Page 174 - Tourism The International Business

8. Developing tourism

Natural and cultural resource dependency. The basis for much of the success of a tourist attraction lies in
the natural and cultural resources of the area. Each area is unique and, to maximize the development opportunity,
the attraction should build upon, without destroying, the uniqueness of the resource.

Access. Access to and from attractions must be planned for as an integral part of the development. This is
particularly important for linkage from the highway and air network to destination areas.
Population. For most tourist areas a relationship exists between visitation and distance. Tourist development
is most successful when the attraction is within reasonable distance of major population areas. While there are
exceptions such as activities highly oriented to place (for example, winter skiing), this rule tends to hold true.
Capacity. Attempts have been made to develop carrying capacity theories. The rationale is that a physical
resource can handle a certain maximum number of people before the resource quality is diminished. Concerns over

capacity are threefold: physical (not enough room), biological (overuse of fragile sites), and managerial (lack of staff
or budget to cope with the number of tourists). It appears that the principle of capacity is elastic. That is, a site can
handle an increase in visitors without a corresponding loss of quality experience if proper design and management
practices are put into effect.
Cities. Cities are important to the development of tourism for several reasons. Cities are the prime location for
services and facilities; they provide the destination for transportation modes; they are attractions themselves; and
they contain "friends and relatives", a major motivation for tourist visits.
Social-developmental climate. As pointed out earlier, the attitude of the local population toward the
development of tourism can mean the difference between success and failure.

Flexibility. The dynamics of tourism are constantly changing. New destinations become the "in place"; a
shortage of fuel limits travel plans; changes in the value of the dollar make it less attractive to vacation abroad. This
does not violate the idea of planning, which attempts to predict and develop alternatives for the future. It does
mean that planning must be a continuous activity, constantly being updated to meet new conditions.

Exhibit 64: Madrid, Spain. Cities are important to the
development of tourism. (Courtesy National Tourist
Office of Spain.)

Types of tourism. For developmental purposes, tourism can be defined in terms of touring and destination
tourism. Touring involves visiting several locations during the vacation period. There is a heavy reliance on the

linkage between attractions, transportation, services, and facilities, and the traveler's need for information and

174