Features of Tourism Development Planning at Different Levels
Tourism is one of the most important economic activities in Montenegro. According to Bramwell (2004), this destination has a variety of attractions that have seen tourists visiting the country all year round. Tourism development planning would majorly be analyzed at the local and national levels. At the local level, it would be important to see a team of experts engaging in specific activities such as environmental protection, wildlife conservancy, and development of infrastructure to accommodate more tourists (Reisinger 2009). There should also be seen an effort by local administration to improve security in the region as a way of attracting tourists.
At the national level, there should be a commitment by the government seen in the form of adequate allocation of funds to this sector. The state of Montenegro has done a lot to this effect. Within this ministry, there should be strategic plans on the path that should be taken towards sustainable development. It will also be necessary for the national government to engage in marketing this region in the international market. This can be done through international forums or government embassies.
Significance of Interactive Planning Systems and Processes in the Tourism Developments
Developing a system prototype that can be used in tourism planning and development is very important at this stage. When planning for tourism development, it is important to identify all the stakeholders who have direct or indirect interest in the project. Some of the most important stakeholders include the government, the hospitality industry, the tour and travel agencies, the local community, and the security agencies (Kusluvan 2003).
Developing interactive planning systems and processes in the tourism development creates an avenue where all the relevant stakeholders’ view will be taken care of when coming up with a comprehensive plan. Burns and Novelli (2008) say that the interactive system does not enable the planners to have a wider perspective of different aspects of tourism, but also creates trust among all the relevant stakeholders in Montenegro. It creates an environment where all the stakeholders feel part of the changes taking place in this sector.
This system should be able to define the future of tourism industry and all its supportive components. Tourism is not just about the beautiful sceneries and the wildlife. It is deeply entrenched into the society in different ways. Members of the society must commit themselves to protecting nature. They should not kill wild animals without good cause, and neither should they destroy vegetation. Tourism can only flourish if there is security, and this too is defined by the society (Reisinger 2009). This means that the society is at the center-stage of tourism. Developing interactive systems and processes in tourism creates a perfect environment where the society will be involved. This way, every member of the society will feel part of the development process (Sinha 1998). They will do their best to ensure that tourism is protected in one way or the other.
Methods Available To Measure Tourists’ Impact
It is important to measure tourist’s impact in the Montenegro as a way of determining its desirability. It is necessary to understand some of the viable measures that can be used to measure the impact of the presence of tourists in this country. Cooper (2008) notes that, tourists impact can be measured from three major perspectives of social impacts, economic impacts, and environmental impacts.
The economic impacts will be measured by determining the percentage growth of GDP that can be directly attributed to tourism industry (Briassoulis & Straaten 2000). Cooper (2008) says that tourism has had positive on the country’s GDP. From a social perspective, Cooper (2008) says that tourism has brought some cultural practices that have changed the way of life of the people in this country. Some of the social vices like prostitution have been on the rise because of the presence of tourism. Goeldner and Ritchie (2009) note that, presence of tourists in Montenegro has helped in environmental conservation. People appreciate that animals and forests are important economic resources.
Factors That May Hinder Sustainable Tourism Development
There have been efforts to promote sustainable tourism development in Montenegro. However, Fennell (2006) notes that, there are many factors that have hindered the development for sustainable tourism in this country. This scholar notes that one of the factors is the conflicting interests of some of the stakeholders. One of the biggest threats to sustainable tourism is agriculture. A section of the society still believes that agriculture is a better economic income than tourism. This has seen the percentage of land set aside for tourism reduces over the years to give way to agriculture (Sharpley & Telfer 2002).
The players in this industry are yet to embrace consultative planning systems that would bring together all stakeholders in this business. This has resulted in cases where some of the policies developed for sustainable development are opposed by some of the stakeholders. Elements of poaching have been witnessed, increasing the risk to sustainable tourism development in this region.
Terrorism is a factor that may also affect tourism in this region. Although the country has not been exposed to serious acts of terrorism, the stakeholders should not rule this factor out because terrorism has become an international problem, and it may not be easy to predict when they may strike the country (Upadhyay 2009).
Stages in Planning For Sustainability
According to Cooper (2008), stages of planning for sustainability can take different approaches. One of the most common methods in planning for sustainability is based on regions. In this case, planning for sustainability will start from the local level. People responsible for tourism management will involve the society in coming up with plans on how to develop tourism (Upadhyay 2009). Their decisions would be communicated to the regional levels where decisions from other communities will also be put into consideration. A comprehensive report will then sent to the national governance which is the third and final stage in developing the plan.
Alternatively, planning for tourism may embrace the three pillars of sustainability which include the economic environment, social environment, and the planet. The planet will be considered as the first stage which involves planning on how to protect nature for future sustainability of the same. The second stage will be the social pillar where focus will be on how tourism can be tuned to benefit the society. The last level will be how to ensure that tourism is economically profitable for the country (Upadhyay 2009).
Methods of Resolving Conflicts of Interests
Tourism development in Montenegro has been marred by a number of conflicting interests among the stakeholders. It is common for such conflicts to arise, but the most important thing is the approach taken to address them. Sharpley and Telfer (2002) say that one of the best methods of addressing conflicts of interest is to embrace consultative systems in the planning processes. The conflict between agricultural players and the tourism can be solved through spatial land planning processes by the relevant government departments. The conflict that is caused by pouching can be resolved through dialogue between the local community and tourism officials (Cooper 2008). Litigation may be appropriate when dealing with criminal gangs that are determined to continue with poaching or logging activities against the law of this country.
List of references
Bramwell, B 2004, Coastal mass tourism: Diversification and sustainable development in Southern Europe, Channel View Publishers, Clevedon. Web.
Briassoulis, H & Straaten, J 2000, Tourism and the environment: Regional, economic, cultural and policy issues, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. Web.
Burns, P & Novelli, M 2008, Tourism development: Growth, myths, and inequalities, CABI, Wallingford. Web.
Cooper, C 2008, Tourism: Principles and practice, Prentice Hall Financial Times, Harlow. Web.
Fennell, D 2006, Tourism ethics, Channel View Publications, Clevedon. Web.
Goeldner, C & Ritchie, J 2009, Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies, John Wiley, Hoboken. Web.
Kusluvan, S 2003, Managing employee attitudes and behaviors in the tourism and hospitality industry, Nova Science Publishers, New York. Web.
Reisinger, Y 2009, International tourism: Cultures and behavior, Butterworth-Heinemann, Amsterdam. Web.
Sharpley, R & Telfer, D 2002,Tourism and development: Concepts and issues, Channel View Publications, New York. Web.
Sinha, P 1998, International tourism and sustainable development, Anmol, New Delhi. Web.
Upadhyay, S 2009, Compensation management: Rewarding performance, Global India Publications, New Delhi. Web.