Based on the book of Kerry Godfrey and Jackie Clarke

The Tourism Development Handbook

The process of preparing a tourism development plan is a multi-stage activity, which seeks to:

Identify development opportunities and constraints

Set goals and objectives for development which address those issues needing attention in short, medium and longer term

Define series of action steps designed to achieve these goals and objectives within some specified time fram

Step 1: identify and assess the quality of your tourism resources

Step 2: Identify which groups of existing visitors, or expected tourist markets are most relevant to that particular resources

Step 3: Identify the opportunities for tourism use of that resource, and any constraints facing its further development

Step 4: Rank order of list of problems or concerns The purpose is to identify points that will take priority in preparing the destination’s tourism development goal and objectives

Tourism Goals provide a general direction or focus for the tourism policy:1. Statements of intent or desire about the way

tourism should be develop to improve its potential and mitigate problems;

2. Continuous- they never actually reached, but always pursued;

3. Short, clear and concise statements outlining the direction of future development

Policy To maximize the benefits of tourism in the destination,while encouraging a sustainableuse of local resources

Goals To improve standards of service offered to visitors

Objectives To increase customer service training programmes by 50% over 2 years

Action Plan Review availability of current customer care training opportunities in the area

Tourism Objectives1. Quantifiable or measurable2. Achievable within a specific time period3. Concise, specific and clear to anyone read them4. Realistic, not some impractical wish list

Tourism Action Steps1. Specific as to what exactly should be done, and

whom2. Are precise so as to avoid ambiguity of purpose3. Have a specific time-scale and expected outcome4. Can be delegated to individuals or groups to

undertake

At national level goals are often developed via further elaboration of national policy

At the destination level, while goals are meant to reflect local policy, they tend to come from the strategic planning process and address issues identified during the resource audit, market analysis

Goals should be relatively simple statements, concerned with such fundamental things as improving standards of service offered to tourists, increasing diversity of local attractions, or encouraging tourists to visit a wider area in the destination

Step 1: summarize the key issue or opportunity which that broad goal is meant to address

Step 2: Briefly re-examine the issues that are associated with this particular goal

Step 3: Each objective must have time frame and measurable

Step 4: conduct reality check and re-evaluate the objectives

Step 5: assess all objectives together and then establish order of priority or importance

Tourism development strategy is essentially a series of action steps designed to help realize or put into practice some predetermined tourism policy

Tourism action steps are designed to provide the means and method of reaching a particular tourism objectives

Tourism action plan is effectively a detailed sequence of steps, describing exactly what is to be done and what order of activity

Tourism action steps are prepared by taking one objective at a time

Restate the key issue, goal and objective which the actions are meant to address before beginning to write the individual action steps

Information should help in establishing and identifying the background to the actions steps which follow

Step 1: start to write actions steps by briefly stating what need to be done, in a step-by-step fashion, to meet the objectives.

Step 2: Assign responsible person/agency to implement the task/project. This should also include indicators of success, schedules and costs action steps should be listed in chronological order.