Strategic Planning Approaches in Tourism Destinations

Abstract

This research had the objectives to study the readiness and guidelines for strategic planning in local tourism destinations.The conceptual frameworks consist of the following:(1)Readiness of the Chaiyaporn Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO) in terms of the structure, public administration, local leadership, and attitudes capacity of local administrators in local finance.Readiness of the community in terms of attitudes and motivation of local residents, and models of local participation. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with local administrators, community leaders and household heads. (2)An essential component of this effort is local participation of the community.
This study found that: the TAO has the readiness in terms of management structure to produce strategic plans for tourism destinations in the locality. However, there is still a need to build capacity in strategic management and financing. This study found that the community residents have positive attitudes and motivation to participate in the planning activity to develop models of self-reliance in local tourism promotion. The expectation is that the TAO has the capacity to play a leadership role in strategic plan development and supporting implementation of the plan, including evaluation of outcomes. The goal is a sustainable model of local tourism promotion. An essential component of this effort is local participation of the community, backed up by strategic management, including strategic planning, application of plans toward implementation, and evaluation of the implementation and outcomes, using technical standard measurements. Based on this study, the following recommendations are offered: (1) There needs to be a clear policy to develop tourism destinations in the locality; (2) There needs to be capacity development of local administrators, the community and advisory network to participate in the planning process; and (3) There should be a feasibility study and evaluation of the project business plan for local tourism.