Literature Review: Tourism Destination
Abstract
Tourism is the mainstay of most national economies across the world. On one hand, the most exotic locations are the priciest and on the other hand, regions which cater for a diverse tourist base attract the most customers. People wishing to visit a foreign place often consider a number of factors. Some of these issues include the security of the destination, infrastructural accessibility to that destination, and the people of around the place. Studies indicate that a number of factors support tourism which include small and medium enterprises (SMEs), innovation, good transport network, working relationship among stakeholders, and architectural planning. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of various scholars on the above factors, which are highly dependent on the need to enhance tourism in any given economy. The paper will focus on different case studies where these factors have been applied successfully to bring about growth and development in the sector. Without these factors, tourism cannot contribute to the growth of an economy.
Literature Review: Tourism Destination
Introduction
The use of competitiveness concept in tourism is adopted from other closely related disciplines, marketing and management. Crouch and Ritchie (2003) concluded that many paradigms for the basis of a number of tourism books, but management forms fundamental unit that all other dimensions of tourism are based. In order to understand the forces that shape competitiveness, continuous process of knowledge development is required. Strategies and models that enhance competitiveness in the tourism sector are still open give the fact that they are not definite. According to Hajer and Wagenaar (2003, pages 40-47), tourism destination competitiveness is explained as a broad idea that incorporates price differentials together with exchange rate activities, production levels of several modules of tourist industry, and qualitative aspects that affect the attractiveness of destinations. Whereas, comparative advantage is related to the climate, scenery, flora, fauna and many more whereas competitive advantage pertains to issues such substructure (events, attraction sites, transport networks), excellent management, expertise of workers, government policy and many more. In this paper, the focus would be on the five strategies for building competitive advantage; these include the role of small-scale entrepreneurs in creating unique tourist experiences, infrastructure, innovation, collaboration and partnership development for sustainable tourism, and spatial planning.
The Role of Small-Scale Entrepreneurs in Creating Unique Tourist Experiences
Small-scale and medium-size entrepreneurs are responsible for the growth of tourism sectors in a number of countries. A recent World Bank report indicates that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for close to half of the formal jobs globally, more so in the tourism sector (World Bank Report, 2010). They are known for providing effective solutions to some of the development issues considered critical in the sector, such as clean energies, water, health services, and education to stakeholders. In the 2016, Global Entrepreneurship Summit organized by World Bank, the role of SMEs in the development of tourism sector globally was supported (World Bank Report, 2017). The World Bank Group aims at ending extreme poverty and strengthening shared prosperity and this will be achieved through investing in SMEs including those operating in the tourism industry. It is noted that startups and SMEs play a critical role in creating jobs and initiating economic growth in any given economy. However, in the low-income states, most established companies rarely invest in the tourism industry because of the political uncertainties and instabilities (Onah, 2004). However, SMEs have been quick to take up the risks in the service and tourism industries. While on the official visit to Kenya, the former US president Obama observed that small-scale entrepreneurship crates jobs and new businesses, as well as developing new ways of delivering basic services. The president expressed that these companies introduce new ways of seeing the world hence they are seen as the spark of prosperity (World Bank, 2017).
SMEs have been able to drive the tourism industry because they are often willing to take the risks, generate jobs; they share a flexible and have closer relationships with the customers. The possible factor hindering their growth is lack of finance for innovation and technology. SMEs are known for enhancing competition, something that gives them an external benefit on economy-wide efficiency. According to Jones and Haven-Tang (2005), the tourism industry, being the largest in the world, depends heavily on SMEs, concluding that they are the main contributors of the growth of tourism in East Asian countries give the fact that they are the main sources of employment, apart from creating export opportunities.
In countries such as India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, over 90% of companies operating in the tourism industry are SMEs. In Australia, the situation is the same because the companies in the sector are mainly SMEs with the capacity to employ only twenty staff (Ghosh, Siddique, & Gabbay, 2003)). Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, (2003) underscore the fact that SMEs, together with the government, are the major players in the tourism industry, especially in the development of a tourism destination’s image and improvement of service quality. Through SMEs, sustainable livelihood is made possible in the tourism industry. Those operating in the tourism industry have played a critical role in alleviating poverty levels among the locals hence enabling a better linkage with the local economy. Since these SMEs are always focused on achieving their desired goal of profit making, they have been able to introduce new managerial, marketing, technological, human resource, investment, and competitive strategies in the tourism sector. SMEs place more emphasis on management in solving some of the problems associated with training of staff, capital cost, and leadership (Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, 2003)).
Role of Infrastructure
Each economy across the globe is interested in attracting tourists because of the benefits associated with their visit. The cities and governments are struggling to create parks, gardens and museums to capture the attention of tourists. However, they are unable to enjoy the ambience of their destinations without proper roads, water systems, quality public toilets, signage and many other things. A country or a city could be having a wonderful destination site, but tourists would be reluctant to visit because of poor connectivity and lack of basic amenities, such as hospitals. For some cities, they do not have proper waste management strategies, which prevent flourishing of tourism. Access to basic facilities plays an important role among tourists in making a decision about a destination. As Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, (2003) put it, success or failure of any tourism programs is greatly linked to infrastructural development. They went on to argue that the people living in a tourist destination have a role to play in ensuring their attraction sites are easily accessible. Additionally, they advise that, since some sites are seasonal, the governments together with other industry players must invest heavily on transport, healthcare, and public utility facilities to make the event successful.
Tourism development across the globe depends heavily on the development of appropriate infrastructure because it offers important services to tourists apart from enhancing investment in the sector. The role of developing infrastructural units, such as accommodations, restaurants, and tours are a necessity of the private sector, but construction of roads falls in the hands of the government. Without high-class airports, railway lines, and ports, the private sector would be unwilling to venture into tourism because they would not receive any visitor. The government must play its critical role of providing an enabling environment to facilitate individual fulfillment. To this extent, Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, (2003) observe that the governments need to provide basic services, such as electricity, water, sewer lines, and telecommunications since they make tourism investment economically viable. In Kenya, for instance, the government made infrastructural development a priority towards achieving vision 2030, which is the country’s economic blueprint. The idea was intended to transform the country into a mid-income state, with the major beneficiary being tourism (World Bank, 2010).
Investing in tourism is a challenge if visitors cannot get to their destinations in time and enjoy their stay without facing any problem. With modern developments in transport, a person can get to the North Pole within two days, but it would be disheartening for a tourist to spend an entire week trying to access a destination that is only a hundred kilometers away. Therefore, it is highly suggested that governments and other concerned stakeholders should work hand in hand to improve transport systems and telecommunication networks. Road construction should take into consideration other important issues, such as putting up effective road signage, setting aside places for roadside rest, providing maps to visitors, and helping industry players in marketing the destinations. In a number of countries, such as Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Kenya, governments fail to maintain the roads after the major events are over. A World Bank report of 2010 indicates that such public goods should be well maintained by repairing the potholes to prolong their usage. Governments that invest heavily on infrastructure are likely to receive higher number of tourists in their destinations.
Role of Innovation
As already noted in the previous sections, most of the companies operating in the tourism sector are SMEs. They do not enjoy the economies of scale implying that they are always at risk of winding up their businesses because of cutthroat competition amongst themselves and from large organizations that have the advantage of advance technologies. Therefore, these companies must rely on innovation and creativity to be able to cope with competition and challenges that the sector presents. In the modern business environment, a company that fails to innovate is unlikely to survive. In the tourism economy, creativity and innovation are an integral and important part because of the constant changes taking place in this sector (OECD, 2006). Tourism sector is believed to have an inventive world-making role due to its ability to empower the disadvantaged in the sector. Creativity and innovation pertains to the daily activities and actions performed by individuals and professionals as they carry out their duties. Employers and industry players should work together to establish an educational system that supports innovation and creativity rather than depending on the one that teaches students theoretical models only. Through this, employees interested in working in the sector would be able to adjust to the ever-changing environment and be able to apply the new strategies in solving problems.
Innovation is simply defined as a process through which a new idea or practice is made valuable. They are the new ways applied to achieve certain objectives (Hall, 2011). Innovations are made mainly to address a need and convene a human want. The aim of any creativity is to increase the quality of the serve being offered as well as improvement of delivery. In the tourism industry, at least four types of innovations have been identified, which include co-terminality of a service production and making use of the information, intensifying information and application of technology, enhancement of quality and diversification of human resources, and finally working on the organizational factors (OECD, 2006.). The same report indicates that innovation in tourism is made possible only if sector players work together to improve their welfare. Innovation in tourism is being hampered by factors that include the process undertaken in innovating, the driving forces, barriers failure to apply it in economic performance, and diffusion. Furthermore, scholars agree that there is a higher intensity of innovation in tourism because knowledge is constantly renewed (OECD, 2006). The development of the internet has presented some opportunities, as well as challenges to the sector given the fact that it has revolutionized market conditions for a number of organizations operating in the sector (OECD, 2006). The internet offer newer tools for businesses, apart from being used to enhance knowledge and skills in the sector.
The levels of creativity among employees are highly dependent on a number of factors that include availability of skilled labor in the market and creativity of the talented employees. For employees to be able to engage in creativity, motivation systems must be activated. Based on this, employers should be at the frontline to provide a favorable environment that allows their human resources to participate in innovation (OECD, 2006). Without continuous development of employees, innovation cannot be realized as required. Therefore, it has to start with educational institutions mainly schools and colleges before employers can pick it at an advanced stage. Employers cannot expect to recruit highly creative workers if the education system does not support the entire process. This implies that stakeholders should spend considerable time trying to look at the tourism curriculum in colleges to ensure it supports creativity and innovation.
Collaboration and partnership development for sustainable tourism
Tourism has suffered a lot because various stakeholders fail to converge to deliberate on the way forward. A recent summit held in Kenya on Global development outlined the importance of collaboration among stakeholders operating in small and medium size enterprises, but nothing has been done so far to actualize this strategy (World Bank, 2017). Even before the Kenyan summit, there have been calls from different quarters urging stakeholders to work together to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness in the sector (World Bank, 2017). While a number of organizations venture into the sector, they fail to sustain their operations because of poor strategy among other factors. As most of these destinations gravitate towards sustainability, they are unable to do so because of poor collaboration, which does not support their agenda (Halme, 2001). Multi-stakeholder partnerships are seen as a solution to many problems facing the sector, especially in terms of marketing and development. Gray’s theory of collaboration has been cited variously, as well as Selin and Chavez’s partnership model to try to convince stakeholders to work join hands in realizing the main agenda (Gray, 1989)).
Stakeholders need to be involved at every stage of decision-making and development in the industry in order to achieve sustainability. Right from the policy making to the implementation stage, every concerned partner has to take part. Several scholars confirm that the industry is going to achieve sustainability, but only if collaborative action is taken (Halme, 2001). In the current industry, only stakeholders with massive influence in terms of resources are involved in the process of decision-making, but this must change if the sector is to realize its ambitions, as Bramwell and Lane (2000), advice. They further support the idea that top-down approach needs to be taken where decisions made at the summit must be communicated to every one working in the sector. In the United Kingdom, for instance, stakeholders must always be involved in every step undertaken in the industry irrespective of their influence (Bramwell, & Lane, 2000). They observe that this has seen the sector develop to an extent of sustaining its operations, especially in Wales where tourism is thriving. According to these scholars, (Bramwel and Lane) stakeholders play a critical role as far as partnerships are concerned because they engage in network connections through establishment of a number of coordination structures. To them, the national coordination boards should play a strategic role of formulating the policy whereas the local levels ought to take an active role in the implementation of these policies. The suggest that collaboration should come in the form of organizational management, planning, and development since this is likely to yield significant results apart from realizing sustainable development goals in the sector. Finally, they appraise the United Kingdom for appreciating the role that the private sector plays in the sector and the government made it mandatory for the regulator to consult it before making any decision.
It should be understood that sustainability is not an easy thing because it entails taking difficult management decisions. However, the problem arises when it comes to who makes them and how are they formulated. Those with the power to decide should employ a certain criteria and adopt particular principles that help in resolving the problem. Once an entity sees every one as a stakeholder, sharing of responsibilities is made easier. This would further make it easier to make decisions at any level (Huxham, 2000). Sustainability calls on the concerned authorities to adjust or adopt a new approach altogether. Therefore, realization of sustainability would require collaboration among various stakeholders.
Role of Spatial Planning in sustainable tourism
Planning for cities and municipalities is an important concept that helps in the sustainability of tourism. This word means making decisions at the national level, which are strategic, to application of unique designs at the local levels. Spatial planning, on the other hand, is a special form of planning that pertains to physical planning in a number of sectors, which influence tourism activities (Morpeth, & Hongliang, 2015)). With the drafting of the word sustainability, planning significance has increased (Morpeth, & Hongliang, 2015)). The 1970s saw the coining of the word sustainability because the current generation was expected to consider the interests and the desires of the future generations while they use the available resources (Hardy, & Beeton, 2001). At the time, Hardy and Beeton confirm that no one was interested with the future because organizations wanted to accumulate profits and outsmart their competitors in the market. In Turkey, spatial planning is initiated specifically to facilitate sustainable development. The government passed a legislation that makes it mandatory for the sector players to plan effectively for the future events, including the usage of public resources. Studies seeking to understand some of the ways through which spatial planning could be integrated into sustainable development is ongoing (Morpeth, & Hongliang, 2015)).
Conclusion
From the literature, it is noted that tourism relies on several factors to flourish. SMEs play a critical role in providing employment opportunities and supplying important services to tourism in their respective countries. On the other hand, tourism cannot thrive without proper roads, airports, railways, and other basic facilities. About innovation, companies in the sector are unlikely to survive without it implying employees need to be creative to drive the agenda of their companies forward. This calls on them to collaborate in developing spatial plans.
References
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