Policy Considerations &

Structure Planning
- Aritro Dasgupta

Structure Plan
Physical

framework
Location of development

Formulating Tourism
Development Policy
Set

of statements related to
various aspects of tourism
development
Based on several considerations
Tourism policy must be well
integrated with the overall
national developmental policy
National & regional objectives
must prevail over individual,
group or sector interests

Basic Issues While Framing

Tourism Policy
Reasons

for developing tourism

Economic reasons
Social reasons
Environmental / conservation
reasons
Forms

of tourism to be developed
Market-led v/s Product-led
Extent of tourism development
Growth rate of tourism to be
aimed at

Basic Issues While Framing

Tourism Policy
Balance

of power & involvement

between government & private
sector
Inter-relationship between
domestic & international tourism
Supporting education & training
programmes
Social integration of tourism
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Formulating Structure Plan

Gateway

concept
Clustering approach
International institutional
recognition
Tourist circuits
Staging

Gateway Concept
International

& suitable regional

access points essential for
successful conduct of tourism
operations; especially for long
haul tourists
Includes land border & sea
crossings
In a small country / region single
gateway may work, but in larger
several gateways necessary
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Gateway Concept
Multiple

gateways allow flexibility

to enter from one point & exit
from another
Shopping & other leisure facilities
at gateways so tourists can enjoy
along the way

Clustering Approach
Clustering

is the approach of
advocating for tourist locations to
be situated near one another in
order to save traveling time &
cost for tourists
Special transport (especially
railways) packages are created
so that tourists may combine 3-4
places situated near one another
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Clustering Approach
Induces

people to stay longer as

number of locations can be
covered without substantial
increase in expense / time
Logical geographic clustering
Can cater to different segments /
types of tourists
Often secondary attractions
developed near primary
attractions

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Advantages of Clustering
Approach
Cost

reduction
Time saving
New destinations developed near
traditional ones

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Disadvantages of Clustering
Approach
Isolated

but important tourist

destinations may get ignored in
the rat race
Can lead to excessive pollution
along a stretch as number of
destinations developed parallel to
one another

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International Institutional
Recognition
Recognition

from international
agencies like UNESCO (World
Heritage), travel magazine like
Lonely Planet & Conde Nast,
corporations like Thomas Cook
etc.
City twinning concept

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Tourist Circuits
Excursion

routes officially
designated in the tourism plan
Passing through scenic areas with
stopovers in between
Specific activities listed for the
spots
Loops in the circuit route to avoid
backtracking
Initiation centres
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Staging
Staging

areas provide tourist facilities

& services for overnight stays of
tourists waiting for transportation to
other parts of the country
There is often additional experience
provided to make overnight stays more
worthy
Tourism regions must be selected in
such a way that each region may be
able to operate as an independent unit
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Selecting Development
Sites
Located

near major tourist attractions

without directly impinging upon natural
features
Desirable micro-climatic conditions
Sufficient amount of available &
developable land where other activities
would not have been more profitable
Existing or potential access from
gateway to the area & from area to
other attractions
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Selecting Development
Sites
Suitable

general area without any

excessive pollution of any sort
Existing availability of basic
infrastructure like water,
electricity, sewage etc.
Positive attitude of nearby
residents
Availability of labour supply
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Reducing Seasonality
Seasonality

leads to underuse of
tourism facilities
Seasonality may occur due to
type of tourist attraction or
tourist characteristics (or both)
Thus national or regional plan
must incorporate alternatives in
order to reduce wastage of
resources
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Reducing Seasonality
Pricing

techniques may be
applied to attract tourists during
lean season
Marketing may be targeted
especially towards older people
(60+) as they are often free to
travel irrespective of holiday
season considerations
Conferences & corporate
trainings another way of
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Thank You

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