Preparation of area-wide master plans

For each area in which tourism will be developed a master plan should be prepared. The plan will aim to meet the objectives deemed most appropriate for the region. Typically, such a plan will have a five-year horizon. It should be emphasized, however, that the plan, once drawn, is not carved in granite. It should be updated as circumstances dictate. In fact, the major benefit is not in the preparation of a final document, but rather in the process itself. When people get into the habit of looking several years ahead and in considering how development in one area affects the needs of the community then the benefits of planning are felt by all.

Elements

A master plan will have four elements to it. First, the land use element of the master plan will suggest appropriate uses for land within the region (agriculture, tourism development, marinas, industry, etc.). One important use may, in fact, be not to use the land. That is, for certain areas, a decision may be made to leave open space in the region. Second, the transportation element includes suggestions on roads, railroads, airports and harbor facilities. Finally, the supporting facilities and infrastructure elements of the plan identify the additional development required to service the expected influx of visitors and workers to the region.

Land use. Land is probably the most important resource to be managed in a tourism development plan. Five elements are particularly important. First, the location is important in terms of accessibility of the site itself and proximity of accommodations to the attraction.

Second, the attractiveness of the view can either enhance the attraction or be the primary attraction for the visitor.

Third, the planned use of the area must be suitable to its environment. Many elements of the environment (sunshine, hills, isolation, etc.) are part and parcel of the tourism experience. Developing activities appropriate to the characteristics of the land will enhance the tourism experience for the visitor. This includes taking the terrain into account. Terrain affects such things as drainage in addition to the cost of excavation and construction.

Fourth, land must be available to be used. Consideration must be given to the cost, time, procedures, politics and public relations associated with the acquisition of land deemed important for development purposes.

Finally, the usable area of the land must be addressed. Planning should take into account not only the present- day development needs but also the availability of land for future development if expansion is necessary.

Transportation. The importance of transportation in tourism has been stressed several times in this text. It is important to think of traveling from the tourist's point of view: the trip from home, travel at and around the destination, and the return trip home. Of particular importance are the positioning of gateways for arrival and departure and the routing of ground transportation networks.

If tourists arrive at a destination after a long plane journey it is unlikely that they will want to, or be able to, travel great distances on the ground. Accommodation facilities must be developed close by. Ground transportation should, wherever possible, avoid doubling back on areas covered and should be routed away from destinations where tourism is not wanted.

For travel by automobile, the importance considerations include:

Taxis should be modern and the drivers able to speak at least a few words of the tourist's language. Strict control should be exerted over regulations regarding fares.

Buses should be appropriate not only to the segments of the market being attracted but also to the type of travel. If an area seeks to attract tourists to international-class hotels, buses used to transport the visitors should also be of this caliber. At the same time, different kinds of buses are needed depending on the use. Buses for city sightseeing trips should be designed for frequent stops, ease of entry and exit, and maximum passenger capacity. Luggage space is not important. Touring coaches, on the other hand, need to provide for passenger comfort, baggage facilities, and passenger amenities such as lavatories. Many European coaches offer videos and hostesses who serve drinks.

Rail transportation is ideal for many destinations and offers a relaxing way to reach an area. Of special importance are such things as transportation between the terminal and local hotels, the provision of sufficient baggage handling, customs and banking facilities if the terminal is a port of entry, and the provision of bus or taxi facilities sufficient to handle heavy arrival and departure loads.

Cruise ships have similar concerns. There must be ease of access from metropolitan areas at the departure points and proximity to attractions at the destination. Only a few parts of the destination will be affected by cruises such as shopping, attractions and local transportation.

A recurring transportation problem is that of transfer, from one mode to another or from transportation to hotel. There can be startling contrast when visitors arrive in a modern jet and stay in a modern hotel but must travel between the two, complete with baggage, by less than adequate means.

Supporting facilities: accommodation. There must be enough accommodation facilities of the right kind to appeal to the visitors being attracted. Ideally, facilities will be designed in accordance with the traditions and customs of the area. The more the local products can be incorporated into the design, the more money will stay in the area.

Accommodations also have to be tailored to the type of tourist. Facilities at a destination, as distinct from a pass- through, area will require larger rooms as guests will be staying longer. The quality of accommodation provided by the competition has also to be taken into account.

Accommodations are of many types. Hotels offer a number of facilities and generally have food and beverage service and may even offer such amenities as room service, laundry and valet service, and various shops or facilities such as auto rental and tour reservations.

Motor hotels are hotels with integrated parking facilities where guests park free of charge. They tend to range from 50 to 300 rooms.

Motels offer room accommodations only. As a result, their room rates are less expensive. Motels are found primarily at roadside or heavy traffic areas in places that have a high volume of visitors who stay a short period of time.

Resort hotels are located to take advantage of natural or developed recreational attractions. Rooms are large and of high quality. Many amenities are offered as guests tend to stay longer; many resorts are in remote locations. Often a guest service director is appointed to organize an activities program.

Condominiums and apartment hotels have been developed to provide full apartment-type living facilities. Such properties appeal to families and small groups.

Other facilities might be recreational vehicle parks, campgrounds, pensions, or bed-and-breakfast homes, hostels, and even houseboats. The type of accommodation developed, as noted above, will depend upon the type of tourist being attracted.

Other support industries. Support industries are all the services, goods, or activities required by tourists. They tend to be highly fragmented. Examples of these businesses are:

Note that many of these examples are businesses that are used by both residents and tourists alike. In fact, the development of tourism may encourage the development of facilities that would not otherwise be available to residents.

Opportunities for support services fall into two areas: impulse or entertainment purchases, or staple items or requirements. The former is pleasure-related and includes such things as tours, festivals and museums. The latter is subsistence-related and includes such things as gas stations, pharmacies and restaurants. It is important that a certain amount of integration occur between both types. People attending a festival will require some place to eat, for example.

The number and type of facilities must be appropriate to the number and type of expected visitors. High-income tourists will wish to shop in high-quality stores. The type of retail store in Aspen, Colorado is much different from that at Coney Island in New York. Typically, facilities are clustered. Restaurants with different themes or retail stores selling different merchandise, when placed in close proximity, attract a mass of visitors because of the number of different facilities available.

The number, quality and type of support facilities can be controlled through two techniques: zoning and operating regulations enforced by law, and ownership control through the leasing of facilities to entrepreneurs. Many areas have had great success through controlling a large facility and leasing portions of it to individual entrepreneurs. In this way a particular theme can be established for the area. Control might be extended to such things as:

To keep tourists in the area there must be something for the visitors to do. Through careful coordination by a number of individual small businesses, a major attraction may result that could increase the length of time visitors remain in the region.

A difficulty that many tourist areas have had to face is the tendency by many small entrepreneurs to take a short-term view of the business of tourism. For these business people the motivation is to maximize short-term profitability at the expense of long-term consequences. In a mind-set like this, tourists may be overcharged and costs cut to give less than adequate service. Someone has to look out for the interests of the tourist area. Depending upon the philosophy of the residents regarding individual rights, this can take the form of education, regulation, and/or enforcement; respectively, educating owners to take a longer view of their business and its impact on the region as a whole; regulating what they can and cannot do individually for the good of the whole; and enforcing the regulations in an evenhanded way.

Infrastructure. In developing the infrastructure for a tourist area the needs of the residents must be considered. Because of this, in addition to the high cost of infrastructure, the cost tends to be borne by the public sector.

A common problem in the development of tourist regions is that infrastructure is not properly provided. If done properly, infrastructure will not be noticed by the tourist. It is the lack of sufficient services that will be noticed.

At this stage in the project it will be necessary to bring in the expertise of engineers (largely civil engineers). A problem may be one of educating engineers to see things from the tourist's perspective. A highway engineer, for example, is primarily concerned with the most efficient means of moving people from point A to point B without regard to views from the road. Utility lines can be put underground (greater cost, more aesthetically pleasing) or strung on poles. The point is that a coordinated effort is necessary to develop services and utilities that enhance the area for tourists as well as being within the budget of the public sector.

Some of the most common infrastructure concerns are outlined below.

Water. A typical resort requires 350 to 400 gallons of water per room per day. Large quantities of pure water must be available in a convenient and consistent manner.

Power and communications. Electric power and communications must be adequate and continuously in service. Peak-load requirements can be identified through forecasting, and systems designed to meet these needs.

Sewage and drainage. Drainage requirements within a typical tourism destination are approximately 1,800 gallons per day per acre of developed land.

Streets and highways. A basic question to be answered in the development of streets and highways is the extent to which tourist attractions and accommodations should be isolated from normal traffic-flow patterns.

Parks and recreation. In providing recreational space, the key is to find the right balance between use of the facility and preservation of the resource. Parks can provide excellent opportunities for residents and visitors to meet one another. In urban areas, an important concern is the mix between buildings and open space. It is vital that parks be designed to accommodate the uses to which they will be put.

Health-care facilities. Appropriate health-care facilities will depend upon the numbers, age groups, and expected activities of anticipated visitors in light of the geographic factors unique to the area. A greater than normal incidence of broken bones can be expected at ski areas, for example.

Education. Educational facilities will be required, not for the tourist, but for employees and local people. Workers may require training in skills necessary to serve the visitor, whereas educating the local people on the benefits of tourism to the area may be necessary to get local support for the development of tourism.

Employee housing. Where the tourist area is in a remote area it will be necessary to provide employee housing. It is preferable that such housing be located away from guest accommodations. Employees want to get away from their work when off-duty, while guests will not be pleased to have off-duty employees use the same facilities for which they have paid so much.

Security. Visitors must feel safe when on vacation. Local police officers should be aware that tourism often tends to bring an increase in certain types of crime (theft and prostitution, for example) and to plan accordingly.

Environmental impact

In any plan that considers development of a tourist region, the impact on the environment is particularly important. Because the environment itself is often the attracting force, care must be taken to ensure that development does not detract from that which attracted visitors in the first place. The environmental impact would include consideration of such factors as:

Costs

At this point a preliminary determination of likely costs can be made. This would include costs to both the private and the public sectors.