Report
The History of Tourism Policy
Tourism policy refers to a set of practices, decisions, and discourses initiated by governments and sometimes in partnership with social and private sectors to achieve diverse goals related to tourism. According to Hall 1994, the history of international policy outlines impacting tourism is classified into four phases (Robinson et al., 2020). The first phase began in 1945 after World War II and culminated in 1955. This phase encompassed destroying and streamlining customs, health regulations, police, and currency, which are the fundamental framework of contemporary international tourism.
The second phase started from 1955 to 1970, and it involved greater government involvement in tourism branding since gaining potential tourism had been realized by the majority of governments. For instance, in 1967, the United Nations 21st General Assembly arranged the International Tourism Year (Robinson et al., 2020). In this event, nations declared that tourism was the most desirable human activity that deserved encouragement and praise from governments and individuals. During this era, governments encouraged more tourism strategies and activities in their countries because they encouragements from world organizations like the United Nations.
The third phase of tourism lasted from 1970 to 1985, whereby governments intensified their involvement in tourism by supplying g tourism sectors with proper infrastructures. Governments also began to use tourism as a tool for their regional advancements. For instance, in the Manila Declaration of 1980 that the World Tourism Organization’s Conference adopted for World Tourism, the Declaration stated that individuals had the right to leisure and access to freedom and holidays of traveling and touring as part of the attainment of human rights that include right to life and liberty.
In the fourth phase, there was significant continuous use of tourism as a tool for development. Additionally, there was an increased focus on environmental matters, decreased direct government involvement in supplying tourism with infrastructures, significant growth of partnerships between public and private sectors, and industry self–regulation (Robinson et al., 2020). The Earth Summit of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was among the most vital steps towards a more viable code of conduct of the tourism sector.
The Different Approaches that can be Taken to Tourism Policy
Major approaches incorporated in the tourism policy include national tourism planning, tourism at local and regional levels. National tourism planning involves putting infrastructure and other physical facilities like tourism vans, sites, and tourist entry points (Robinson et al., 2020). This approach also ensures that tourists enjoy quality services like accommodation and professional treatment. For example, in New Zealand, the national government plays a crucial role in marketing the country’s tourism. The regional tourism approach manages tourism’s economic, environmental, and socio-cultural impact in a specified area. Under this approach, regulations and laws governing the tourism of a region are formulated.
Tourism policy can be formulated at local levels whereby there is less involvement in tourism matters. This level is mainly concerned with how tourism impacts residents of an area. For instance, both the local and regional approaches can manage how the Maori tribe is affected economically, socio-politically, and environmentally. The local tourism approach is concerned with examining how local tourism impacts various local groups (Robinson et al., 2020). Some of the local approach policy activities include involving the local individuals in this planning and enhancing them with jobs like cleaning the Parks. For instance, the Maori people in New Zealand are given such jobs by the New Zealand Maori Tourism.
The Institutions Involved in Tourism Development at The Global, National and Local Scale
Taking New Zealand as an example, several institutions are concerned with tourism in New Zealand from the local, regional, and national levels. Institutions like innovation and employment and the ministry of business play an active role in marketing New Zealand’s tourism. The New Zealand Maori Tourism (NZMT) is a government-sponsored institution in New Zealand that advocates for more than 200 Maori businesses. There are also Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs) that function in 27 regions in New Zealand. These RTOs enhance the publicizing of the region to domestics and international tourists.
The Cruise New Zealand is a regional entity that brands tour destinations to tour lines to target international and local tourists in New Zealand and other places. The local governments in New Zealand have been trying to ensure that they meet the local tourism requirements. The local governments have partnered with other bodies to develop policies that can favor the local individuals in New Zealand. The Territorial Local Authorities (TLA) is an example of a government commission that integrates five regions to enhance the equal sharing of resources.
Presentation and Executive Summary
Presentation
The theoretical approaches to understanding international development include the modernization and dependency theories. According to the modernization theory, modern societies are better and that individuals enjoy better living standards than traditional societies. The concept also assumes that states can develop provided they adopt new technology and policies such as transport, communication, and delivery systems. This theory underpins the development philosophy as growth, whereby modernization is viewed as a linear path towards an industrialized society. This model implies that economic growth through industrial reformation can increase economic growth, enhancing developing countries to industrialize like the developed nations.
The dependency theory assumes that tourism creates poor jobs and benefits only a few individuals in society. In other words, the dependency theory tries to explain the undeveloped states of nations globally by evaluating the patterns of associations among countries by debating that inequality among states is a fundamental part of those associations. Emerging markets refer to the new industrial countries whose economy is developing than the economy of the developing nations (Robinson et al., 2020). Some of the world’s Emerging Markets include Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Indonesia, India, China, Brazil, and Argentina. For instance, China has regraded the second biggest economy globally but is still categorized as an Emerging Economy.
The modernization theory distinguishes a traditional society from a modern one; it states that states can develop provided they adopt new infrastructure and policies. Technology and infrastructure have been the case in China because it has adopted modern infrastructure and technology in building its economy. China’s politics and economy seem to place China in a perfect position on the global map. For instance, under Xi Jinping, the communist policies of Xinjiping have shaped major economic developments in China. Despite Westernization, China’s culture is still intact, and politics has enhanced its economic development. In addition, the politics of China have played an integral role in stabilizing the economy and creating good diplomatic relations with other countries.
Through the cooperation of African nations and China, African nations have massively recorded significant developments funded by China, for example, the Standard Gauge Railway Project in Kenya. Brazil is also categorized among the Emerging markets in the world. However, Brazil differs from emerging markets like China. The difference between Brazil and China is an authoritarian democracy in China, while Brazil has a democratic form of government. The crucial aspect that has developed Brazil’s economy include the agriculture sector and the industrial sector. The two sectors, however, have gradually developed in the last years. The modernization theory says that states have the power to develop provided they shift to new technology and infrastructure.
Taking Brazil as the case, it is evident that Brazil’s industry has gradually developed through investing in new technology and infrastructure. South Africa is another emerging economy ranked in the top list of emerging economies of the world. It is the most technologically advanced country and the most industrialized in Africa. South Africa is a democratic country since the citizens elect leaders who represent them in government. However, most of the advancements and industries in South Africa are traced back to the era of Apartheid (Robinson et al., 2020). The British exercised Apartheid in South Africa from 1948. In 1994, the rule was repealed, and it was the end of the Apartheid. When the British left, most of the industries became controlled by Africans, enabling South Africa to improve its economy than other African countries.
The economy of South Africa is related to the Dependency theory because the theory is based on the restrictions that historical connections have on the development of emerging nations. For instance, much of South Africa’s economy relies on the colonial infrastructure left by the British in the colonial era. According to the International Monetary Fund, India is also a country on the list of emerging markets. India has a good domestic free market in consumer products and food; hence its economy is rising. The Dependency theory relates to India’s economy’s steady development since it uses alternative resources such as consumer commodities and agricultural produce to develop its economy. The two theories have laid a foundation for classifying nations like South Africa, India, Brazil, and China as emerging markets.
The assumptions of the two theories make it easy to identify the characteristics and elements that make countries like China, South Africa, and Brazil. And India to be ranked in the list of emerging economies in the world. In addition, the theoretical frameworks have played a significant role in studying the past events of the emerging economies to date and the measures they have adopted to improve their economies. The theories have also highlighted the contributions of emerging markets in the global economy. For instance, emerging economies play significant roles in the corporate profit pool because most organizations rely on emerging economies. However, they are less protected and less transparent than developed economies. Most firms prefer emerging economies because it is easy to penetrate there.
Executive Summary
This presentation has outlined two theoretical approaches, including the modernization and dependency approaches. The modernization theory differentiates the modern form of society, economy, and politics from the traditional form. This theory studies the policies and circumstances that are anticipated to contribute to higher levels of development. According to this theory, traditional civilizations will develop since they adopt more contemporary technology and the internet. Supporters of this theory claim that modern states are richer and influential, and their individuals have the freedom of enjoying a higher standard of living. The modernization theory has received criticism for its emphasis on the European experience as a guide for some countries.
The dependency theory is centered on the restrictions that historical connections that result from colonialism have on the development of emerging countries. The second part of this presentation has analyzed emerging markets and given some countries referred to as emerging markets. Some nations include Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Indonesia, India, China, Brazil, and Argentina. The presentation presented China, Brazil, India, and South Africa as examples of emerging economies and used theoretical approaches to international development to analyze the four countries. Finally, based on the analysis, the presentation reviewed the usefulness of the theoretical models, including how they have eased the identification of the characteristics and elements that make countries like China, South Africa, and Brazil.
Briefing Report
The Key Relationships That Impact Sustainable International Tourism Development
Tourism is a main economic exercise that has grown suggestively over the past decade; it is an action that both developing and developed nations can recognize. Generally, tourism refers to the movement of people from one region to another to mesmerize and visit the place’s beauty or enjoy the breeze of the region. In addition, traveling concepts are considered luxuries and only individuals with high salaries can afford tourism luxury (Robinson et al., 2020). As a business, tourism has been moving with the wild technological advancement pace, and people from varying cultures and places have been interacting easily due to tourism.
Tourism has created room for people to travel crosswise the world moderately in big numbers safely. Tourism being among the fastest and biggest growing businesses globally, it faces different relationships that affect its sustainability, including environmental, economic, and socio-cultural relationships. Through adjustments in the locals, living standards in deeply visited destinations by tourists are often non-existent. Little, basic products price inflation caused by staying tourists is a continuous feature of tourists’ areas. However, other tourists’ activities such as sports cause immorality due to their freedom to do whatever they desire.
Brazil’s Olympic games stimulated immoral acts such as prostitution, robbery, pollution, and child trafficking, impacting Brazil’s tourism sustainability since most tourists discouraged Brazil. The landscape of the economy commands that mostly, it is the individuals from developed countries who move from one region to another as tourists to developed countries, more than how the individuals from developed nations visit developing nations. The effect results in downstream cultural impacts confirmed as harmful due to their lack of cohesion with their surroundings. For instance, South Africa’s natural resources and destination reputation form seductive attractions for various travelers giving them breathtaking experiences and holidays that enhance South Africa’s tourism sustainability.
South Africa has first-world infrastructures that continue attracting more visitors to South Africa hence, improving the revenue generation of South Africa. The environment can impact sustainable international tourism development since the location determines the severalty tourists visiting the region. Areas with poor surroundings or beautiful sceneries discourage tourists from visiting the region, while attractive surroundings encourage tourists to visit the locations. For instance, India’s global temperatures keep discouraging tourists from visiting the region, an action that contributes to poor tourism sustainability in India.
The impacts (positive or negative) that tourism can have on destinations
Tourism influences the development and growth of different businesses directly related to healthy tourism trade, such as sports, entertainment, arts, wildlife, accommodation, and transportation. The impact attracts new job opportunities and revenues due to foreign exchange, payments of services and goods provided, and investments (Robinson et al., 2020). In addition, when several people visit a given place to enjoy its beautiful sceneries, the region may be polluted by waste materials such as bottles and plastics, which disrupt both flora and fauna living in the wrong run. The pollutions have a high chance of lowering the tourism sustainability development of the particular region because it demoralizes tourists from visiting the areas.
By investigating the number of individuals, a particular region can safely accommodate security, environmentally and facility-wise, which is crucial in preserving and protecting the outlooks beaming with the beauty of nature. The accountability falls on the masses, who have to educate and inform visitors on the permittable dangers and behaviors modeled by ignoring recommended codes of conduct such as placing wastes haphazardly (Robinson et al., 2020). While providing tourists accommodation, the environment is impacted differently since large restaurants, and other amenities for tourists utilize large quantities of power to offer patrons electricity comforts. Tourists also face various environmental problems in their mission to stay in and journey from their foreign lands. It is sometimes tiresome searching for tourism visas and the stay period allowed by the host nation.
Sustainable Development and Tourism and How Tourism Can Be Used for Developments Goals
Sustainable development and tourism aim at retaining social and economic benefits of tourism while reducing undesirable effects on the social, cultural, historic and natural environment. The reduction is attained by balancing tourist needs with destination needs. Hence, sustainable development and tourism optimize environmental possessions, esteem the socio-cultural genuineness of local societies, and guarantee long-term and viable financial operations (Robinson et al., 2020). These actions enable tourism to offer stakeholders sustainable profits and proper conveyance, including income and employment opportunities and local community social services.
Sustainable tourism growth needs informed participation by all shareholders to ensure continuous processes that require constant nursing of its influences for consensus development and participation. Therefore, sustainable tourism requires constant monitoring and corrective and preventive measures when necessary (Robinson et al., 2020). Tourism can be used for developmental goals by offering jobs, creating income, differentiating the economy, shielding the atmosphere, and endorsing cross-cultural mindfulness in developing nations.
Business Report
In modern times, the tourism industry has recorded many issues that have reduced the number of individuals touring different parts of the globe for tourism activities. Tourism is among the core sources of revenue for various countries across the continents (Robinson et al., 2020). Individuals move from one country to another during their free time to spend time adventuring new prices. The commonly visited places in the world include The Pyramids of Egypt, The Great Wall of China, the Acropolis in Greece, and Stonehenge in England. The economies of these historic places depend on the revenue generated from visits made by local and international individuals. However, the industry is faced with challenges that lead to poor economies that rely solely on tourism and tourism activities. Some of the industry’s issues include security, border regulations and laws, travel costs, inflation and currency rates, and poor branding and marketing.
Problems Facing Tourism at the International Context
The tourism industry is faced with security issues that discourage visitors from various nations from moving to different places of the world. When security challenges increase in nations with tourism resources, visitors from several parts of the world are warned by their respective embassies to avoid visiting such places. When individuals avoid visiting such insecurity-prone nations, their economy deteriorates because of the reduction of currency exchange (Robinson et al., 2020). For instance, during the COVID -19 in China, individuals from several nations halted their tours in China and other Asian countries after several cases of the virus were reported there. The Tokyo Olympic Games slated for 2020 in Japan were postponed due to the spread of the virus in China. Several visitors who had planned to tour Japan abandoned their plans, and as a result, the economic boost that Japan anticipated was derailed.
In addition, the rising number of terroristic activities is also among the security threats that have undermined international tourism. The terroristic organizations that undermine tourism internationally include the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Taliban, Al-Shabaab in East Africa and Boko Haram in West Africa. Due to their untimely attacks, these militia groups instill fear in individuals who like touring different parts of the world for leisure. Security threatened regions record massive losses from terrorism activities because, in most cases, their economies depend on tourism. Border issues and laws also impact the international tourism of nations that have invested in tourism. Countries may experience diplomatic differences with their neighboring nations due to trade, technology, environmental issues.
Tensions between these nations impact international tourism due to strict border laws implemented to curb the movement of people from and to the conflicting nations. Border issues lead to the destruction of tourist sites shared by nations at border points. Destruction of tourist sites and parks impacts some countries’ future tourism activities; thus, benefiting from international tourism in the future becomes limited (Robinson et al., 2020). Poor infrastructure negatively impacts international tourism in that tourists prefer places with modern facilities like modernized vehicles, internet access, and improved infrastructure like roads and fast and reliable rail systems. However, countries lacking these essential services are likely not to benefit from international tourism due to a lack of recognition in the international context. For instance, several developing economies lack proper facilities and mechanisms to market their respective tourism sites known worldwide.
High inflation affects international tourism, especially in countries that are developing. International tourism is prone to factors like inflation of prices of goods and global financial trends. For instance, countries with foreign debts impose high rates on international tourism activities. Inflated rates discourage tourists from visiting such nations since they fear being exploited financially by the host nations (Robinson et al., 2020). National parks and tourism sites increase the charges imposed on foreign tourists to raise enough funds to pay their workers’ and land owners’ debts. Such inflated prices result in decreased tourism activities due to the mindset of being overtaxed. Poor branding and marketing methods negatively impact international tourism in countries that do not use modern methods of marketing their services. Marketing and branding are the keys to familiarizing a product or service over a large area in the contemporary world.
In the modern era, some of the modern marketing methods include Email marketing, Product Placement, Internet Ads, Affiliate Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. Countries that fail to invest in technological advancements fail to offer proper marketing since individuals shift with the changing era. Nations also use sports and public figures for marketing their tourism activities due to their significant audiences. Poor marketing strategies undermine international tourism if host nations do not take measures to improve them. Regions with natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes impact international tourism since tourists prefer places without such catastrophes.
Nations such as Japan, Indonesia, Nepal, China, and Iran are susceptible to earthquakes that negatively impact tourism activities. Other natural calamities like floods, fire outbreaks also undermine the traveling of foreign visitors to other areas for tourism purposes. In conclusion, international tourism is among the top sources of income for several countries across the world. Tourism is undermined by natural and artificial factors like border laws, insecurity, inflation rates, marketing and branding, and infrastructure challenges (Robinson et al., 2020). These artificial problems can be controlled and solved, while some natural factors like floods m volcanic eruptions cannot be controlled since there are beyond human control. It is the responsibility of governments and international corporations to strategize on how to solve the issues hindering international tourism since tourism is the backbone of the economy globally by investing in tourism and liaising with international bodies like the United Nations to lay proper tourism structures.
Plans for A Tourism Project That Address Development Issues
Tourism cannot attain a full sustainability level if individuals cannot unite to fight tourists’ challenges. Some of the plans that may plan significant roles in eliminating tourist issues include uniting governments globally to educate tourists and other citizens on the possible problems during tourism. Educating individuals on the challenges will help them know how to react or solve them when they arise (Robinson et al., 2020). Other government actions include reducing tax burdens, implementing government programs, involving local communities, and involving NGOs. The mentioned challenges and changing the tourism management plays a crucial role in spotting the tourism challenges and employing appropriate solutions that solve the challenges.
Security issues such as terrorism discourage tourists from visiting other nations due to the fear of being attacked in the respective nations they visit. For instance, if terrorists attack a nation that tourists mostly prefer when touring nations, the nation will face challenges in raising revenues since the number of tourists visiting the nation declines. Governments should implement security measures that detect terrorist loopholes before they attain their mission of attacking particular nations. Travelers should be educated on how they should act when attacked to defend themselves. They should be educated on making accountable choices before traveling to avoid panicking in case of attacks. The governments should also create anti-terrorist agencies and equip them with appropriate tools that will help them detect terrorists early before they attain their missions.
Responsible government authorities should approach tax burdens in a way that ensures tourists and tourists’ companies are not overtaxed during tax collections since overtaxing them impacts their revenues negatively. In addition, governments should consider reducing or suspending the payment of taxes, VAT, business rates, among other fees applicable to businesses such as PAYE deferment and paid illness leaves to workers on decreased incomes. Besides setting high taxes that overburden tourists and the tourist industry in general, the government should consider taxing the tourist industry depending on its gross profit. The government should then tax the gross profit using specific tax percentages. Taxing gross profits will play a major role in relieving tax burdens among travelers since they will get used to tax-specific percentages rather than tax rates changing often.
The government should consider holding more ecotourism programs that will play significant roles in attaining sustainable tourism, which cannot be attained by private firms alone. A collaboration of the tourism industry with the government will permit broad mechanisms and opportunities to operate on the development issues mentioned in 4.1 above. The government should consult and devise guidelines that enhance sustainable tourism by developing tourism industries within sustainable growth parameters (Robinson et al., 2020). Maintainable tourism necessitates properly united planning; hence the government has to play essential roles in working on the problems impacting tourism and developing new chances. Ecotourism programs will play vital roles in preserving and fostering respect for various beautiful surroundings on earth. The program will motivate tourists to aid in environmental protection and donate to local societies on several deep levels than the travelers just passing by.
Ecotourism programs will also play significant functions in educating vacationers concerning the different challenges they will meet in the new environment. Since justifiable tourism necessitates properly integrated planning, governments should eliminate the tourist industry’s growth challenges and create new chances (Robinson et al., 2020). The government should involve local societies in decision-making since local societies know different challenges that the government cannot predict since local societies are more exposed to the activities happening in their surroundings. Local societies are important shareholders, and their involvement in making tourism decisions creates room for them to grow their destinations to tourists’ terminuses.
Additionally, involving regional people will help the government recognize the tourist infrastructures that require renovations since the government cannot make it travel from one place to another to check the well-being of infrastructure. Hence, for the successful functioning of sustainable tourist operations, the government should ensure local associations are involved. In countries like South Africa, where tourists often visit due to its beautiful landscapes, the government should consider employing more tour operators to educate visitors on acting responsibly to eliminate challenges like prostitution, drug abuse, and child trafficking. Governments should consider including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who will play significant roles in excelling tourism challenges such as the abuse of human rights.
To fight high inflation challenges, the government should consider reserving tourism requirements and decreasing the money supply. Reserving tourism requirements is an important tool to monitor the money banks can hold as withdrawal covers. When banks hold more money back, they reduce their chances of lending to customers. If banks have less money to lend, clients will not access more money to borrow; hence decreasing inflation. The government should reduce the money supply by implementing policies that motivate the money supply in the tourism industry. The government should use two techniques to increase the money supply: increasing bond interest rates to attract investors. Increasing interest rates will also increase exchange rates because of high demand. Hence, money circulation would reduce since money will be accumulating in tourism industry accounts where the industries can easily monitor their savings.
Governments in disaster-bound areas should invest more in eliminating natural disasters like floods by constructing dams to curb flooding. Management should relocate national parks and tourism sites that are near mountains that tend to erupt. Regimes should also invest in scientific researches to determine the trend patterns of the occurrence of such disasters. Individuals can be informed about the disasters and discouraged from traveling to places that implement stringent laws against using fire-related devices that cause fires in various parks due to mishandling. Solving the challenges mentioned above will help nations freely invest in tourism without the fear of possible risks. Not only that, but implementing these action plans will help governments reduce or mitigate risks caused by tourism and hence generate more profits since there will be more issues that will discourage the investment in tourism.
Reference
Robinson, P., Lück, M., & Smith, S. (2020). Tourism (2nd ed., pp. 1-92). Bell & Bain Ltd Glasgow: UK.