marketing strategy and policy.

Planning tourism
Planning tourism at all levels is essential for achieving successful tourism development and
management. The experience of many tourism areas in the world has demonstrated that, on a
long-term basis, the planned approach to developing tourism can bring benefits without
significant problems, and maintain satisfied tourist markets. Places that have allowed tourism to
develop without the benefit of planning are often suffering from environmental and social
problems. These are detrimental to residents and unpleasant for many tourists, resulting in
marketing difficulties and decreasing economic benefits. These uncontrolled tourism areas
cannot effectively compete with planned tourist destinations elsewhere. They usually can be
redeveloped, based on a planned approach, but that requires much time and financial investment.

The Tourism Planning Process

Planning is about setting and meeting objectives. Although various approaches have been
developed in general planning, e.g. boosterism, integrated, interactive, collaborative, bottom-up
etc. The outcomes of tourism planning was restricted primarily to the measurement of the
economic impacts for destination areas, due to the ease with which economic impacts may be
measured, compared to environmental and social impacts. Planning is an essential activity to
achieve the goals of tourism development. Planning is concerned with anticipating and
regulating change in a system to promote orderly development so as to increase the social,
economic and environmental benefits of the development process. To do this, planning becomes
‘an ordered sequence of operations, designed to lead to the achievement of either a single goal or
to a balance between several goals.

Levels of Tourism Planning:

Tourism planning is implemented at different levels from the general level which may apply to
an entire country or region down to the local level which may apply to detail planning for
specific resort. What is important to emphasize is the tourism planning and development must be
integrated among all levels to take into account different levels of concern and to avoid
duplication of efforts and policies. Each level involves different considerations as follows:

1. International level - Tourism planning at the international level involves more than one
country and includes areas such as international transportation services, joint tourism
marketing, regional tourism polices and standards, cooperation between sectors of
member countries, and other cooperative concerns.
2. National level - Tourism planning at the national level is concerned with national
tourism policy, structure planning, transportation networks within the country, major
tourism attractions, national level facility and service standards, investment policy,
tourism education and training, and marketing of tourism.
3. Regional level – Tourism planning at the regional level generally is done by provinces,
states, or prefectures involving regional policy and infrastructure planning, regional
access and transportation network, and other related functions at the regional level.
 4. Local or community level- Tourism planning at the local level involves subregions,
cities, towns, villages, resorts, rural areas and some tourist attractions. This level of
planning may focus on tourism area plans, land use planning for resorts, and planning for
other tourism facilities and attractions.
5. Site planning level - Site planning refers to planning for specific location of buildings
and structures, recreational facilities, conservation and landscape areas and other facilities
carried out for specific development sites such as tourism resorts and may also involve
the design of buildings, structures, landscaping and engineering design based on the site
plan.

Importance of Planning

Tourism planning is primarily economic development planning that is directed towards tourism-
related objectives which differ between the public sector and the private sector. In the public
sector, most planning is done by different levels of government. Public sector tourism planning
includes consideration of economic and social factors, land use policies and zoning controls,
environmental concerns, infrastructure development, employment concerns, and the provision of
public services. Private sector tourism planning is usually concerned with investment objectives
involving various aspects of product development, building and design, financial feasibility,
marketing, management and operations.

Tourism planning is important because it provides a common vision, direction and commitment
for tourism which are the result of participation of many representatives. The process of tourism
planning includes:

a) Assessing the possible impacts of development and the resource problems which will be
faced.
b) Analyzing the competitive status of a destination and its ability to respond to changes in
the travel market
c) Providing a level of stability and predictability in the progress of the overall development
of tourism in a given area.

Benefits of Tourism Planning

 There are several important specific benefits of undertaking national and regional tourism
planning. These advantages include:

a) Establishing the overall tourism development objectives and policies - what is tourism
aiming to accomplish and how can these aims be achieved. Developing tourism so that its
natural and cultural resources are indefinitely maintained and conserved for future, as
well as present, use.
b) Integrating tourism into the overall development policies and patterns of the country or
region, and establishing dose linkages between tourism and other economic sectors.
c) Providing a rational basis for decision-making by both the public and private sectors on
tourism development.
d) Making possible the coordinated development of all the many elements of the tourism
sector. This includes inter-relating the tourist attractions, activities, facilities and services
and the various and increasingly fragmented tourist markets.
e) Optimizing and balancing the economic, environmental and social benefits of tourism,
with equitable distribution of these benefits to the society, while minimizing possible
problems of tourism.
f) Providing a physical structure which guides the location, types and extent of tourism
development of attractions, facilities, services and infrastructure.
g) Establishing the guidelines and standards for preparing detailed plans of specific tourism
development areas that are consistent with, and reinforce, one another, and for the
appropriate design of tourist facilities.
h) Laying the foundation for effective implementation of the tourism development policy
and plan and continuous management of the tourism sector, by providing the necessary
organizational and other institutional framework.
i) Providing the framework for effective coordination of the public and private sector
efforts and investment in developing tourism.
j) Offering a baseline for the continuous monitoring of the progress of tourism development
and keeping it on track.

The Destination Selection Process

It has already been established that the image is an important determinant in tourists’ destination
selection process. Research has demonstrated that there is a clear relationship between a positive
image of a destination and positive purchase decisions. Thus, one of the biggest challenges
facing destination marketers is that of creating and projecting a memorable and positive image of
the destination. Ideally, this image should be recalled by potential tourists in the selection
process and entice them to visit this particular destination.

Gartner describes the cognitive component as ‘the sum of beliefs and attitudes of an object
leading to some internally accepted picture of its attributes’. In other words, the cognitive
component is formed on the basis of the tourist’s beliefs of a destination.
The affective component is related to the motives of the tourist for choosing one destination at
the expense of another. The affective component becomes operational in connection with the
tourist’s evaluation of destination choice.

Finally, the conotive image component leads to action, because a decision is reached, and one
destination from the ‘decision set’

According to Gartner, the destination image is formed by three different, yet interrelated,
components: cognitive, affective and conotive. is chosen. Thus, the conotive image is formed on
the basis of the cognitive and affective components: ‘The conotive component’s relationship to
the other two components is direct. It depends on the images developed during the cognitive
stage and evaluated during the affective stage’.

Tourism Planning Process

Tourism planning is a complex and rational process and as such it should be carried out on the
basis of a systematic process in order its results to be realistic and effective. This process varies
according to the systems situation, the type and the level of planning. According to Inskeep
(1991) the basic steps of tourism planning are:

i. Study Preparation

ii. Determination of objectives

iii. Surveys

iv. Analysis and Synthesis

v. Policy and Plan Formulation

vi. Recommendations vii. Implementation and monitoring

viii. Periodic Review

i) Study Preparation: The first step in the planning process is careful preparation of the study so
that it provides the type of development guidance that is needed. Study preparation involves
formulating the project terms of reference, selecting the technical team to carry out the study,
appointing a steering committee, and organizing the study activities. It is realization of the need
for planning and for the systematic preparation of a tourism plan and preliminary interpretation
of:

a) current tourism circumstances

b) pending tourism development
c) latent tourism opportunities
potential problems for and because of tourism Decision to undertake systematic assessment
include:

a) preparation of terms of reference

b) specification of the problem to be addressed .
c) specification of preferred end-product (e.g. set of guidelines, comprehensive tourism
plan, or specialist plan).

Under this step government together with the private sector should take a decision to develop or
expand or improve tourism development in a planned way. In this stage the use of typologies
could assist the identification of the basic issues of planning just because it can highlight trends
and constraints of tourism development in an area. The planning authority within the local or
regional government (it may be one national agency on small islands that do not have a complex
planning structure) decides to proceed with the development of a tourism plan. It is observed that
while a number of agencies may be actively involved in tourism, it is normally a statutory body
which undertakes the plan although quite often where a local and regional agency both develop a
tourism plan, it is important that they dovetail and are integrated to ensure a unified structure to
tourism.

ii) Determination of objectives: Goals and objectives indicate the desired results of developing
tourism. Goals refer to more general aims of development and objectives to the more specific
ones. Goals and objectives should be carefully determined because they are basic determinants of
the tourism policy and plan. In this stage, the main purpose of the plan is identified (i.e. is it
pursuing a sustainable strategy to development? Is it being undertaken in response to a crisis
such as saturation tourism to identify managerial measures to reduce the social, cultural and
environmental impacts?)

Obtaining clear statements of goals and objectives is difficult, but important. Ideally, tourism
development goals should flow from more general community goals and objectives. It is
important to understand how a tourism plan serves these broader purposes. Is the community
seeking a broader tax base, increased employment opportunities, expanded recreation facilities,
better educational programs, a higher quality of life? How can tourism contribute to these
objectives? If tourism is identified as a means of serving broader community goals, it makes
sense to develop plans with more specific tourism development objectives. These are generally
defined through a continuing process in which various groups and organizations in a community
work together toward common goals.

iii) Surveys: This step involves collecting quantitative and qualitative data on all relevant
aspects of the tourism system. The survey step should be carefully conducted in order to be
efficient. Often in this step a map or aerial photograph can help on the observation of spatial
relationships that are not obvious in any other way. An inventory of all the existing tourism
resources and facilities are surveyed together with the state of development. This will require the
collection of data on the supply and demand for tourism, the structure of local tourism economy,
investment and finance available for future development. It will also involve identifying the
range of other private and public sector interests in tourism within the destination or locality.
Surveys will cover such matters as

a) existing tourist profiles

b) assessment of tourism features
c) assessment of complementary features
d) assessment of investment sources and capability (including entrepreneurship and local
leadership)
e) assessment of government structures and organizations, and their involvement in
activities which interact with tourism.

Survey stage can assist in the creation of a typology but it also can be assisted by the use of a
typology by facilitating the process of collecting available data. At this point new technological
and methodological tools like Geographical Information Systems could make the process more
easy, representative and accurate through the use of their extensive and powerful spatial
databases.

iv) Analysis and Synthesis: In this step data gathered on the previous stage of surveys are
combined and synthesized in order to identify major opportunities and constraints for tourism
development in the area. The information and data collected in the previous stage are analyzed
and incorporated as data when formulating the plan. Four principal techniques are frequently
used here: asset evaluation, market analysis, development planning and impact analysis
(especially economic impact analysis such as input-output analysis, multiplier analysis and
tourism forecasting). This stage involves an integrated analysis of environmental, social and
economic factors, to reveal:

a) tourism opportunities
b) problems to be addressed
c) needs for tourism

Further it involves interpretation of potential environmental, social and economic impact, and the
determination of management strategies to overcome any potentially detrimental impact. Finally
an assessment of the impact of prevailing government policies and organizations and industry
bodies on the achievement of the set objectives is done -including assessment of the suitability of
existing tourism organizations, legislation and regulations. The use of typologies here can help to
highlight the real touristic image of the destination area, to show the trends, the problems and
conflicts together with the opportunities of development.

v) Policy and Plan Formulation: This stage refers to the formulation of tourism policy and
preparation of the physical structure of the plan. The use of scenarios is essential at this point.
The data gathered in the previous stage are used to establish the various options or development
scenarios available for tourism. This frequently involves the drafting of a development plan with
tourism policy options, with certain goals identified. It is argued that there are three main
elements evident in most tourism policies that are germane to the tourist experience: visitor
satisfaction, environmental protection and ensuring adequate rewards exist for developers and
investors. By developing a range of policy options at this stage of the planning process, the
future direction can be considered. This stage is concerned with the preparation of a series of
integrating policies concerned with:

a) economic strategy
b) marketing
c) human resources development
d) environmental conservation
e) investment
f) organization

This stage involves cross-referencing with preliminary objectives -perhaps necessitating review
and revision in the light of further experience. Further, there should be a preparation of
integrated development options (not a single plan, but a number of alternatives which may be
tested against the reformulated objectives). Here the use of typologies is essential, especially in
cases where the spatial and time scales are extended where obviously tourism development could
not have the same strength or characteristics in everywhere. Basically the creation of a typology
is a process where destination areas presenting similar characteristics are grouped together in
classes. Main aim in this process is to assist tourism planning and decision support process. So
typologies can basically help in this step through the process of formulation policies that are
suitable and essential for each set/group/type of touristic area.

vi) Recommendations: Based on all above steps alternative scenarios should be evaluated here
in order the most suitable to be selected and implemented. Alternative scenarios can be applied
in each type/group of touristic area. The full tourism plan is then prepared and forwarded to
planning committee of the public agency responsible for the process. A period of public
consultation is normally undertaken in most western industrialized countries. The draft plan is
then available for public consultation so that both the general public and tourism interests can
read and comment on it. A number of public hearings may also be provided to gauge the strength
of local feeling towards the plan. Once this procedure is completed, the plan will then be
approved by the planning authority and the final plan is then produced.

Preparation of final plan may be either of the previously considered options, or a new hybrid
with a mix of the best compatible features from these options. This involves finalization of the
plan in respect of:

a) tourism development regions/zones

 b) transportation links
c) infrastructure systems
d) tourism attractions
e) labour skills
f) investment levels and sources
g) environmental and cultural conservation
h) organization (including legislation)

vii) Implementation and monitoring: At this final step the plan prepared above should be
implemented while tourism development should be monitored in order to be ensured that the
goals and objectives defined are accomplished. By the use of a typology it is easy to
monitor/observe the effectiveness of the plan through the transitions that will happen between
and within groups/classes. The means of implementation and monitoring involves:

a) creation of an agency or agencies with the responsibility to ensure the finalized plan is
implemented and monitored;
b) preparation of a schedule of tasks to be completed within prescribed time frames and
period for review and revision
c) creation of an agency or agencies for on-going supervision to ensure the plan remains
relevant and feasible

The plan is put into action; this is normally seen as ongoing process by the planning team. In
some instances, legislation may be required to control certain aspects of development (e.g. the
height of buildings and developments) which will need to be implemented as part of the plan.
The political complexity of implementing the plan should not be underestimated.

Often, the political complexion of the elected representatives on the statutory planning authority
may change and cause the priorities to change although, if an Action Plan is produced alongside
the plan, it will allow for some degree of choice in what is implemented; it will also need to be
monitored. This is an ongoing process where the planning agency assesses if the objectives of the
plan are being met.

The operational time frame for a tourism plan is normally five years after which time it is
reviewed. Plans generally need to be adjusted over time due to changing goals, changing market
conditions, and unanticipated impacts. It is a good idea to build monitoring and evaluation
systems into planning efforts

viii) Periodic review: The process of reporting back on the progress once the plan has run its
course and been implemented. Some of the reasons for the failure of the plan to achieve its stated
objectives may relate to a change of political complexion amongst the elected members of the
planning authority (e.g. where an anti-tourism lobby dominates the local authority when the plan
was commissioned by a pro-tourism council), a failure to achieve a degree of consensus between
the private and public sector on how to address ‘bottlenecks’ in the supply of services and
facilities for tourists; inadequate transport and infrastructure provision; and public opposition to
tourism from a misunderstanding of residents’ attitudes.

Planning For Demand Supply Match

Tourism is a socio-economic phenomenon comprised of the activities and experiences of tourists
and visitors away from their home environment, serviced by the travel and tourism industry and
host destinations. The sum total of this activity, experience and services can be seen as the
tourism product. Understanding the interrelationships between several parts of the system
enables all tourism stakeholders to improve planning and management effectiveness and enhance
the likelihood of success. Essentially, the tourism system can be described in terms of supply and
demand. Tourism planning should strive for a balance between demand (market) and supply
(development). This requires an understanding not only of market characteristics and trends but
also the planning process to meet these market needs. Furthermore, the context of the supply and
demand sides needs to be carefully monitored and managed, e.g. ecological, political, social,
cultural and other factors in the external and internal environments of the visitor demand, and
destination supply components must be carefully considered.

Often tourists from core generating markets are identified as the demand side; the supply side
includes all facilities, programmes, attractions and land uses designed and managed for the
visitors. These supply side factors may be under the control of private enterprise, nonprofit
organizations and/or governments. New and innovative forms of partnerships are also evolving
to ensure the sustainable development and management of tourism-related resources.

The supply and demand side can be seen to be linked by flows of resources such as capital,
labour, goods and tourist expenditures into the destination, and flows of marketing, promotion,
tourist artifacts and experiences from the destination back into the tourist generating regions. In
addition, some tourist expenditures may leak back into the visitorgenerating areas through
repatriation of profits to foreign tourism investors and payment for imported goods and services
provided to tourists at the destination. Transportation provides an important linkage both to and
from the destination.

An examination of the demand side of tourism reveals three major factors. First, a tourist (for
business or pleasure) must be motivated for travel. Those who do not have interest, desire, and
purpose for travel and stay home cannot be counted in the demand side of tourism. Second,
within total populations, unless one has the financial ability to pay for the services and facilities,
travel is less likely to occur.

Third, as the population live longer and as medical science and practice improve, more people
are able to travel. However, unless they have the time and physical ability to travel they will not
be counted in tourism demand. These and many other factors make predictions for travel very
difficult. Equally important in the functioning of tourism system is the driving force of supply
side – all the objects and services that are provided to meet demand. For planning purposes, the
major components that comprise the supply side are:

Various modes of transportation and other tourism-related infrastructure.

a) Tourist information.
 b) Marketing and promotion provided.
c) The community or communities within the visitor destination area.
d) The political and institutional frameworks for enabling tourism.

The dynamic nature of tourism systems makes it critical to scan the external and internal
environments of the destination on a regular basis and to be prepared to make changes necessary
to ensure a healthy and viable tourism industry. The tourism system is dynamic and complex due
to many factors and sectors linked to the provision of the tourist experience and the generation of
tourism revenues and markets. A large number of stakeholders are involved in this system. There
is growing recognition that the interdependence of these stakeholders is essential for sustainable
tourism.

It is at the destination and site levels that demand-supply linkage is especially important. It is
here that land use planning and controls can guide development into those zones best adapted to
attractions and services. At the site level, designers / developers must be cognizant of market
segment requirements and yet adapt development in balance with the local resources. Thus, it is
clear that preferred demand-supply match must be evaluated case-by-case. Finally, because
development policies and market trends continue to change, the creation of demand-supply
match is dynamic, not static. All public and private actions must remain flexible so that annual
adaptation may take place.

Understanding the Demand side of Tourism

Demand is driven by the desires of consumers – both existing and potential visitors. The tourism
planners role, in identifying who they are and why they are visiting a particular destination, will
help reveal the potential for new or “improved” tourism products. At this stage, it is important to
analyze existing and potential markets and their size. This understanding of market demand will
help identify any major considerations regarding product development, facility designs, visitor
use plans, and marketing. Initial tourism development activities often consist of identifying the
existing features that residents see as interesting and trying to market them.

These features, however, may or may not be attractive to potential visitors. The tourism planners
will need to take an objective look at the destination’s market potential by basing product
development on the probable interest to the consumer. Tourism products include an ensemble of
tangible and intangible components such as:

a) Resources and attractions

b) Facilities and infrastructures
c) Services
d) Activities
e) Images and symbolic value.

Understanding the Supply-Side of Tourism

The tourism planners’ understanding of the current and local tourism industry, as well as how it
is functioning is vital to identifying new products that could bring added value to the destination.
In addition to this insight, assessing supply and competitiveness will help ensure new concepts
that are competitive within the overall tourism industry are recommended. To do this, the
planners must research businesses and destinations that are supplying tourism services. The first
step is to analyze the supply of tourism services existing in the area to determine:

a) The size and health of the local and national tourism industry;
b) How the local tourism industry is structured and branded;
c) Opportunities for collaboration;
d) Potential target markets;
e) Competitors and how to differentiate from them.

Specifically, the planners should look for the following information:

a) Location of Tourism Operations—What are the tourism clusters (areas of intense tourism
activity)? Facilities and Amenities—Which lodging, restaurants, shops, etc. are being
used by tourists?
b) Rates Charged—What are the current price levels (inexpensive, moderate and
expensive)?
c) Occupancy Rates—Which properties are successful and how many visitors do they
receive per year or season?
d) Market Segments Served—Who is currently visiting these operations and where do they
originate? What brands are being promoted? How are they marketed?
e) Employment—How have the employees changed over the years? Are there projected
growths or declines in the industry?
f) Sustainability—What measures are in place to minimize negative socio-cultural and
environmental impacts? Are there current issues with these?

Destination Image Development

Tourism product is a combination of services, commodities and other material and immaterial
items including the whole travel experience from leaving home to return individual experience,
impressions and things learned and enjoyed at a destination. In general business, products are
goods or services which are bought and sold in the market. A product is anything that can be
offered to a market for attention, acquisition, or use, or something that can satisfy a need or want.
Therefore, a product can be a physical good, a service, a retail store, a person, an organization, a
place or even an idea. Products are the means to an end wherein the end is the satisfaction of
customer needs or wants. Kotler distinguished three components of product:

a) Need: a lack of a basic requirement;

b) Want: a specific requirement for products or services to match a need;
c) Demand: a set of wants plus the desire and ability to pay for the exchange

The destination is a location that travelers choose to visit in the preferred time and where they
spend time, no matter what their motivations, needs, and expectations. A destination can be as
small as a single building or as large as an entire continent. Howsoever the size of the
destination, adequate facilities and services must be developed to satisfy the needs of visitors.

Destination images give ideas to tourists to generate a set of expectations about a destination
prior to experiencing the activities in the destination. The expectation and actuality of the
destination differ largely if the former does not match with the later. Due to tourisms intangible
and changeable nature, the fate of many destinations depends on how they are presented and
perceived by their surroundings and the potential customers. It is through a certain image that a
destination, region or country is differentiated from all the others in the consciousness of the
consumers/tourists.

Destinations of any dimensions adhere to the principles of satisfying the tourists by offering
competitive services. Intermediaries directly and indirectly associated in dealing with the tourist
services around the destination. Destinations meet with early unpopularity and the loss of
identity for the cause of flaws of the destination developers at the implementation stage of
planning. It is absolutely pertinent to associate the hoteliers, transporters, travel agents, tour
operators, meeting planners, souvenir exhibitors, tourist offices, local municipality, Non
Governmental Organizations (NGO), etc; to popularize the unique selling points (USP) of the
destinations.

Meaning of Image

The destination image has become a strategic tool and competitive advantage. The direct and
indirect beneficiaries of destinations take crucial responsibility for description, promotion,
distribution, amalgamation, organization and delivery of the destinations’ product. An image
may be defined as the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has of a destination.

The concept of image can be applied to a political candidate, a product, and a country. It
describes not individual traits or qualities but the total impression an entity makes on the minds
of others .
An image is the mental construct developed by the consumer on the basis of a few selected
impressions among the flood of total impressions. It comes into being through a creative process
in which selected impressions are elaborated, embellished and ordered. Image is comprised of
the ideas and conceptions held individually or collectively of the destination under investigation.
Image may comprise both cognitive and evaluative components.

Defining Destination Image

Destination image is defined as ‘the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has of a
destination’. ‘A destination’s image is a composite of various products (attractions) and
attributes woven into a total impression’. Destination image is not only the perceptions of
individual destination attributes but also the holistic impression made by the destination. It
consists of functional and psychological characteristics and the images can be arranged on a
continuum ranging from common to unique traits.

The destination image is influenced with the two important attributes of tourist behavior, one is
atmospheric attributes and another is environmental attributes. Atmospheric attributes are related
to the climate, weather, temperature, humidity etc; and the environmental attributes encompass
the socio- cultural, economic, political aspects of a destination. Destination image is also defined
as, “the expression of all objective knowledge, impressions, prejudice, imaginations, and
emotional thoughts an individual or group might have of a particular place”.

The Dimensions of Tourist Destination Image

For a long time in the destination image research, many researchers only put their eyes on the
dimensions of destination image composed by the various destination attributes what can be
measured or observed directly. Functional characteristics, such as scenery, climate and
congestion, are the basic dimensions of destination image. The psychological characteristics,
such as the atmosphere or romance of the setting of a destination, are difficult to be measured.

But to identify the dimensions of destination image should consider tourist’s holistic impression
towards a destination as well, or else missing any dimensions will lead an incomplete assessment
of the destination image. Therefore, both the tangible attributes and the intangible feelings
should be investigated while assessing the image of a destination. Because there is lack of
conceptual framework, Echtner and Ritchie then establish the existence of three axes to identify
the dimensions of destination image, which supports the image of any destination and includes
three continuums of destination image: attribute/holistic, functional/psychological, and
common/unique.

destination image is composed of people’s perceptions of individual attributes, such as climate,

tourism facilities and so forth; the holistic imagery stands for the holistic impressions towards the
destination, for instance, atmosphere and general feeling. For the second continuum, the
functional characteristics refers to the physical characteristics of destination what can be
observed or measured directly, such as the tourism infrastructure and environment; whereas the
psychological characteristics concern with the intangible aspects, for instance, the quality of
tourism service and friendliness of the local people.

On the attribute side, there are numerous perceptions of the individual characteristics of the
destination (from functional to psychological). On the holistic side, the functional impression
consists of the mental picture (or imagery) of the physical characteristics of the destination such
as mountainous, whereas the psychological characteristics can be described as the mood of place.
For common-unique continuum, it highlights that the dimensions of destination image can be
formed from those perceptions based on ‘common’ functional and psychological characteristics
which exist in all the destinations to those perceptions based on the ‘unique’ features which are
unique or at least different to one’s everyday surroundings.

Formation of Destination Image

The marketing of destinations thrives on the presentation of a clear and concise image that has
the capacity to catch the attention of potential tourists. Images in tourism marketing used to
reflect complicated cultural systems of travel destinations. These images often reflect how it is
perceived that people want to see a destination and they may reveal visions and aspirations that
have existed in a society for a long time..

Attractions provide the pull factors, which energize individual needs to travel. It is the job of
attractions to pull people toward them to satisfy their needs. Attractions awaken a sleeping or
dormant need and energize the individual to act by traveling to the attraction. They are the reason
people travel instead of doing something else to satisfy their needs. Another important role
attractions play is to create an image that distinguishes one place from another.

Each tourist’s perceived image of a certain destination is unique based on his or her own
‘memories, associations or imaginations of a destination’. A tourist’s attitude to a particular
destination is as the same as his or her strength of belief about the attributes of the destination. In
order to be successful in intense competition, the destinations should understand how the image
is formed and what affects the process. A seven stage theory reveals the process of tourist forms
an image of a destination, which is widely accepted and introduced by many researches.

Seven Stage Theory on the Formation of Destination Image

1. Accumulating the mental images of a destination in daily life, then the organic image is
formed. (Organic Image)

2. Modifying the initial images through searching more information about destination on
tourist’s initiative, thus the induced image is formed (Induced Image)

3. Deciding to have a trip to the destination

4. Traveling to the destination

5. Experiencing the destination

6. Return to home

7. Modifying the image of destination based on tourist’s own experience. (Modified-Induced

Image) Source: Gunn, 1988: 120

This seven stages theory sets up three levels of destination image forms in tourists’ minds:
organic image, induced image and modifiedinduced image. The organic image is formed through
the accumulation of information about destination in one’s daily life such as from school
education (e.g. geography course), mass general media (e.g. news, books, movies) and the
opinions of relatives or friends; whereas the induced image is developed through the commercial
promotions, such as advertising and brochures from tourism services; The modified-induced
image is formed from the result and evaluation of tourist’s actual experience of the destination.

For the organic and induced image, destination image is mainly formed based upon the
secondary information sources, whereas the modified-induced image is formed from the tourist’s
actual first-hand experience and individual evaluation of a destination. Even though the
information source plays an important role in formulating the organic and induced images in
tourists’ minds, it is very limited. Especially the noncommercial information sources concerning
with social, economic and historic factors are hardly connected with destination image, it may
form a wrong or non-holistic image of the destination. Therefore, some authors point out that as
a consequence of visiting the destination, the destination’s image perceived and modified in
tourists’ minds is more realistic, complex and differentiated based on their actual experiences,
which can achieve comprehensive assessment of destination image.

The Internal Factors Influencing the Formation of Destination Image

It is important to understand what influence the formation of image before image can be used to
affect tourist’s destination choice behavior. Based on seven stage theory, some researchers argue
that the formation of destination image is not only determined by stimuli information sources,
but also influenced by the tourist’s personal characteristics, in another words, are the social and
psychological characteristics of the tourists. Further the factors that influence the destination
image perceived by tourists were divided into two categories: external forces (stimulus factors)
and internal forces (personal factors).

The Formation of a Destination Image

External forces include information sources and past experience, whereas internal forces consist
of tourists’ social and psychological characteristics of tourists, for instance, traveling motivations
and social background such as age, gender, educational level, etc. develop this path model and
address that the previous visitation experience may also be seen as an internal factor that
influences the formation of destination image in tourist’s mind because it may affect the post-
visit perceived image of the destination.

Even though tourist’s perceived image of a destination could be formed from the external
information sources, but it is more relating to organic image and induced image. The realistic
and holistic image of a destination perceived by tourists largely relies on their personal
characteristics. In this way, tourists form their own perceptions of the destination image based on
their own motivations, preferences and socio demographic characteristics which gives rise to
their own and personal perceived image, which is more relating to the modified-induced image.
In addition, the image of a destination that tourists perceived is clearly conditioned by their
experiences, and this is because the behavior of each tourist is the result of his or her own
characteristics. Hence tourists with different preferences or characteristics have no homogeneous
and will hold different perceptions of destination image towards the same tourist destination.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics

The socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, education, income, gender, occupation,

marital status, region, etc, are considered as the internal factors influencing tourists’ perceived
image of the destination. Everyone’s perceived image of a certain destination is unique, the
perceived image of a destination held by tourists not only depends on a specific stimuli, but also
on stimuli more related to the individual’s own characteristics. As a result, the perceived image
of a destination may differ from person to person. A destination image study in four different
countries: Turkey, Greece, Italy and Egypt, point outs that age and level of education
significantly influence tourists’ perceived images. Furthermore, a research about the international
students’ perceptions of image towards a rural tourist destination in Australia, confirms that the
tourist’s gender and family status significantly affect the formation of image in tourists’ minds.
In a later work, in a study of Lanzarote in Spain, the result shows that the variables of gender,
age, level of education and social class influence tourist’s perceived image.

Additionally, some studies indicate that there is a strong relationship between geographical
location and destination image. The distance from the destination plays an important role in the
image formation process, and tourist’s perceived image of a destination might be more realistic
and holistic if the destination is more close to tourists’ hometowns.

Previous Visit Experience

the previous visit experience to a destination can be regarded as one of the internal factors that
influence the perceived image of a destination the previous visitation experience is related to the
fact that if the tourists have been there before or not. According to Gunn’s seven stage theory,
the first-time tourist and repeat tourist would have the different perceptions towards a
destination’s image due to they are affected by the different criteria. In tourism sector, the
previous visitation experience may be more significant than information sources.

Once tourists have the previous visitation experience to the same destination, they may tend to
put more weight on their previous visitation experiences than on external information sources to
perceive the destination image because the need of information sources becomes weaker. But if
the tourists are the first-time to visit this destination, their perceptions of destination’s image are
more related to the information they gained from the external stimuli.

Psychological Characteristics: Traveling Motivations

Traveling motivations are those necessities that make an individual direct his or her actions in
order to fulfill a need. Traveling motivation is defined as ‘a need that drives an individual to act
in a way to achieve to the desired satisfaction’. Tourists travel to a destination depending upon
the different reasons and motives. From the tourist’s point of view, it is not only one of the most
important elements to affect tourist’s decision making behavior before the trip, but also as one of
the personal factors that influences the perceived image of a destination after visiting the place.
Because after visiting there, tourists’ benefit sought may be achieved from a richer destination
image. Tourists’ traveling motivation highly influences their awareness and holistic evaluations
of the destination image.
Many researchers have demonstrated that there is a strong relationship between the
psychological motivations of tourists and their perceived images of destination, the different
traveling motivations they have, the different extents of the destination image would be
perceived by them. Tourists’ travel motivations can be distinguished by push and pull factors,
these two factors explain how the tourists are pushed by motivation variables into their travel
decision-making, and how they are pulled or attracted by the attributes of a destination. This is to
mean that, push factor refers to the socio-psychological desires that stimulating a person to
travel, such as to meet friends or family, to participate in the conference or events, to escape
from the routine life or to seek adventure, and so forth. Whereas a pull factor is one that the
person is motivated or aroused by towards the attributes of destination, for instance, to
experience the beautiful sceneries, interesting activities, attractive history, etc.

Attributes of Destination
In today’s competitive global marketplace, a tourist destination tends to be seen no longer as a
set of distinct natural, cultural, artistic and environmental resources, but as an overall appealing
product in a certain area: a complex and integrated package offered by a territory able to supply a
holiday which meets the varied needs of the customers. Tourism destination is defined as ‘a
package of tourism facilities and services, which like any other consumer product, is composed
of a number of multi-dimensional attributes’.

The more varied the tourism (service) products or tourism experiences are, the greater the
number of individual service providers participating in the creation of a tourism value chain.
Customers perceive a tourism destination as a whole, a fact which allows the providers in a
destination to develop a joint tourism product which can, in itself, represent the attraction of a
tourism destination. On the other hand, to achieve the social and economic objectives and to
maximize the benefits from tourism, the ‘destination’ has to provide high-quality goods and
services to satisfy the local, regional, and international customers. However, without knowing
the customers’ most important needs and quality expectations, initiatives in this endeavor are
based on guesswork. Therefore, destination authorities and managers have to identify those
destination attributes that are the most important determinants of the customer satisfaction and
positive post-purchase behavior. In the existing tourism literature, numerous studies can be found
about the customer satisfaction and post purchase behavior topics. Conversely, research attempts
are quite limited about the identification of the destination attributes for various market segments
in the content of micro or macro level competitiveness.

Destination Attributes in General

For any tourism and recreation activity i.e. holiday resort, tracking, ski, wind surf, paragliding,
bird watching etc, destination choice is a critical issue. There have been several definitions of
destination. One of them is, “places towards which people travel and where they choose to stay
for a while in order to experience certain features or characteristics a perceived attraction of
some sort”. On the other hand, destination is a focus of facilities and services designed to meet
the needs of the tourists. For example, a country, city, town or an area could be called as a
destination but also a cruise ship is accepted as a destination.

Destination choice of the tourists has been of great interest to tourism scholars and many other
studies could be added to this list. There are so many factors affecting destination choice process
of a tourist. Generally, these factors are grouped into two categories called “push” and “pull”
factors. Push factors indicate psychological factors; e.g. values, motives and personality as well
as social factors; e.g. age, education, marital status. Pull factors are destination related
dimensions; these can contribute formation perceived attraction among tourists; e.g. distance,
type of area, infrastructure, size of area, type of vegetation and activities in the destination. Also,
it is accepted that pull factors (attributes) could be grouped as tangible and intangible attributes.
Many destination competitiveness models have been offered so far that can be classified into
three major categories:

(1) Tourism destination resources and attractors;

(2) Tourism destination strategies; and

(3) Tourism destination environments. From the point of destination attributes, 17 data sets are
summarized. These researches were conducted to determine factors affecting destination choice
of the tourist. In the researches’ data sets different operative variables were used to measure
importance of destination attributes. These variables were surface area, price, natural attributes,
infrastructure, accessibility, programmed activities, reputation of the destination, restrictions of
navigation, population of species, time of journey, entry prices, hotel size and services, parking
areas and shops.

Destinations comprised a core of some components. He categorized these components into six
headings and called 6A’s framework because of first letter of each heading. Attractions represent
natural, hand-made, artificial buildings, special events. Accessibility refers entire transportation
system, terminals and vehicles. Amenities refer accommodation, catering, retailing and other
tourist services. Available packages mean pre-arranged packages by intermediaries and
principals. Activities represent all the activities could be done by tourists while they are in the
destination. Ancillary services refer banking, telecommunications, posts and hospitals, etc.
Crouch and Ritchie classified the destination factors into six dimensions:

(1) ‘the core resources and attractors’ which include physiography and climate, culture and
history, market ties, activities, special events, and the tourism superstructure;

(2) ‘supporting factors and resources’ which are infrastructure, accessibility, facilitating
resources, hospitality and enterprise;

(3) ‘destination management’;

(4) ‘destination policy, planning, development’;

(5) ‘competitive (micro) environment’; and

(6) ‘qualifying and amplifying determinants’

Destination Competitiveness and its Determinants

There are many ways to examine the factors, which can significantly impact on tourists’ decision
on destination selection, one popular way of which is to look at destination’s attractions.
Attractions have been viewed by many researchers as the reason for tourists visiting a particular
destination. There are two perspectives that a destination’s attractions can be examined, namely,
tourism sites which are physically included in the destination, and attributes which are associated
with the destination.

The Push-Pull Framework

Dann referred to a destination’s attributes as the ‘pull factors’. The pull factors (such as
landscape, culture, price, service, climate etc.) can pull one to some of the tourism supply
components such as attractions or destinations. In other words, the ‘pull factors’ can lead an
individual traveler to select one destination over another once the decision to travel has been
made. The ‘pull factors’ can be deemed as exogenous forces, which have been characterized in
terms of the features, attractions, or attributes of a destination. Dann also examined the
endogenous forces, which he named as ‘push factors’. The ‘push factors’ are viewed as relating
to the needs and wants of a traveler, such as the desire for escape from their mundane home
environment, relaxation, nostalgia, rest, prestige, knowledge, experience, and social interaction.
Dann’s ‘push-pull framework’ provides a simple and intuitive approach for understanding
tourists’ motivations for travel, and explaining why a certain tourist selects one destination over
another.

He indicated that “once the trip has been decided upon, where to go, what to see or what to do
(relating to the specific destinations) can be tackled. Thus, analytically, and often both logically
and temporally, push factors precede pull factors”. It means that push and pull factors can be
deemed as relating to two different decisions made at two separate points in time. Tourists,
firstly, are pushed by their needs and wants to make a decision of ‘whether to go’, and then are
pulled by destinations’ attributes to make a decision of ‘where to go’. Therefore, destination
attributes are very important for a destination to be successful in attracting more tourists.

Commonly Attractive Attributes

As there are many attributes associated with a specific destination, it is impossible for every
attribute to be important in tourists’ destination choice. Some attributes reveal attractive to
tourists, but others may be not. It raises a need to identify what could be attractive attributes for
destinations.

Price as Attractive Attribute

Price is a major attribute in a tourist’s decision to choose one destination over another. This is
especially the case, when tourism products are consumed by the form of a package. The total
cost of a package plays a significant role in the selection of a destination for all but high-income
tourists. There are two categories of price, namely, travel cost - relating to travel to and from a
destination, and ground cost - relating to commodity prices within the destination. Both of the
two categories of price can influence tourists’ decision making on destination selection. In fact,
price, by itself, is meaningless to be attractive to tourists. Only when it is associated with a
certain destination, or a tourism product, and their corresponding services and quality, it becomes
an important attribute for tourists’ buying consideration. Price competitiveness is usually
regarded as one of the most important attributes of competitiveness for a given destination.
Studies by tourism researchers indicate the price sensitivity of travelers is high in certain
markets.

Culture as Attractive Attribute

In the past decade, the fast growth of cultural tourism has been leading to some researchers
argue that cultural attractions have become the most important attribute, which motivates people
to travel. The fast growth of cultural tourism is by two reasons. Firstly, the increasing affluence
and disposable income has boosted tourism in general, and in turn boosted cultural tourism as
well. Secondly, increasing levels of education have stimulated the demand for cultural tourism in
particular. In other words, tourists are increasingly interested in the cultural aspects associated
with a destination. Cultural tourism has become the mass market in tourism industry. The World
Tourism Organization (WTO) asserted that the cultural tourism currently accounts for 37% of all
tourists’ trips and that demand is growing by 15% per annum.

Cultural tourism has already gained much attention from many national and local governments
as well. In Bali (Indonesia), cultural tourism, which is the most important regional development
policy, has been adopted by the provincial government of Bali. The South Korean government
defined 1998 as the year of its historic and cultural tourism. As tourists are increasingly
interested in culture, destinations are competing fiercely with each other to develop cultural
attractions that will act as a ‘must see sight’ for tourists. Culture has become one of the most
important and attractive attributes for a destination to attract more tourists.

Entertainment and Relaxation as Attractive Attributes

A destination’s “entertainment attribute” can be found in many forms, such as outdoor activities,
gambling, and nightlife. Tourists enjoy pursuing entertainment during their trip - even at
museums and other cultural sites. A survey reports that 46% of respondents were pursuing for
entertainment when they were visiting a cultural site. Entertainment has become an essential
attribute of tourist destinations in their competition to attract visitors, more and more cities are
profiling themselves as an Entertainment City”. In the United States of America (USA),
entertainment destinations have been growing substantially over the past decade.

Branson, Missouri, for example, is an entertainment destination, which has become the second-
most popular tourist destination in the USA. The real reason why people travel is that they seek
to escape from their everyday reality through the consumption of shallow and inauthentic
experiences. People are weary of the drudgery of their everyday life. They travel for fun,
entertainment, and relaxation. Thus, entertainment and relaxation could be significantly
attractive attributes for a destination to satisfy travelers’ needs.

Scenic Beauty as Attractive Attribute

Since the day when tourism became a mass market due to a number of people starting to enjoy
travel, tourism has been defined as a “landscape industry”, and regarded as fully integrated with
destinations’ environment. Tourists, especially those in holiday mood, would like to enjoy their
destinations’ natural views and beautiful scenery. That natural vistas and appealing landscapes
have always been key attributes in determining the tourism attractiveness of a destination. A
representative survey of German citizens to evaluate the importance of certain destination
attributes. The attribute – landscape, was found to be the most important even before price
considerations. In a study of measuring the importance of destination attributes, they concluded
that natural beauty and climate were of universal importance in defining destinations
attractiveness. Thus, nature-based beautiful scenery could be deemed as a meaningful attribute
for a destination to attract more visitors.

Pleasant Weather and Climate as Attractive Attribute

Weather can be defined as “the state of the atmosphere in a given place at a given time, and can
be described by one particular weather station or for a specific area of the earth’s surface. By
contrast, climate is the prevailing condition of the atmosphere deduced from long periods of
observation”. Both climate and weather can significantly influence tourists’ activities and
behavior, just as they affect people’s routine lives as well. Climate and weather could become
attractions in their own right and play a decisive role in tourists’ decision on destination
selection. When tourists are thinking about buying a tourism product, they weigh up its different
attributes, such as services, entertainment and price.

The climate and weather are also evaluated in this process, as they could be deemed as the
natural resources that usually form a part of the product. In the study of “the pull of tourism
destinations”, found that the ‘warm climate’ appear to be a significant pull attribute, especially
for those tourists who were interested in relaxing and getting a suntan. Climate acquires greater
importance than the other attributes and is valued so positively when tourists decide to buy a
tourism product. Although climate and weather can be deemed as an important attribute
associated with a destination, tourism planners and marketers can do nothing to affect them.
However, the understanding of how tourists perceive a destination’s climate and weather would
be helpful for tourism planners and marketers to better arrange their tourism resources and
activities.

Accessibility as Attractive Attribute

Accessibility can be defined as the “relative ease or difficulty with which customers can reach
the destination of their choice”. Tourists’ destination choice is often influenced by convenience.
Given a choice between similar destinations, a tourist will tend to choose the more convenient
one. Thus, destinations, which are more proximate, would be more likely to be accepted over
destinations offering similar products that are less proximate. The accessibility of a destination is
governed by a wide variety of influences, many of which may depend on much broader
economic, social, or political concerns, such as regulation of the airline industry, entry visas and
permits, route connections, hubs, landing slots, airport capacities, and competition among
carriers. From this point of view, it is difficult to evaluate the accessibility of a destination, based
on supply-side. Suggested that accessibility could be measured by the relative difference in the
time, cost, distance, or effort required to access different destinations, based on demand-side.
Accessibility might be an attractive attribute for a certain destination.

Safety as Attractive Attribute

Although there are many attributes associated with a destination, safety is the major concern for
tourists to make a decision on destination selection. Safety, tranquility and peace are necessary
conditions for prosperous tourism, most tourists will not spend their hard earned money to go to
a destination where their safety and well-being may be in jeopardy. It has been generally
accepted that safety and security at a destination are critical determinants of its competitiveness.
Elements of safety and security include political instability/unrest, probability of terrorism, crime
rates, record of transportation safety, corruption of police/administrative services, quality of
sanitation, prevalence of outbreak of disease, and quality/unreliability of medical services. In this
age of globalization, serious crime against tourists hits the international headlines around the
world and can destroy the tourist destination in the short run. The 1992 Florida, USA, tourist
murders, for example, generated considerable media attention and resulted in a significant
decline of tourism. The travel and tourism industry is very sensitive to crisis events. After the
terrorist attacks of September 11, the volume and pattern of tourism flows were affected and has
not recovered from that event. Particular destinations, such as the USA and countries in the
Middle East, are experiencing greater turndowns in visitors than others because of tourists’
safety and security considerations. Tourists’ perceptions of safety and security to a destination
will have a significant effect on the destination’s image. Researchers have testified that the
image of a destination can significantly impact on tourists’ destination choice. A good safety and
security image can attract more tourists to visit a certain destination.

Friendly Attitude and Cooperation of Local People toward Tourists as Attractive Attribute

Local people’s attitude toward tourists is a major social factor forming part of the macro-
environment of a destination, which may influence tourists’ satisfaction with their trip and is,
therefore, vital to the success of the destination. Local people’s attitude toward tourists is
determined by how they perceive the tourism industry. Most residents of a certain destination
may perceive tourism in a positive way due to its potential for job creation, income generation
and enhanced community infrastructure. This may lead to a friendly attitude toward tourists.
Alternatively, if most residents of a destination perceive tourism in a negative way due to the
socio-cultural and environmental costs, local people’s attitude toward tourists will not be
gracious.
 Residents’ support for tourism development can foster a competitive destination. Local people’s
attitude toward tourists is very important for the long-term success of tourism in a destination. It
is because if tourists are greeted with hostility in their destination, they are unlikely to visit the
destination again.

Service as Attractive Attribute

The services of a destination are important in tourists’ destination choice. In the eyes of many
tourists, destinations function more effectively, when their services are in abundance. Thus,
prosperity of a destination’s tourism is highly related to its provision of numerous ancillary
services. In fact, tourism, by itself, can be deemed as a service industry. Services exist in the
whole processes of a tourist’s visitation, such as in transportation, shopping, diet,
accommodation, and administration. Provision of reliable and responsive visitor services can
significantly enhance a destination’s competitive advantage. Research shows that the range of
services is the main attribute in growth or decline of most destinations. Generally speaking,
services of a destination can be evaluated by its quality, especially the quality perceived by
tourists. The perceived quality of services is vital for a destination, because it can significantly
impact on tourists’ satisfaction with the destination. If a tourist receives low-quality services at a
destination, and will be dissatisfied with the trip, the future re-visitation to the destination might
be in doubt. On the other hand, a good quality of services received by a tourist may increase the
perception of ‘trip-value’, and in turn, increase the tourists’ likelihood to visit the destination
again and recommend the destination to other people. Thus, service is an important attribute for a
destination to attract more tourists.
Destination Branding

Today’s consumers have more product choice but less decision time than ever before.
Consequently, a brand that can help simplify decisions, reduce purchase risk, create and deliver
expectations is invaluable. The topic of product branding first appeared in the literature 50 years
ago, but while research published in the time since provides a valuable resource for consumer
goods marketers, work related to the branding of tourism destinations has been relatively sparse.
This is a significant gap in the tourism and travel research fields, particularly given that a number
of leading brand authors have cited the prediction that the future of marketing will be a ‘battle of
brands, a competition for brand dominance’, and that within the tourism industry destinations are
emerging as the biggest brands. However, it is likely that many destinations will become
increasingly substitutable, if not already so, and therefore are commodities rather than brands.

Destination branding is amongst the most complex branding process, as the stakeholders include
both the public and private organizations, local residents and the citizens staying abroad.
According to the American Marketing Association, a Brand is a “ name, term, sign, symbol,
design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or a
group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition”. However, brands go much
beyond the connotation of type and source of identification. Brands evoke familiarity and
feelings in the minds of the consumer (both positive and negative) and reputation and revenue
(both positive and negative) for the company that creates the brand. The most important aspect of
the process of brand management is to give out consistent messages and remain relevant not only
to the current target group of customers, but also to the future group of customers. This is a great
challenge for any company due to changing consumer behavior of the current and future group
of customers, competition, and availability of substitute products. Brand management in the
context of a destination becomes even more challenging and complex. Destination branding is
the management process which leads to a strategic plan to build brand identity based upon
destination attributes selected on the basis of competitiveness, uniqueness and desired identity.

The Importance of Brands

The first branding papers appeared in the literature during the 1950s. Gardner and Levy
discussed stereotypes that had emerged in advertising which failed to differentiate competitive
products. They espoused the importance of considering a brand as representing a personality (p.
35): a brand name is more than the label employed to differentiate among the manufacturers of a
product. It is a complex symbol that represents a variety of ideas and attributes. It tells the
consumers many things, not only by the way it sounds (and its literal meaning if it has one) but,
more important, via the body of associations it has built up and acquired as a public object over a
period of time. The net result is a public image, a character or personality that may be more
important for the overall status (and sales) of the brand than many technical facts about the
product.
There is evidence to suggest branding practice was around centuries before it became an
academic field. Keller cited reports about identification marks of craftsmen being found on
pottery in China, Europe, and India dating as far back as 1300 BC. The evolution of brand
development since the 1870s was examined and suggested that the driving force was the cyclical
balance of power in the manufacturer–distributor relationship. Branding of manufactured goods
emerged during the late 19th century to counter the dominating force of wholesalers who
controlled what were essentially commodity markets. Retailers purchased what was available in
stock from wholesalers, who in turn dictated what manufacturers should produce. From the
1900s to the 1960s the role of the wholesaler was reduced to that of distributor, as manufacturer
numbers declined to the level of oligopolies. Brands were then used to build demand for a
smaller line of goods, with economies of scale leading to increased profits for manufacturers.
This occurred at the expense of retailers’ margins, since manufacturers controlled consumer
prices. By 1970, the balance of power had shifted towards large-scale retailers, where economies
of scale and their own brand labels enhanced profit levels. The new role for product marketers
was to improve the value of their brands to the consumer as well as to the mega-retailer. The
term brand personality suggests that brands held values beyond their physical and functional
attributes. People choose their brands as they choose their friends. You choose your friends not
usually because of specific skills or physical attributes but simply because you like them as
people. It is the total person you choose, not a compendium of virtues and vices. There are a
number of compelling reasons why branding is generating increasing awareness of the
importance of brands among product and service providers: brand equity, increasing global
competition, commodification, the power of retailers, sophisticated consumers, brand extensions,
media cost-effectiveness, and a short-term performance orientation.

Brand Equity

One of the most important impacts of branding for commercial organizations has been the
increasing awareness of the balance sheet value of brands, referred to as brand equity. That is, a
brand can be an asset or a liability to the firm, and as such can affect the valuation of the firm.
Given the difficulty in developing new brands, there is willingness by firms to pay a premium for
the purchase of well-known brands.

An effective brand strategy can provide a means for successful differentiation. After all, in
commodity categories ‘something’ must make a greater difference to a consumer’s thinking
about the competing products that offer features of a similar quality, and that something is the
symbol a brand represents to the consumer. Successful branding is difficult among certain
commodity categories, where product differentiation is difficult to achieve, such as water
(Bisleri), Biscuits (Parle) etc.

Branding Destinations
 What exactly is a destination brand? Are they ‘collective hallucinations’? When considering
definitions of the brand construct, it is important to consider the perspectives of both the
organisation and the market. From the market perspective the commonly cited definition is,

A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or package design)
intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to
differentiate those goods from those of competitors.

A brand must stand for something, a promise to the consumer, and so is much more than merely
symbols presented to the public. It is useful to consider a brand as representing an identity for the
producer and an image for the consumer. Aaker distinguished these separate components of a
brand as the brand identity (internal organisation orientation), representing self-image and
aspired market image, and the brand image (external market orientation) of the actual image held
by consumers. The model in Figure highlights these two distinctive components, along with a
third overlapping element, which is brand positioning. It is proposed brand positioning that is the
interface between brand identity and brand image, over which the DMO has some control.

Web Based Destination Branding

Destination branding is being increasingly used in today’s world by nations to enhance their
global goodwill and brand image. Technology plays very important role in every process and
function of the business and it is the case in the process of destination branding also. Technology
of internet is widely used tool to brand any place or destination now days. Countries like
Malaysia, Australia and South Africa have used it very successfully in their tourism development
efforts. Through the unlimited space of World Wide Web, one can brand even a remote place of
any country and if the branding strategies are used wisely the place can be great tourist
attraction. In destination branding, internet has played a major role. People see images and
videos of various parts on internet sitting in their homes and they learn a lot about different
places without even visiting them.

Destination branding is about combining all the attributes associated with the place (i.e. its
products, and services from various industries such as agriculture, tourism, sports, arts,
investment, technology, education, etc.) under one concept, which expresses a unique identity
and personality of the destination and differentiates it from its competition. Most importantly,
branding requires a vision and mission about the destination and its future success. Destination
branding is growing rapidly as an approach to tourism destination promotion. While this concept
has been borrowed from the world of general consumer goods and applied in a number of
national tourism destinations, academic analysis of the value and effectiveness of destination
branding has emerged more slowly.

The aim of applying branding in tourism industry is to differentiate a tourism destination from
others and creating a unique brand image of a certain place in the minds of target market.
Tourism destinations are intangible or abstract because travel experiences cannot be processed or
evaluated before purchasing. However Despite all of its merits, branding is not a panacea. A
destination brand is as powerful as its underlying product. If the tourist resources of a destination
are not attractive or its super- and/or infrastructure suffer, then branding cannot help it remain
competitive in the long run. Furthermore, a destination brand cannot last long without proper
management. It needs periodic refreshment through change of its logo, slogan and/or the
association set in order for potential tourists to see more and different reasons to (re)visit it.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and recent technological revolutions have
deeply affected destination marketing and promotion. In addition, explosive increases in the
number of Internet users worldwide have provided travellers with diverse communication
channels and new ways to acquire travel information. In particular, with the emergence of Web
2.0, Internet users play the roles of co-marketers, co-designers, and co-producers of tourism
information, generating a considerable amount of content. Moreover, with the advent of Web
2.0, diverse technologies have been introduced that increase travellers’ access to a wide range of
data, and DMOs have recognised that these new technologies are meeting the needs of
sophisticated travellers (Buhalis, 1998a). Thus, DMOs and other tourism-related organisations
will be at a disadvantage if they fail to adopt these new technologies. Only when DMOs and
tourism-related managers fully understand innovative technologies and have the ability to use
them can these communication tools be effective for destination promotion.

Over the past few years, online marketing develops tremendously. It brings a large variety of
opportunities to destinations in terms of tourism and other economic sectors. Internet saves time
and cost in spreading, sharing and sending relevant content to mass media, customers and
investors. Destination organizations grab the opportunity to save promotion cost and time, plus
the effect of advertising and promotion goes beyond expectation if it is done appropriately.
People receive the marketing message at the same time through Internet regardless where they
are, which means there is a big chance to hold attraction from travellers all over the world
through effective internet tools.

Furthermore, the appearance and impact of Internet creates a more equal competition between
destinations. As mentioned above in this study, online marketing supports the brand image,
opens more passageways to customers, becomes a communication medium and sends the brand
identity to all suppliers and customers, therefore, any destination recognizes this usefulness and
knows the ways to apply Internet into their destination strategy obtains a bigger chance to be
successful.

However, the first and foremost challenge when it comes to Internet strategy is technological
problems. It is right that Internet marketing reduces the issues in maintenance because websites,
links and distribution systems connect and work with each other in a concrete structure, thus the
maintenance is easy to do. Nonetheless, it is unavoidable to face technological problems at times.
Being hacked, lost customers’ information and lost data are some common technological
problems that DMOs should be aware and have backup plan to react with such issues.
 Another significant challenge in using Internet for destination branding promotion belongs to
governmental factor. This factor affects organizational activities in pushing the destination brand
identity to media and also communications process. It relates to government policies in using
Internet in certain areas, as well as destination governmental situation in Internet educating and
connecting system. For instance, in some countries, Facebook, Youtube and some other social
networks are blocked for different reasons, and in some areas, Internet has not become popular.
So, there is either that too little information is provided for customers and investors or the
information is not reliable at all, which influences the destination’s identity and reputation.

Six A’s Framework for Tourism Destinations

Destinations are amalgams of tourism products, offering an integrated experience to consumers.

Traditionally, destinations are regarded as well-defined geographical areas, such as a country, an
island or a town. However, it is increasingly recognized that a destination can also be a
perceptual concept, which can be interpreted subjectively by consumers, depending on their
travel itinerary, cultural background, purpose of visit, educational level and past experience. For
example, London can be a destination for a German business traveler, whilst Europe may be the
destination for a leisure Japanese tourist who packs six European countries in a two week tour.
Some travelers will consider a cruise ship to be their destination, while others on the same cruise
may perceive the ports visited during the trip as their destination.

Often destinations are artificially divided by geographical and political barriers, which fail to
take into consideration consumer preferences or tourism industry functions. An example of that
is the Alps shared by France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy by often perceived and consumed as part
of the same product by skiers. For the purpose of this topic, destinations are considered to be a
defined geographical region which is understood by its visitors as a unique entity, with a political
and legislative framework for tourism marketing and planning. This definition enables
Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to be accountable for the planning and
marketing of the region and to have the power and resources to undertake action towards
achieving its strategic objectives. Destinations offer an amalgam of tourism products and
services, which are consumed under the brand name of the destination. Leiper (1995, p.87)
explains that destinations are places towards which people travel and where they choose to stay
for a while in order to experience certain features or characteristics-a perceived attraction of
some sort. Destinations are the focus of facilities and services designed to meet the needs of the
tourists. Therefore, a destination can be regarded as a combination (or even as a brand) of all
products, services and ultimately experiences provided locally. It also enables us to assess the
impact of tourism regionally, as well as manage demand and supply in order to maximize
benefits for all stakeholders.

Attractions: Attractions are the primary elements of destination appeal. They are the key
motivators for visitation to a destination (Crouch and Ritchie 1999). They are the fundamental
reasons why prospective visitors choose one destination over another. Tourists are motivated to
leave their normal place of residence (the origin market) and travel to destinations. What they are
actually travelling to can be considered the attraction base of the destination area. A tourist
attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural
value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities. Some
examples include historical places, monuments, zoos, museums and art galleries, botanical
gardens, buildings and structures (e.g. castles, libraries, former prisons, skyscrapers, bridges),
national parks and forests, theme parks and carnivals, ethnic enclave communities, historic trains
and cultural events. Many tourist attractions are also landmarks.

Accessibility: Transport is needed to physically move tourists from where they live to where
they are visiting. Globally, air transport dominates the movement of international visitors. In
many places, roads and private motor vehicles serve as significant forms of access. Sealed roads
offer greater opportunities for vehicle access. A healthy ground touring sector, either day or
extended coach tours, is also required to serve the needs of tourists who prefer not to transport
themselves.

Amenities: All destinations need accommodation nearby otherwise tourists will have nowhere
to sleep. This seems basic enough but investors will only invest in accommodation infrastructure
if there is sufficient economic return. Many places are blessed with excellent attractions and are
readily accessible but lack tourist accommodation. In recent years the market has seen a
proliferation of accommodation types from basic camping and backpacking facilities to mega-
resorts. Successful accommodation development, more than ever before, depends on building the
right type of facility to suit the needs of a profitable segment of the market.

Available Packages: Tour packages are arranged by the principals and travel intermediaries that
plan and arrange a trip for the individual who wants to travel or take a holiday. There are many
advantages of these package tours over self-planned tours. These advantages include: no
planning required, assured reservations, assured comfort, more travel for less, and finally,
comprehensive package.

Activities: The range of activities within a destination is an important pull factor and represents
some of the most critical aspects of destination appeal. Moreover destination managers have
significant control and influence over the mix of activities. The mix of activities is a result of
initiatives and creativities by the destination. The activities are important as tourists increasingly
seek experiences that go beyond the more passive visitation practices of the past. The variety of
the attractions and the mix of activities offer the tourist a wide choice and ultimately they stay
longer.

Ancillary Services: Ancillary Services are required to meet the needs of tourists while they are
away from home. They include public toilets, signage, retail shopping, restaurants and cafes,
visitor centres, banks, post offices, hospitals, telecommunications and emergency services.
Because many of these are government services delivered by local, state and national agencies, a
high degree of co-operation is needed, particularly where tourist services may be seen to be
competing with the needs of local residents.

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