TSTD 261.10 - Tourism Planning: A Sustainable Approach
to Community Economic Development (CRN=45684)

This course will assist participants to better plan, promote, and manage tourism to their destination, and at the same time, meet quality of life objectives of community residents. The course does not assume that tourism is good for all communities. Rather,it will help assess the effects of increased tourism on the local economy, environmental resources, and socio-cultural fabric of the community. It provides the tools and strategies to better estimate and evaluate both the costs associated with increased visitation including any necessary expansion of the region's infrastructure, receptive visitorfacilities, and environmental protection measures and the benefits, including tourist spending, job growth and an increased tax base.

Students will learn how planners and community representatives can work more effectively together to develop a coordinated dinated, funded, and socially acceptable tourism promotion and management strategy. Other topics to be discussed include specific forms of tourism that accomplish the goal of sustainable tourism, and about best practices and innovative management systems employed by successful tourism destinations. This will be accomplished, inpart, by viewing a video highlighting four communities that received national recognition for their tourism development efforts, and a field trip to Loudoun County, Virginia for on site experiential learning.
For more information, contact instructor Dr.Hawkins at (202) 994-7087

Instructor: Dr. William C. Gartner, Dr. Donald E. Hawkins Where: PHIL T-108 When: June 3 - 7, 1996, 9:00 am-5: 00 pm

Syllabus:



How the role of national planners differs from that of local/community planners
  • Marketing, promotion, and legislation
  • Active versus passive assistance programs
  • Responsibility to constituencies
    •

    The elements of a workable strategic plan

  • Goals, theme, and vision
  • Resource assessment
  • Projections of tourism growth
  • Financial analysis
  • Funding sources
  • Tourism management and marketing techniques
    •

    Assessing your resources and market

  • How to determine the volume and nature of tourism to your destination, and how to project future growth
  • How to inventory and evaluate the adequacy of visitor accommodations, attractions, and transportation facilities

    • Strategies for more accurately projecting and measuring the costs and benefits of tourism

  • How to quantify expected tourist spending, determine how it will be distributed throughout a community, and measure the impact on the community tax base
  • How to estimate the need to improve existing infrastructure and visitor accommodations, and the cost of doing so
  • How to measure the impact of tourism on the local environment, and the cost of minimizing damage
  • How to determine the effect of tourism on local residents quality of life: weighing job growth against congestion and restricted access
    •

    Public-private alliances

  • The tools: tax relief, funding infrastructure expansion, facilitating public access to public lands
  • The methods: case studies
    •

    Product development How to make your destination more attractive and market it more effectively

  • Developing a " theme" and grouping similar attractions
  • Tapping into the market for adventure travel, spas, festivals, casinos, and sports events
  • Strategies to improve tourism awareness, visitor appreciation, and customer service
  • Working with travel agents and packagers
    •

    Strategies for funding tourism plans

  • Franchising, concessions, and taxes
  • Federal and local government, foundation, and non-profit funding sources
  • Working with multinational companies as investors/developers
  • International donor organizations: making your project stand out
    •

    How to better manage the impact of tourism

  • Keys to "sustainable tourism": regulation, interpretation/education, and effective product development
  • Controlling and zoning for public access and redirecting tourism to different sites
  • Strategies for improving public transportation and traffic patterns
  • How to improve local residents' attitude toward tourism: show them the benefits
    •

    The role of destination management organizations

  • Establishing a unified voice and image
  • Implementing public/private programs
  • Monitoring the impact of tourism
    •

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