Marketing in the Tourism Industry (RLE Tourism) : The Promotion of Destination Regions 9781135083397, 9780415812719

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MARKETING IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY The Promotion of Destination Regions Edited by Brian Goodall and Gregory Ashworth

ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: TOURISM

ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: TOURISM

MARKETING IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

MARKETING IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY The Promotion of Destination Regions

Edited by BRIAN GOODALL AND GREGORY ASHWORTH

Volume 1

ROUTLEDGE

Routledge Taylor &. Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published in 1988 This edition first published in 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1988 Brian Goodall and Gregory Ashworth All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 13: 978-0-415-62615-6 (Set) eISBN 13: 978-0-203-06696-6 (Set) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-81271-9 (Volume 1) eISBN 13: 978-0-203-06859-5 (Volume 1) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.

Marketing _ in the Tourism Industry THE PROMOTION OF DESTINATION REGIONS

Edited by Brian Goodall and Gregory Ashworth

CROOM HELM London • New York • Sydney

© 1988 Brian Goodall and Gregory Ash worth Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1AT Croom Helm Australia, 44-50 Waterloo Road, North Ryde, 2113, New South Wales Published in the USA by Croom Helm in association with Methuen, Inc. 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Marketing in the tourism industry: the promotion of destination regions. 1. Tourist trade 2. Marketing I. Goodall, Brian II. Ashworth, Gregory 658.8’09’91 G155.A1 ISBN 0-7099-5811-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISBN 0–7099–5811–0

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Billing & Sons Limited, Worcester.

CONTENTS

List of Tables List of Figures Contributors Preface

1.

HOW TOURISTS CHOOSE THEIR HOLIDAYS: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

1

Brian Goodall The Holiday Habit The Holiday Selection Process Motivations Images Choice of Resort The search process Evaluation of alternatives Holiday Selection as an Analytical Framework 2.

1 2 2 3 5 7 8 10

CHANGING PATTERNS AND STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN TOURISM 18 Brian Goodall Patterns of European Tourism Origins and destinations Holiday tourism Structure of the European Tourism Industry The tour operator The travel agent The accommodation sector Structure and patterns Prospect Future holiday-makers The tourism industry Perspective

19 20 23 26 27 29 31 32 33 33 34 36

3.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

39

Erlet Cater

4.

Tourism Potential Physical resources for tourism Economic conditions for tourism development Socio-cultural resources Tourism Impact The physical impact of tourism The economic impacts of tourism The social impacts of tourism Conclusion

41 41 46 49 53 56 58 60 61

THE ROLE OF TRAVEL AGENT AND TOUR OPERATOR

67

Maurice Buck

5.

Setting the scene The role of the travel agent Pre-sales service The sales situation After-sales service Changing structure and practices The Agent and the Tour Operator

67 68 69 69 70 71 73

THE ROLE OF THE TOURIST BOARD

75

Stan Bowes Tourist Boards in the United Kingdom .... The English Tourist Board The Regional Tourist Boards in England Differing roles of tourist boards Government Guidelines Future Outlook for Tourist Boards Marketing Strategies Conclusion 6.

75 76 76 78 80 81 83 87

PLANNING OF TOURIST ROUTES: THE GREEN COAST ROAD IN THE NORTHERN NETHERLANDS 89 Jan R. Bergsma Context Tourist Routes The Green Coast Road Planning objectives and problems The research phases The optimal route Concluding remarks

89 90 91 91 93 96 98

7.

RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN GRAVEL WORKINGS: THE LIMBURG EXPERIENCE

101

Henk Voogd Introduction The Historical and Geographical Background Wet Restoration: Making a Virtue of Necessity Aspects of Recreation Planning and Policy Concluding Remarks 8.

THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON DESTINATION AREAS OF FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY: A SPANISH APPLICATION

101 102 105 106 109

111

Thea Sinclair and Charles Sutcliffe The Balance of Payments The Distribution of Public and Private Revenue The Value of Expenditure on Tourism and Associated Multiplier Effects in the Destination Area Techniques of Production and the Level of Employment The Degree of Control which the Host Area exercises over the Development of the Tourism Industry and Destination Area Conclusion 9.

THE IMAGE OF DESTINATION REGIONS: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL ASPECTS

111 117 120 124 126 129

133

Michael J. Stabler Introduction Image and its relevance to Tourism Image in the context of Economic Theory . Demand Supply Observations on both demand and supply and image Empirical Implications The Languedoc-Roussillon Study The area The fieldwork The results The visitor survey The image study

133 134 136 136 143 146 146 147 147 148 150 150 154

10.

Some general observations Theory and the Languedoc-Roussillon Study Future Research Developments Modelling Empirical considerations

155 157 158 158 159

MARKETING THE HISTORIC CITY FOR TOURISM

162

Gregory Ashworth

11 .

Introduction Conflicts and Contradictions Institutional Goals Locations Physical and environmental damage Conflict Resolution through the Intervention of Intermediaries The Broader Context

162 164 164 165 168 169 170 173

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PROMOTION OF MAJOR SEASIDE RESORTS: HOW TO EFFECT A TRANSITION BY REALLY MAKING AN EFFORT

176

Bryan J.H. Brown Promotion and the Beginning New Images for Old: Why the Need for Change? The Tor bay example Defence of the Realm project Large Industry - Small Businesses 12.

176 179 181 183 184

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PLANNING IN LANGUEDOC: LE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

187

Gregory Ashworth and Michael J. Stabler Introduction The regional context The Mission Assessment of Regional Development Regional development in general Tourism development Results Assessment of Resort Development Conclusions

187 188 189 191 191 1 92 192 193 196

13.

CHANGING TOURISM REQUIRES A DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT APPROACH

198

Martinus J. Kosters Status quo ‘Do-it-yourself1 Unity in Diversity Missing policies Management Creative management Marketing Stength-weakness analysis The tourism organisation as a wholesaler? Changing Organisations

199 199 201 202 203 205 207 209 209 209 211

TOURIST IMAGES: MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS

213

14.

Gregory Ashworth and Brian Goodall Competition in the Tourism Industry Images and Marketing The Marketing Dimension Marketing activity in the tourism industry Image Projection Image Transmission Marketing strategies Image Reception Consequences of Demand-Supply Image Mismatch The Way Forward Index

213 216 218 219 221 223 227 228 231 233 239

TABLES 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 7.1 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 11.1

The 31 LLDCs: selected indicators Selected physical characteristics of the LLDCs Maldives : number of visitors Density of transport networks in LLDCs .. Tourist arrivals (1984) at selected LLDCs by origin Tourist arrivals in selected LLDCs, 1980.. The contribution of tourism to national income and exports, 1980 Tourism density in selected LLDCs, 1980 . Pre-sales service The sales situation After-sales service Regional Tourist Boards: Tourism Development Grants (1971-86) and sources of income (1985-86) Proposed recreational projects in Limburg and their functions Tourist arrivals in Spain Foreign currency receipts from tourism in Spain Tourism and the balance of payments, 1984 Long-run multiplier values for changes in different types of tourist expenditure in the Spanish province of Malaga The level of employment in Spanish and foreign-owned Hotels Tourist destination attributes Use of a brochure or guide: all resorts.. Opinions of resort and LanguedocRoussillon region: all resorts Opinions of resort and LanguedocRoussillon region at a modern and traditional resort Respondents’ use of specific facilities: .all resorts and La Grande Motte and Valras Content analysis of publications:text (%) Content analysis of publications: photographs (%) Examples of new facilities and investment in Torbay

40 42 45 47 50 52 54 61 69 70 71 79 107 112 113 114 123 125 141 151 152 153 154 156 156 183

FIGURES 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 5.1 5.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 7.1 7.2 7.3 9.1 9.2 9.3 13.1

The tourist’s holiday decision 4 The tourist’s annual holiday search process 6 Origins of tourists visiting Western European countries 21 European destinations favoured by tourists from West European countries 22 Average monthly hotel occupancy rates for selected countries 24 Alternative chains of distribution in the tourism industry 27 Regional Tourist Boards and Councils in England and Wales 77 Management structure of the Thames and Chilterns Tourist Board 82 The Green Coast Road 92 The potential (attraction) surface of Friesland and Groningen 94 The Green Coast Road - sub-areas within Friesland and Groningen 96 Theoretical relationship between route length and attractiveness 97 Length-attractiveness ratios for eight alternative routes 98 Recommended route for the Green Coast Road in Friesland and Groningen 99 Central Limburg 102 The spatial impact of gravel pits in Limburg 104 The progress of gravel pit restoration .. 106 Tourist demand and supply and the creation of image 135 Factors influencing the formation of consumers’tourist images 142 Languedoc-Roussillon study area 149 Organisational structure of the tourism industry in The Netherlands 206

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr G r e g o r y ASHWORTH

R e a d e r , D e p t of Urban and Regional Planning, g e o g r a f i s c h Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit, Groningen.

J a n BERGSMA

L e c t u r e r , Dept of G e o g r a p h y , Geografisch Instituut, R i j k s u n i v e r s i t e i t , Groningen

S t a n BOWES

Head of Marketing and Membership, Thames & Chilterns Tourist Board, Abingdon

Dr Bryan BROWN

R e a d e r a n d D e p u t y Head Department, Department Tourism, Dorset I n s t i t u t e Higher Education, Poole

M a u r i c e BUCK

D i r e c t o r , Meadway T r a v e l Reading

Dr E r l e t CATER

L e c t u r e r , Dept of G e o g r a p h y , U n i v e r s i t y of R e a d i n g

B r i a n GOODALL

Head of D e p a r t m e n t and C o n s u l t a n t D i r e c t o r of NUTIS, Dept of G e o g r a p h y , U n i v e r s i t y of R e a d i n g

M a r t i n u s KOSTERS

Deputy D i r e c t o r , Wetenschappelijk v o o r T o e r i s m e en Breda

Dr Thea SINCLAIR

L e c t u r e r , Keynes C o l l e g e , University of Kent at Canterbury

M i c h a e l STABLER

L e c t u r e r , Dept of E c o n o m i c s , U n i v e r s i t y or Reading

C h a r l e s SUTCLIFFE

N o r t h e r n S o c i e t y P r o f e s s o r of A c c o u n t i n g and F i n a n c e , D e p t of E c o n o m i c s , U n i v e r s i t y of N e w c a s t l e upon Tyne

Dr Henk VOOGD

P r o f e s s o r of P l a n n i n g , Dept of Urban and Regional Planning, Geografisch Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit, Groningen

of of of Ltd,

Nederlands Instituut Rekreatie,

PREFACE The emergence of t o u r i s m a s a g l o b a l a n d , i n many c a s e s , a n a t i o n a l and r e g i o n a l growth i n d u s t r y h a s b e e n matched by b o t h an i n c r e a s i n g r e a l i s a t i o n on t h e p a r t of g o v e r n m e n t s of t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o u r i s m c a n make t o economic and s o c i a l p r o g r e s s and an i n c r e a s i n g a t t e n t i o n from academic researchers. But t o u r i s m i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y a key t o a g o l d e n f u t u r e f o r t h e d e s t i n a t i o n s v i s i t e d by the holiday hordes. D e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n s have t o work i n c r e a s i n g l y h a r d t o c r e a t e o r m a i n t a i n a s h a r e of t h e t o u r i s m m a r k e t . Not a l l c a n b e , indeed w i l l not b e , s u c c e s s f u l . Much d e p e n d s on how d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n s m a r k e t t h e i r ‘ i m a g e s ’ , i . e . whether they are successful in persuading p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s t h a t t h e y w i l l e n j o y ‘ t h e h o l i d a y of a l i f e - t i m e ’ i f they choose a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n . I t i s t h i s problem of m a r k e t i n g d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n s t h a t p r o v i d e s an u n d e r l y i n g theme f o r t h i s book. The c o n t r i b u t i o n s o r i g i n a t e d i n t h e s e c o n d international workshop organised by the G e o g r a p h i c a l I n s t i t u t e s of t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s of G r o n i n g e n (The N e t h e r l a n d s ) a n d R e a d i n g ( U n i t e d Kingdom), which was h e l d a t R e a d i n g from 21 t o 24 S e p t e m b e r 1986 t o c o n s i d e r t h e r o l e of t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y in promoting d e s t i n a t i o n regions. The a r t i c l e s p r e s e n t e d h e r e were produced a f t e r t h e w o r k s h o p had t a k e n p l a c e and t h u s i n c o r p o r a t e t h e a u t h o r s ’ r e s p o n s e s t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n p r o m p t e d by the original paper. The e m p h a s i s i s on an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y and a p p l i e d a p p r o a c h , i n v o l v i n g n o t o n l y e c o n o m i s t s , g e o g r a p h e r s and p l a n n e r s b u t a l s o p r a c t i s i n g tourism managers. It is therefore the editors’ expectation that t h i s collection will a p p e a l t o a w i d e r e a d e r s h i p of researchers, p l a n n e r s , m a n a g e r s and s t u d e n t s c o n c e r n e d w i t h tourism. As i n a n y such c o l l e c t i o n , t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s may be t r e a t e d a s s e l f - c o n t a i n e d s t u d i e s i n t h e t h e o r y and p r a c t i c e of an a s p e c t of leisure s c i e n c e s , b u t t h i s was n o t t h e p r i m a r y i n t e n t i o n of t h e o r g a n i s e r s of t h e workshop n o r of t h e e d i t o r s of t h i s v o l u m e . The workshop f o c u s e d on a c l e a r l y f o r m u l a t e d and r i g o r o u s l y a p p l i e d theme which g o v e r n e d t h e c h o i c e of s u b j e c t m a t t e r a n d t h e n a t u r e of t h i s theme p r o v i d e s b o t h t h e framework o u t l i n e d i n t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y c h a p t e r and t h e b a s i s for the concluding d i s c u s s i o n . The e d i t o r s w i s h t o t h a n k n o t o n l y their a c a d e m i c a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l c o l l e a g u e s who h a v e contributed to t h i s volume but a l s o those p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e w o r k s h o p from t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y i n t h e m i d - T h a m e s V a l l e y who o u t l i n e d c u r r e n t p o l i c i e s of t h e i r o r g a n i s a t i o n s and

demonstrated practical achievements: namely Dr B. Hughes (Thames Water Authority), Mr B. Berenjyskyj (British Waterways Board), Mr Fisher (Greenham Lock Marina), Mr K. McGarry (Leisure & Arts Office, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead) and Mr K. Messenger (Madame Tussauds, Windsor). In addition the editors must acknowledge the financial support of the Departments of Economics and Geography at the university of Reading which made the workshop possible and the British Council (Amsterdam Office) towards the costs of the Dutch participants. In particular we recognise our debt to, and thank most sincerely, Rosa Husain for preparation of the camera-ready typescript and Sheila Dance for preparing the diagrams. B.G. and G.A.

Chapter 1 HOW TOURISTS CHOOSE THEIR HOLIDAYS: FRAMEWORK

AN ANALYTICAL

Brian Goodall

THE HOLIDAY HABIT

T a k i n g h o l i d a y s i s major i n t e r n a t i o n a l b u s i n e s s . The market i s world-wide and tourism i s an i n t e r n a t i o n a l growth i n d u s t r y . Increased r e a l disposable income, l o n g e r h o l i d a y s with pay, improved o p p o r t u n i t i e s for m o b i l i t y , b e t t e r education and wider d i s s e m i n a t i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n have a l l c o n t r i b u t e d t o w a r d s c h a n g i n g p e o p l e ’ s a t t i t u d e s about t a k i n g t h e i r h o l i d a y s away from home. F i r s t r o b o t i z a t i o n in t h e f a c t o r y and now computerization in t h e o f f i c e have so s t a n d a r d i z e d work t h a t , f o r t h o s e i n employment, t h e r e i s an i n c r e a s e d need f o r p e r i o d s away from humdrum everyday r o u t i n e . S i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e 1 9 6 0 s w o r l d t o u r i s m , a s measured by i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s , has grown a t a r a t e of over 6 per cent each year and the underlying t r e n d , d e s p i t e some i n s t a b i l i t y in the mid-1980s, allows continued growth in demand for h o l i d a y s t o be f o r e c a s t . A h o l i d a y i s seen by t h e i n d i v i d u a l and the family as a most d e s i r a b l e p r o d u c t . Once indulged in t h e holiday h a b i t enjoys a high ranking in p e o p l e ’ s f u t u r e b u d g e t s : e v e n an i n c r e a s i n g consumer p r i o r i t y . H o l i d a y s a r e a m a i n s t a y of behaviour p a t t e r n s in advanced w e s t e r n s o c i e t i e s and any s u r v e y of h o l i d a y i n t e n t i o n s w i l l l e n d support to the importance attached to holidaymaking. S u s t a i n e d growth i n a g g r e g a t e t o u r i s t flows masks v a r i a t i o n in t h e t y p e s of h o l i d a y s taken and d e s t i n a t i o n s v i s i t e d , the l a t t e r responding p a r t i c u l a r l y t o f l o a t i n g e x c h a n g e r a t e s and o s c i l l a t i n g fuel p r i c e s . Tourism i s a h i g h l y competitive i n d u s t r y and t h e message conveyed t o t h e p o t e n t i a l h o l i d a y - m a k e r i s one of i n c r e a s e d c h o i c e . More d e s t i n a t i o n s , in more c o u n t r i e s , a r e a v a i l a b l e ; a w i d e r v a r i e t y of h o l i d a y t y p e s , 1

How T o u r i s t s Choose Holidays e s p e c i a l l y a c t i v i t y o n e s , a r e on o f f e r ; w h i l s t t r a v e l , accommodation and timing arrangements a r e now s u f f i c i e n t l y f l e x i b l e f o r i n d i v i d u a l t a i l o r made h o l i d a y s . The p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t appears s p o i l t for c h o i c e ! T o u r i s t s h a v e h i g h e x p e c t a t i o n s of t h e i r f o r t h c o m i n g h o l i d a y and a l s o demand v a l u e f o r money. Given such c h o i c e between numerous competing d e s t i n a t i o n s they w i l l f a v o u r t h o s e h o l i d a y s which o f f e r t h e f u l l e s t r e a l i s a t i o n of their expectations. But how do t o u r i s t s c h o o s e t h e i r holiday? THE HOLIDAY SELECTION PROCESS

A holiday i s a h i g h - r i s k purchase because, u n l i k e most o t h e r r e t a i l p u r c h a s e s , t h e t o u r i s t can n e i t h e r d i r e c t l y observe what i s being bought, nor t r y i t out i n e x p e n s i v e l y . Previous e x p e r i e n c e of t h e holiday-maker or h i s a c q u a i n t a n c e s i s s i m i l a r l y a poor p r e d i c t o r of f u t u r e s a t i s f a c t i o n a s t h e c o n d i t i o n s determining success a r e s p e c i f i c in time and s p a c e . Holiday planning (whether and where t o go) t a k e s p l a c e o v e r a l o n g t i m e , a l t h o u g h t h e planning horizon d i f f e r s between types of t o u r i s t . This planning and a n t i c i p a t i o n , which i n Western Europe i s in f u l l swing by January for h o l i d a y s t o be taken in the summer, i s an important a s p e c t of t h e e x p e r i e n c e i t s e l f and a p o t e n t s o u r c e of satisfaction. This i m p l i e s , as c o n c e p t u a l i s e d i n F i g . 1 . 1 , a p r o c e s s w h i c h i s s y s t e m a t i c and sequential. Such c o n c e p t u a l i s a t i o n , h o w e v e r , a c k n o w l e d g e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e of a b e h a v i o u r a l p e r s p e c t i v e i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g how p e o p l e make holiday decisions. At b e s t t h e t o u r i s t i s a s a t i s f i c e r a c t i n g w i t h i n i m p l i c i t and e x p l i c i t c o n s t r a i n t s of an u n c e r t a i n environment. Motivations For any i n d i v i d u a l t h e d e c i s i o n t o t a k e a h o l i d a y stems from both needs and d e s i r e s . On t h e one hand needs a r e i n t r i n s i c , an i n n a t e c o n d i t i o n a r i s i n g from a lack of something necessary t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l ’ s w e l l - b e i n g , and r e f l e c t e m o t i o n a l , s p i r i t u a l and p h y s i c a l d r i v e s . On t h e o t h e r hand d e s i r e s are e x t r i n s i c , a feeling that the i n d i v i d u a l would g e t p l e a s u r e or s a t i s f a c t i o n from d o i n g s o m e t h i n g , and a r e a c q u i r e d t h r o u g h and 2

How Tourists Choose Holidays dependent on the value system prevalent in society. Together, needs and desires determine motivations, i.e. definite and positive inclinations to do something. Motivations for pleasure travel contain push factors related to the home environment, such as break from work, escape from routine, or respite from everyday worries, and pull factors related to the stimulus of new places and the attractions of destinations. Motivations have been classified (see, for example, Mathieson & Wall, 1982; Murphy, 1985) as (i) physical (or physiological), e.g. search for relaxation, health, sport, or challenge; (ii) cultural, i.e. the wish to learn about foreign places; (iii) social, e.g. the visits made to friends and relatives, or for prestige or status reasons; and (iv) fantasy (or personal), i.e. escape from present reality. Such motivations, weighed against other circumstances affecting the individual, influence the propensity to take a holiday but not the decision to go to a particular holiday destination. Images

H a v i n g d e c i d e d t o t a k e a h o l i d a y what i n f l u e n c e s the i n d i v i d u a l ’ s choice of d e s t i n a t i o n ? To convert m o t i v a t i o n s i n t o a holiday t r i p r e q u i r e s the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of the t o u r i s t ’ s p r e f e r e n c e s and a k n o w l e d g e of h o l i d a y o p p o r t u n i t i e s . Mental images a r e t h e b a s i s of t h e e v a l u a t i o n or s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s ( s e e dashed e l l i p s e i n F i g . 1 . 1 ) . All a c t i v i t i e s and e x p e r i e n c e s a r e g i v e n m e n t a l r a t i n g s , good o r bad, and each i n d i v i d u a l , given t h e i r p e r s o n a l l i k e s and d i s l i k e s , h a s a p r e f e r e n t i a l image of t h e i r i d e a l h o l i d a y . This c o n d i t i o n s t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s , s e t t i n g an a s p i r a t i o n l e v e l or e v a l u a t i v e image, a g a i n s t which a c t u a l holiday o p p o r t u n i t i e s a r e compared. An i n d i v i d u a l ’ s p e r c e p t i o n of h o l i d a y destinations, i.e. their travel awareness, is c o n d i t i o n e d by the information a v a i l a b l e . At any given time each i n d i v i d u a l , as shown in F i g . 1 . 1 , i s a w a r e of o n l y p a r t of t h e t o t a l h o l i d a y opportunity s e t . From i n f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e r e g a r d i n g t h i s p e r c e i v e d opportunity set the p o t e n t i a l holiday-maker c o n s t r u c t s a naive (or f a c t u a 1 ) i m a g e of e a c h d e s t i n a t i o n . That i n f o r m a t i o n may be d e r i v e d from formal s o u r c e s , e . g . t r a v e l a g e n t s , holiday b r o c h u r e s , or informal sources, e.g. friends. Amongst t h e p e r c e i v e d 3

How Tourists Choose Holidays

Figure 1.1: The tourist’s holiday decision

NEEDS and DESIRES

MOTIVATIONS to take a holiday

PREFERENCES

OPPORTUNITY IMAGES

PERCEPTIONS

EXPECTATIONS

SET

EVALUATION of alternative holidays

DECISION (Holiday booking)

HOLIDAY

SATISFACTION

4

How Tourists Choose Holidays opportunity set will be several destinations which a p p e a r to m e e t t h e i n d i v i d u a l ’ s h o l i d a y expectations and these must be evaluated further, according to criteria such as family, home and work circumstances; value for money; and destination attractions. This combination of holiday trip features and destination resources constitute the basis for holiday selection within the constraints imposed by generation point characteristics. Having identified the holiday in a particular destination which appears to exceed the aspiration level by the greatest amount the tourist makes a booking. Between booking and departure there is an anticipatory phase during which an individual’s expectations and perceptions may be refined as more information is obtained. Then comes the holiday, which may or may not come up to expectation. The tourist enjoys a certain level of satisfaction from the holiday and this induces feedback effects (see Fig. 1.1) on motivations, preferences, expectations and perceptions of a reinforcing nature, where a highly satisfactory holiday experience, or of an adaptive or modifying nature, where the experience, in part or overall, was not up to expectation. Thus, at any point in time, each tourist has a certain accumulation of mental images about a variety of holiday experiences in a number of destinations. CHOICE OF RESORT Tourists vary not only in respect to their accumulated knowledge of holiday experiences and opportunities but also in terms of the extent to which their choice of holiday destination is a systematised process. A behavioural, rather than a normative economic perspective is therefore required to understand how people reach decisions and act upon their experiences (see also Mathieson & Wall, 1982). Thus the tourist’s annual holiday choice may be conceptualised in more detail as a search process (see Fig. 1.2) which acknowledges tourists differ in their abilities to obtain and use information about holiday opportunities. The potential tourist interacts with an environment (comprising nested behavioural, perceptual, operational and phenomenal elements) which determines not only the holiday opportunities available but also the tourist’s motivations and preferences regarding holiday-making. Once the 5

How T o u r i s t s Choose Holidays Figure 1.2: The tourist’s annual holiday search process

POTENTIAL TOURIST

ENVIRONMENT

MOTIVATIONS

HOLIDAY PREFERENCES

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES

Stay at home

Holiday away from home

SPECIFY HOLIDAY REQUIREMENTS

SEARCH PROCESS

Existing spatial knowledge

Systematic information search

Preliminary filtering of destination regions

HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE

Search for suitable resort in acceptable destination regions

Evaluate alternative resorts in terms of holiday requirements

Judged satisfactory

Rejected as unsatisfactory

Store resort for comparison with others

Repeated failure

Compare satisfactory resorts: select most satisfactory

BOOK HOLIDAY

6

Modify holiday requirements

Reorganize search process

Abandon search: no holiday

How Tourists Choose Holidays decision to go away on holiday, rather than stay at home, has been made the requirements of the holiday must be specified: these will depend on factors such as whether the tourist will be accompanied by family or friends, the type of holiday sought is activity- or touring-based or is a traditional seaside one. The search process The t o u r i s t s t h e n begin a search process t o find the holiday which b e s t matches t h e i r requirements w i t h i n the l i m i t s imposed by what they c a n a f f o r d a n d t h e t i m i n g of t h e i r other commitments. C o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i e t y e x i s t s in t h e s e a r c h b e h a v i o u r of p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s w i t h p l a n n i n g h o r i z o n s and p r e p a r a t i o n s d i f f e r i n g markedly between types of t o u r i s t . At one extreme i s the‘ i m p u l s e buyer’ who, walking along t h e high s t r e e t , i s a t t r a c t e d by a‘ c u t - p r i c e immediate d e p a r t u r e p a c k a g e ’a d v e r t i s e d in the t r a v e l a g e n t ’ s window. T h i s t o u r i s t makes up h i s mind on t h e s p o t , e n t e r s t h e t r a v e l agency, books up, and i s away on h o l i d a y i n a m a t t e r of d a y s . Here t h e p l a n n i n g h o r i z o n i s a t i t s s h o r t e s t and t h e d e c i s i o n i s obviously made on the b a s i s of e x i s t i n g s p a t i a l knowledge. At t h e o t h e r extreme i s t h e ‘meticulous p l a n n e r ’- the t o u r i s t who o b t a i n s upt o - d a t e i n f o r m a t i o n from t r a v e l a g e n t s , t o u r o p e r a t o r s ’ b r o c h u r e s , t o u r i s t b o a r d s and s i m i l a r o r g a n i s a t i o n s and compares p r i c e s in d e t a i l before p u t t i n g t o g e t h e r a t a i l o r - m a d e package. Here t h e p l a n n i n g h o r i z o n a p p r o a c h e s a f u l l year with advance p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r n e x t y e a r ’ s h o l i d a y b e g i n n i n g as soon as t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r ’ s i s completed. In t h i s c a s e once a firm booking i s made p r e p a r a t i o n s continue in r e s p e c t of o b t a i n i n g a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e a t t r a c t i o n of t h e s e l e c t e d r e s o r t , e . g . o p e n i n g t i m e s of h i s t o r i c houses or s a f a r i p a r k s , r o u t e s for scenic d r i v e s or excursions. In between t h e s e two extremes holiday search behaviour involves an enormous v a r i e t y of c o m b i n a t i o n s of e x i s t i n g s p a t i a l knowledge and s p e c i f i c information g a t h e r i n g . N o v e l t y i s an i m p o r t a n t r e q u i r e m e n t of a holiday d e s t i n a t i o n but for many would-be t o u r i s t s t h i s may be o f f s e t by the worry and u n c e r t a i n t y of coping with the u n f a m i l i a r . T h i s b a l a n c e of o p p o s i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s of novelty and s e c u r i t y i s seen as e s p e c i a l l y r e l e v a n t t o d e t e r m i n i n g where 7

How T o u r i s t s Choose Holidays p e o p l e a r e p r e p a r e d t o go a b r o a d ( S o c i a l & Community P l a n n i n g R e s e a r c h , 1 9 7 2 ) . Thus a preliminary filtering of destination r e g i o n s / c o u n t r i e s i s made by many t o u r i s t s in which t h e i r e x i s t i n g s p a t i a l knowledge i s i m p o r t a n t i n r u l i n g out some d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s because ‘ p e o p l e t h e r e a r e reputed t o be u n f r i e n d l y ’ ,‘ t h e food i s d i s l i k e d ’ , ‘ t h e r e a r e bound t o be l a n g u a g e difficulties’, etc. Where e x i s t i n g k n o w l e d g e c o m p r i s e s good p r e v i o u s h o l i d a y e x p e r i e n c e s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t may by-pass t h i s f i r s t s t a g e and p r o c e e d d i r e c t l y to the search for a s u i t a b l e r e s o r t in an a c c e p t a b l e d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a . Whilst t h e r e i s a degree of r e p e a t v i s i t i n g t o c o u n t r i e s , there i s evidence t h a t t o u r i s t s d i s p l a y g r e a t e r o r i g i n a l i t y when i t comes t o c h o o s i n g r e s o r t s w i t h i n t h e s e c o u n t r i e s ( C a r r i c k , 1985). For some t o u r i s t s an e a r l i e r h o l i d a y d e c i s i o n , such as t h e purchase of a second home or t i m e - s h a r e i n t e r e s t , may c o n d i t i o n s u b s e q u e n t h o l i d a y s t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t they a p p e a r h a b i t u a l ( u n l e s s , f o r e x a m p l e , second-home owners and t i m e - s h a r e r s p a r t i c i p a t e in exchange schemes). Evaluation of alternatives Returning to Fig. 1.2 and the search for a suitable resort: each resort c o n s i d e r e d by potential tourists must be evaluated against their detailed holiday requirements. Where the first resort which meets these requirements is selected the tourist is acting very much as a satisficer (although this should also be viewed in terms of the propensity of the tourist to visit new resorts on each vacation). Where several resorts which fulfil the r e q u i r e m e n t s ’test are stored for comparison the tourist is practicing a form of optimizing behaviour within a context of bounded rationality, the assumption being that the resort selected is the one which it is anticipated will best satisfy the tourist’s requirements. If the potential tourists are unable to find an acceptable resort then they must consider modifying their holiday requirements and/or reorganising their search process: failing that they abandon the search and do not go away on holiday. It must be emphasized that the search process undertaken by a potential tourist seeking a new destination to visit is restricted to obtaining information in a secondary form: namely, tour 8

How Tourists Choose Holidays operators’ brochures, official guide books, tourist board promotional literature, advice from travel agents, friends 1 comments about their holidays. Site visits, which are an integral part of search processes in the case of house purchase or factory location, are not made by the potential tourist: at least, that is, not until he/she actually goes on holiday - by then the commitment has already been made. If the holiday turns out to be less than satisfactory it becomes part of the tourist’s accumulated experience which will influence motivations, preferences and requirements for subsequent holidays. However, it has been argued (Gitelson & Crompton, 1983) that systematic information search of external sources is used much more frequently in making holiday and travelrelated decisions than in consumer decisions to purchase most other types of product. This reflects, of course, the tourist’s propensity to visit new destinations on each holiday. Main holidays taken by tourists tend to be better planned than second or subsidiary ones (Marketing Sciences, 1982). Choice of holiday resorts and the extent of holiday travel depend, for most tourists, as much on the amount of free time people have and when it occurs and what they can afford to spend as it does on the intrinsic attractiveness of the special facilities and natural resources of the resorts. The point of decision may not always be as precise as conceptualised and is made in terms of an image efficiency or anticipated experience criterion (kept within the tourist’s time, money and other limits)(Gunn, 1972). Where prices are comparable image is the decisive factor in holiday choice. So far the analysis has assumed that choice of holiday resort was a package involving travel, accommodation and, probably, excursions. This certainly holds true for inclusive tours abroad but there is a clear difference in the way people regard accommodation’ as a component of a holiday abroad compared to a home country one (Marketing Sciences, 1982). For holidays abroad accommodation is seen as part of the total package but for a home country holiday the choice of accommodation will be a separate consideration in which economic factors, rather than preference, govern that choice. There is also a preference, especially in the case of home country holidays, for destinations that can be reached inside a day’s travel (Social & Community Planning Research, 1972). 9

How Tourists Choose Holidays HOLIDAY SELECTION AS AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK Participation in tourism is voluntary and personal. Destination areas are competing to attract holiday-makers and the discussion above highlights the importance of the would-be tourists’ mental images of possible holiday destinations, i.e. tourism products. Likewise, marketing and consumer researchers frequently stress the role of image in consumer product preference (Hunt, 1975). Although such images represent, in the case of holiday-making a very personal, composite view of a destination’s tourism potential the images held by any person are not static, unchanging. At any g i v e n time a p e r s o n p o s s e s s e s a c e r t a i n accumulation of images about a great number of holiday experiences, some personal but many secondhand. These images, for each person, will be modified and added to with each a d d i t i o n a l experience and by further exposure to a variety of information sources. The implications for tourist destinaton areas are clear. First, unless a given destination figures amongst a would-be tourist’s current set of mental images it has no chance of being selected as the holiday base. Second, where it does figure in the tourist’s image set a very positive image of that destination must be projected in the tourist’s mind for it to be selected in preference to an alternative. T h i r d , w h e r e the tourist is successfully enticed to a destination it is equally important that the satisfaction derived from the holiday at least matches the expectations created by the image - otherwise the tourist will not wish to return and will not recommend that destination to friends (indeed, the dissatisfied tourist may be instrumental in implanting a negative image in the minds of friends). Personal images can therefore not only be influenced by, but can be manipulated, even created by forces external to the individual. Here is an opportunity for the tourism industry. In practice, however, it must be admitted that these personal images are more often created as a result of the t o u r i s t s ’general media exposure (an area over which the tourism industry has no control) than the promotional activities of tourism organisations. But it is during the formulation and reformulation of mental images held by holiday-makers that the demand and supply sides of the tourism industry are first drawn into explicit contact. Hence the 10

How T o u r i s t s Choose Holidays i m p o r t a n c e of p r o m o t i o n , or a d v e r t i s i n g , t o a d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a : t h e need t o p r o j e c t and make widely known an image t h a t w i l l a t t r a c t t o u r i s t s . The e f f e c t i v e t r a n s m i s s i o n of the ‘ o f f i c i a l ’ image of a d e s t i n a t i o n area v i a promotional a c t i v i t i e s of t h e tourism i n d u s t r y i s another matter! How do t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s s e e k i n g t o promote p o t e n t i a l d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s e s t a b l i s h what holiday-makers want and whether an area can s a t i s f y those wants? T o u r i s t b o a r d s , t o u r o p e r a t o r s and o t h e r firms and o r g a n i s a t i o n s w i t h i n the i n d u s t r y need t o o b t a i n s y s t e m a t i c information on p o t e n t i a l markets for t h e i r p r o d u c t s . To market a t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s u c c e s s f u l l y r e q u i r e s t h a t product t o be t a i l o r e d a c c u r a t e l y t o i d e n t i f i e d p a t t e r n s of c o n s u m e r demand. Market r e s e a r c h e r s use a s p e c i a l i s e d form of i n - d e p t h i n t e r v i e w i n g of consumers – p r o t o c a l r e s e a r c h – which focuses on the decision-making process u n d e r l y i n g market behaviour. In the case of tourism i t s use has been p r i m a r i l y t o i d e n t i f y holiday i n t e n t i o n s (Marketing S c i e n c e s , 1982) b u t t h e r e may be a gap between i n t e n t and a c t u a l b e h a v i o u r . An a l t e r n a t i v e , commonly used approach i s t o study o v e r t behaviour, i . e . where t o u r i s t s a c t u a l l y go, and t o use t h e s e ‘ v i s i t a t i o n r a t e s ’ as a s u r r o g a t e for t o u r i s t preferences. With European c o u n t r i e s now r e c o r d i n g well o v e r 200 m i l l i o n t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s e v e r y y e a r , t h r e e - q u a r t e r s of whom come from another European c o u n t r y , and w i t h t h e p r o n o u n c e d f l o w s t o p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n c o u n t r i e s , such as Spain, i t i s understandable why c u r r e n t behaviour i s taken as a measure of t o u r i s t p r e f e r e n c e s . In Chapter 2 Brian Goodall r e v i e w s p a t t e r n s of t o u r i s t flows between European c o u n t r i e s b u t n o t e s t h a t those p a t t e r n s , and c h a n g e s i n them, r e f l e c t n o t o n l y t o u r i s t p r e f e r e n c e s but a l s o the o p p o r t u n i t i e s the tourism i n d u s t r y makes a v a i l a b l e in the market i n t h e t o u r i s t ’ s home c o u n t r y . Supply can g e n e r a t e i t s own demand ( e s p e c i a l l y where much of t h e demand i s ‘ l a t e n t ’ ) , a s w e l l a s v i c e v e r s a , and i n c r e a s i n g l y for the mass tourism market i t i s the a c t i v i t i e s of t h e i n d u s t r y , e s p e c i a l l y the tour o p e r a t o r s , t h a t l a r g e l y determine the volume flows. However, not a l l t o u r i s t s wish t o be packaged on an i n c l u s i v e t o u r along with the hordes going t o the most p o p u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n s . Some – t h e more a d v e n t u r o u s , i n d e p e n d e n t , e x p l o r e r t y p e s – seek something d i f f e r e n t . In t h a t context E r l e t C a t e r , in Chapter 3 , d i s c u s s e s the t o u r i s m p o t e n t i a l of 11

How T o u r i s t s Choose Holidays the l e a s t developed of t h e Third World c o u n t r i e s : c o u n t r i e s which have y e t t o b r e a k i n t o t h e international t o u r i s t c i r c u i t . She a l s o a r g u e s t h a t t h e development of tourism in such c o u n t r i e s w i l l not be unequivocally b e n e f i c i a l . Before choosing a h o l i d a y t h e would-be t o u r i s t needs a c e r t a i n amount of i n f o r m a t i o n . Without such i n f o r m a t i o n t h e t o u r i s t would be unable t o form n a i v e images of p o t e n t i a l d e s t i n a t i o n s . Unless t o u r i s t s a r e planning h o l i d a y s , using t h e i r own c a r s in t h e i r home c o u n t r y , v i s i t i n g f r i e n d s a n d r e l a t i v e s , i n f o r m a t i o n w i l l n e e d t o be c o l l e c t e d and r e s e r v a t i o n s w i l l most l i k e l y need t o be made. How do w o u l d - b e t o u r i s t s o b t a i n t h e necessary information and develop an awareness of t h e r a n g e of h o l i d a y s and d e s t i n a t i o n s (the opportunity set) available? Information i s drawn from s o u r c e s b o t h i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l t o t h e t o u r i s t ( G i t e l s o n & Crompton, 1 9 8 3 ) . Internal sources represent a person’s past experiences: w h i l s t t h e s e may i m p a r t k n o w l e d g e of p l a c e s p r e v i o u s l y v i s i t e d f u r t h e r information i s r e q u i r e d on new d e s t i n a t i o n s , as well as on c u r r e n t t r a v e l a r r a n g e m e n t s , accommodation, and p r i c e l e v e l s . External sources providing t h i s additional i n f o r m a t i o n may be e i t h e r f o r m a l , e . g . t r a v e l a g e n c i e s , t o u r i s t information o f f i c e s which have t o be a c t i v e l y s o u g h t o u t , o r i n f o r m a l , such a s f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s . Destination–specific l i t e r a t u r e and t h e media, which a r e non–personal and formal s o u r c e s , g e n e r a l l y perform an informing f u n c t i o n , i . e . h e l p i n g a t o u r i s t t o g e n e r a t e naive images, whereas f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s , as w e l l a s t r a v e l a g e n t s , assume an e v a l u a t i n g or l e g i t i m i z i n g function, i . e . influence a would-be t o u r i s t ’ s p r e f e r e n t i a l and e v a l u a t i v e images. Much a c t i v i t y in t h e tourism i n d u s t r y i s aimed not only a t informing t h e would-be t o u r i s t s of t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s but a l s o at being p e r s u a s i v e , c r e a t i n g a f a v o u r a b l e i m a g e of a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n or tourism p r o d u c t , such as a c r u i s e . T o u r o p e r a t o r s u s e t e l e v i s i o n and o t h e r media a d v e r t i s e m e n t s t o p r o c l a i m t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y of t h e i r h o l i d a y b r o c h u r e s , which a r e d e s i g n e d t o persuade the holiday-maker t o p u r c h a s e from t o u r o p e r a t o r‘ A ’ r a t h e r than t o u r o p e r a t o r‘ B ’ . Most tour o p e r a t o r s ’ brochures are d i s t r i b u t e d via t r a v e l agents who a c t as i m p a r t i a l a d v i s e r s on the o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r and d e t a i l e d a v a i l a b i l i t y of holidays. T o u r i s t b o a r d s , n a t i o n a l and r e g i o n a l , s e e k t o p r o m o t e a f a v o u r a b l e image of t h e i r 12

How Tourists Choose Holidays

p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n area by v a r i o u s means, e . g . the d i s t r i b u t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e , ‘ t r i a l v i s i t s ’ for r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of t o u r o p e r a t o r s and t r a v e l agencies. On a r r i v a l i n t h e h o l i d a y l o c a l i t y t o u r i s t i n f o r m a t i o n o f f i c e s p r o v i d e a r a n g e of i n f o r m a t i o n and s e r v i c e s , e s p e c i a l l y r e l a t i n g t o c u r r e n t e v e n t s , for the t o u r i s t s . Focus i s h e r e p l a c e d on two a s p e c t s of information p r o v i s i o n in the tourism i n d u s t r y . F i r s t , in Chapter 4, Maurice Buck expands on the r o l e of the t r a v e l agency in i n f o r m i n g and a d v i s i n g h o l i d a y - m a k e r s of t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s a v a i l a b l e , and draws a d i s t i n c t i o n between the independent and m u l t i p l e t r a v e l agency in r e s p e c t of the n a t u r e and q u a l i t y of the s e r v i c e offered t o the p u b l i c . In a d d i t i o n he d i s c u s s e s t h e p r e s s u r e s t r a v e l a g e n c i e s f a c e from t o u r o p e r a t o r s (whose p r o d u c t s t h e a g e n c i e s a r e r e t a i l i n g ) . Second, t h e view of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n area seeking t o e s t a b l i s h or improve i t s image i s o u t l i n e d by Stan Bowes in Chapter 5. He provides a review of the s t r u c t u r e , functions and p o l i c i e s of t o u r i s t b o a r d s , u s i n g t h e Thames and C h i l t e r n s T o u r i s t Board as a c a s e s t u d y . Innovative p r o m o t i o n of t h e a r e a ’ s t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s i s h i g h l i g h t e d which r e q u i r e s acknowledgement of t h e e x t e n t t o which t h e h o l i d a y m a r k e t i s a h i g h l y segmented one. D e s t i n a t i o n s compete, even in a growing market, for t o u r i s t s s i n c e t h e i r products a r e often close substitutes. Thus the European ‘sunlust’ tourist wanting sun, sand and sea in a fully s e r v i c e d package w i l l find very s i m i l a r h o l i d a y s a v a i l a b l e in Spain, France, I t a l y , Yugoslavia, G r e e c e , T u n i s i a , as w e l l as o u t s i d e the Mediterranean. The i m a g e p r o j e c t e d of a d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a by i t s t o u r i s m agencies and by tour operators offering holidays there i s c r i t i c a l . A p o s i t i v e image, a high p r o f i l e i s e s s e n t i a l t o keep t h e t o u r i s t s c o m i n g . T h a t image c a n be damaged by circumstances beyond the c o n t r o l of the tourism i n d u s t r y as witnessed by the p u b l i c i t y i n 1985,6 given t o both the bomb t h r e a t s by ETA (the Basque s e p a r a t i s t movement) and the muggings in the c a s e of S p a n i s h c o a s t a l r e s o r t s . Established d e s t i n a t i o n s cannot r e s t on t h e i r l a u r e l s but need t o r e a p p r a i s e t h e i r a t t r a c t i o n s and s u p p o r t i n g f a c i l i t i e s i n o r d e r t o c o m p e t e w i t h new d e s t i n a t i o n s equipped with the most modern h o t e l s and f a c i l i t i e s . Much e f f o r t i n t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y i s t h e r e f o r e d i r e c t e d a t formulating and m a r k e t i n g d e s t i n a t i o n images and t h e r a n g e of 13

How Tourists Choose Holidays destinations getting in on the act is forever widening as new market segments are tapped. How can tourists be seduced? Do the images conveyed by the destination agencies and the tour operators measure up to the preferential images of the wouldbe tourist and do they succeed in attracting tourists? Chapters 6 to 12 are all concerned with aspects of these questions. Attention rightly focuses on the attractions and facilities of the holiday destination but the holiday experience, like the outdoor recreation experience (Clawson & Knetsch, 1966), can also be v i e w e d as a f i v e - p h a s e e x p e r i e n c e w i t h anticipatory, outward travel, holiday resort experience, return travel and recollection phases. Minimal attention has been given to the travel phases of the overall experience. Such neglect may be acceptable in the case of the British tourist off on an inclusive tour to the Spanish sun where outward and return travel by charter flights at unsocial times adds little or nothing to the satisfaction derived from the holiday. But the travel element could be important in raising the level of satisfaction enjoyed: for example, on the continent of Europe where surface travel to holiday destinations is quite common. Such traffic, based on the use of the private car, normally uses the quickest route but if travel adds positively to the h o l i d a y e x p e r i e n c e some d e t o u r ( s ) may be acceptable. Special tourist routes can be planned, i.e. long-distance routes connecting the tourists’ home area(s) with their holiday a r e a ( s ) . In Chapter 6 Jan Bergsma discusses the planning of one such route in the northern Netherlands - the Green Coast Road which offers Danes, Germans and Swedes heading for the Dutch, Belgian and French coasts supplementary opportunities. Where tourists are persuaded to make a detour, even an overnight stop, en route to or from their holiday destination the economic benefits from tourism are spread more widely and intermediate regions can participate in tourism. Destination images reflect not only the natural attractions of an area, which are usually the basis of initial tourism development, but also f a c i l i t i e s w h i c h have been c r e a t e d , from recreational, e.g. golf courses, to supporting ones, such as hotels. At the extreme the tourism rationale may be wholly created, as in the case of Disneyland of Legoland. In Chapter 7, Henk Voogd outlines efforts in central Limburg to realise the 14

How Tourists Choose Holidays potential of the worked-out gravel pits along the river Maas for water-based recreation: creating facilities attractive to German tourists. The necessary investment funds for tourism development are often drawn from outside the destination region and subsequent operation may also use external production factors and supplies. The economic benefits of tourism development may then be reduced for the destination region - a line of argument Thea Sinclair and Charles Sutcliffe take up, in Chapter 8, in their case study of the hotel sector in Malaga. Once tourists have arrived at a destination they may be persuaded to undertake extra or different activities to those anticipated in their preferential holiday image. Thus in Chapter 9, following a theoretical discussion of image in economic demand theory, Mike Stabler reports on a study which relates availability and use of publicity material available in the coastal resorts of Languedoc-Roussillon to the evaluative images the holiday-makers hold of those resorts. His conclusion points to a marked difference between the promotional images of the ‘ s u p p l i e r s ’ of tourism products and the naive and evaluative images held by tourists. Identification of a particular tourism product is the theme of Chapter 10 in which Greg Ashworth examines the potential for heritage tourism and considers the problems of effective marketing of the historic city as a tourism product. Destination areas, amongst the first into the business of attracting tourists, which have lost their competitive edge are forced into a reassessment of the image they seek to project. This is especially true of traditional seaside resorts in northern Europe. Bryan Brown, in Chapter 11, emphasizes that promotion has always been a prominent feature of major British seaside resorts but he concentrates on their current problems, illustrating the varied approaches these resorts are now adopting to promote their future in tourism. Stabler, Ashworth and Brown all agree on the requirement for destination areas to market their tourism product(s) e f f e c t i v e l y , i.e. promotion which creates in the tourists’ minds a naive image which matches their preferential image. Tourism, especially in Europe, remains largely a private sector industry but one in which government, from local to national levels, takes an increasing interest. Governments can be involved directly in the entrepreneurial process of tourism 15

How Tourists Choose Holidays development but more frequently they perform a supporting or co-ordinating role in marketing. In Chapter 12 Greg Ashworth and Mike Stabler combine to evaluate the relative success of a government tourism development planning agency, Le Mission, in Languedoc-Roussillon. Even where government does not involve itself as entrepreneur in the tourism development process it must consider its role in supporting the promotion and marketing of tourism. Here there is scope for improvement and, in Chapter 13, Martinus Kosters calls on governments, at national, regional and local levels, to adopt a professional m a n a g e m e n t a p p r o a c h to their involvement in tourism promotion which acknowledges the various changes tourism demand and supply are currently undergoing. In conclusion (Chapter 14) Brian Goodall and Greg Ashworth consider the problems faced in matching the demand and supply images of tourism. Tourist images certainly influence holiday-makers’ choice of destinations: therefore the perceptions held by potential tourists about a destination will be a significant influence on that destination’s viability as a holiday centre. There is a difference between exposure to information and effectiveness of information. Tourism promotion must convey an appropriate image of a destination area’s attractions: the lessons for tourism management are clearly indicated. REFERENCES

C a r r i c k , R. (1985) Typing T o u r i s t s , Dept of Geographical Sciences, Huddersfield Polytechnic, Huddersfield Clawson, M. & Knetsch, J . L . (1966) Economics of Outdoor R e c r e a t i o n , J o h n s Hopkins P r e s s for Resources for t h e F u t u r e , Baltimore G i t e l s o n , R . J . & Crompton, J . L . (1983) The p l a n n i n g h o r i z o n s and s o u r c e s of i n f o r m a t i o n u s e d by p l e a s u r e v a c a t i o n e r s , J . of Travel Research, 23 ( 3 ) , 2-7 Gunn, C A . (1972) V a c a t i o n s c a p e : Designing T o u r i s t R e g i o n s , B u r e a u of B u s i n e s s Research, U n i v e r s i t y of Texas, Austin Hunt, J . D . (1975) Image a s a f a c t o r i n t o u r i s t development, J . of Travel Research, 13 ( 3 ) , 1-7

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How T o u r i s t s Choose Holidays M a r k e t i n g S c i e n c e s (1982) The B r i t i s h Domestic H o l i d a y Market - P r o s p e c t s f o r t h e F u t u r e , Report prepared for t h e S c o t t i s h , Wales and N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d T o u r i s t B o a r d s and t h e B r i t i s h T o u r i s t A u t h o r i t y , London Mathieson, A. & Wall, G. (1982) Tourism; Economic, Physical and S o c i a l Impacts, Longman, London Murphy, P.E. (1985) Tourism: A Community Approach, Methuen, London S o c i a l & Community P l a n n i n g R e s e a r c h ( 1 9 7 2 ) A t t i t u d e s t o Holidays in Scotland and Wales, Social & Community Planning Research, London

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Chapter 2 CHANGING PATTERNS AND STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN TOURISM Brian Goodall

The 1960s was a period of‘explosive 1 growth for tourism and a volume growth of 6-7 per cent a year was resumed after the energy crisis of the early 1970s (Shackleford, 1979). Tourist demand has been less stable in the 1980s with a flattening of demand in the period 1980-3 (OECD Tourism Committee, 1984), a revival signalled in 1983 and consolidated in 1984 (OECD Tourism Committee, 1985) and 1985 but falling back in 1986 if media reports to date are correct. Holidays abroad are therefore an established fact of life for millions of people resident in the developed countries. International tourism is, for the most part, freely traded and there is increasing import and export penetration of all the major tourist markets. Europe dominates both tourist destinations and origins, a situation which has changed little over the past two decades. Between 1967 and 1981 international tourist arrivals (excluding daytrippers or excursionists) in Europe from other continents almost doubled (+94 per cent), as did tourist movements between European countries (+93.5 per cent) (Commission of the European Communities, 1985). European countries account for some 70 per cent of all international tourist arrivals and generate about two-thirds of all international tourists. Well over 200 million tourists visit European countries each year: of this number 84 per cent originate in another European country. Even so it should be remembered that international tourism accounts for only 15 per cent of all tourists since it is estimated that the ratio of international to domestic tourism is of the order of 1:8 (Commission of the European Communities, 1985). Europe’s importance in tourism statistics is, in part, due to the large number of contiguous countries within the continent, as compared for example with North America. 18

European Tourism The g r o w t h of E u r o p e a n h o l i d a y t o u r i s m r e f l e c t s higher s t a n d a r d s of l i v i n g , broader s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l h o r i z o n s , g r e a t e r m o b i l i t y a t d e c l i n i n g c o s t , and i n c r e a s e d l e i s u r e t i m e . However, t o u r i s t flows change t h e i r volume and d i r e c t i o n o v e r t i m e : s h i f t from one c o u n t r y t o a n o t h e r , from one type of d e s t i n a t i o n t o a n o t h e r , from one form of accommodation t o a n o t h e r . In the p a s t s e a s i d e ( e s p e c i a l l y ) , l a k e s i d e and mountain d e s t i n a t i o n s have been favoured but now h o l i d a y s have expanded t o i n c l u d e ‘ c a p i t a l s ’ t o u r i s m , c u l t u r a l t o u r i s m , h i s t o r i c i t i n e r a r i e s , and the s e a r c h for a d v e n t u r e and a c t i v i t y . Where d e s t i n a t i o n s abroad a r e involved t o u r i s t s express a marked preference for i n c l u s i v e t o u r s . I t w i l l be argued t h a t the main p a t t e r n s of European t o u r i s t movement can be explained in terms of the s t r u c t u r e of t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y and c h a n g i n g e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s . In c o n c l u s i o n t h e f u t u r e d i r e c t i o n s f o r European t o u r i s m and t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n of E u r o p e ’ s t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y a r e commented upon. PATTERNS OF EUROPEAN TOURISM

The volume of i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t t r a v e l has more than doubled over the l a s t 20 y e a r s , with an even g r e a t e r boom in domestic tourism. Comparative a n a l y s i s i s complicated because i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t s t a t i s t i c s a r e not a v a i l a b l e on a common b a s i s f o r a l l E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s . They u s e d i f f e r e n t bases for r e c o r d i n g v i s i t o r s , e . g . E i r e e x c l u d e s e x c u r s i o n i s t s but Greece i n c l u d e s them; A u s t r i a r e c o r d s v i s i t o r s in the h o s p i t a l i t y s e c t o r w h i l s t Sweden r e t u r n s numbers of n i g h t s spent by foreign t o u r i s t s . D e f i n i t i o n of t h e h o s p i t a l i t y s e c t o r v a r i e s , b e i n g c o n f i n e d t o h o t e l s in some countries, e . g . F i n l a n d , but covering a l l r e g i s t e r e d t o u r i s t accommodation, i n c l u d i n g camps i t e s , in o t h e r s , e . g . Denmark. Some c o u n t r i e s keep r e c o r d s under a l l headings, e . g . Yugoslavia, o t h e r s have s t a t i s t i c s a v a i l a b l e o n l y u n d e r a s i n g l e heading, e.g. Finland. No c o u n t r y has a c c u r a t e r e c o r d s of those s t a y i n g with f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s which i s g e n e r a l l y between 10 and 30 per cent of the t o t a l . Caution t h e r e f o r e has t o be e x e r c i s e d when i n t e r p r e t i n g g r o s s n a t i o n a l f i g u r e s of i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t s s i n c e a c o u n t r y making r e t u r n s on t h e b a s i s of foreign t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s in h o t e l s w i l l u n d e r e s t i m a t e numbers compared t o a 19

European Tourism country recording all foreign visitors at its frontiers. In addition there is no agreement on who constitutes a tourist. Available statistics are taken at their face value and it is assumed that the proportions of international tourists visiting a country from other countries are representative irrespective of the recording basis. Origins and destinations Spain dominates tourist destinations, and has done so for the past 20 years. In 1984 Spain hosted some 43 million visitors, i.e. nearly 1 in 4 of the tourists visiting Europe. France was second with 33 million visitors, and only Italy (19 million), Austria and the United Kingdom (both 14 million), of the other European countries, topped 10 million visitors. Such figures based on arrivals exaggerate the importance of transit countries, such as France and A u s t r i a , and conversely underestimate the importance of‘ l o n g stay’ destinations, especially the United Kingdom which has the longest-staying tourists in Europe. Figure 2.1 illustrates the relative importance of the countries of origin of tourists visiting Western Europe. Circles are shown the same size for each country because of the varying basis of the statistics mentioned above. For each destination country countries of origin are named where they account for more than 10 per cent of visitors, otherwise the groupings‘ R e s t of Europe’ and‘ R e s t of W o r l d ’are used. What stands out is the importance of West Germany as a source of tourists, since Germans account for over 10 per cent of visitors to every Western European country except Eire. The United Kingdom and the USA are also important sources for nearly half of the countries studied. A distance-decay factor o p e r a t e s demonstrating the importance of nearest neighbours as sources of a country’s visitors, e.g. Italians going to Yugoslavia, Swedes visiting Finland, Germans in The Netherlands: this dependency is most marked in the case of Eire on the UK. Whilst the propensity to holiday abroad is highest amongst the Danes, Dutch and Germans, in terms of the number of international tourists generated France, the United Kingdom and West Germany all‘ e x p o r t ’well over 20 million tourists each year (with Germany approaching 40 million). Only The Netherlands (c. 14 million) of the other 20

European Tourism Figure 2.1 : Origins of tourists visiting Western European countries

France Sweden

W. Germany United Kingdom U.S.A. ;Den

Rest of Europe

Swe Norway

Rest of World

0 Neth

0

:Swe

kilometres 200 400 200 miles

600 400

Belgium Neth.

Neth

Neth

Spain •Neth

Italy

Portugal

European c o u n t r i e s exceeds 10 m i l l i o n . S t a t i s t i c s of t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s may be r e o r g a n i s e d t o show (see F i g . 2 . 2 ) t h e d e s t i n a t i o n s f a v o u r e d by t o u r i s t s from each Western European country, although a‘ R e s t of World’ category i s not p o s s i b l e . Again c i r c l e s a r e t h e same s i z e for each country because of the v a r i a b l e s t a t i s t i c a l b a s e 21

European Tourism Figure 2.2: European destinations favoured by tourists from Western European countries

Spain France Italy W. Germany United Kingdom Swe.

Rest of Europe

Greece

Swe

Den.

Den.

0

kilometres 200 400

0

200 miles

600 400

Eire BelgLux.

Austria

Yugo.

Austria

Greece

Yugo Portugal

Yugo.

and countries are named only where they account for at least 10 per cent of tourists from the country. Clearly, Spain is the favoured destination for tourists from most Western European countries, with France and Italy very much second best. The flow of tourists generated by European countries as a whole 22

European Tourism continues to favour European destinations, with the overwhelming majority being within two hours’ flight time of the origin country. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n o r i g i n s and destinations may be generalised as a core-periphery model of tourism movement since those European countries which generate tourist flows are not the ones which usually receive them: there is little reciprocity. The flow is basically from the industrialised and urbanised countries of northern Europe, with their cool and often rainy summers, to the southern countries, where sunshine and warmth are guaranteed, but with their generally less welldeveloped economies or to the Alpine countries for winter sports. Such tourist flows are of marked significance for the balance of payments of individual countries, with those of southern Europe (especially Spain, Greece and Italy) enjoying a sizeable surplus on their‘travel account1 whilst those of northern Europe (most marked in the case of The Netherlands and West Germany) are in deficit. Holiday tourism It is argued here that holiday tourism is the most significant element in these flows. The statistics used, however, cover more than holidaymaking, but information on purpose of visit is not generally available. The proportion of tourists on holiday will vary between countries, with business tourism generally being more important the higher a country’s level of economic development. The nature of the variation can be illustrated for selected countries: holiday-makers account for 8590 per cent of all tourist arrivals in countries such as Greece, Portugal and Spain but only 50 per cent of visitors to the United Kingdom. Where visit purpose is distinguished private (as opposed to business) journeys are subdivided into holidays, visits to friends and relatives (VFR), and other (e.g. educational visits). The VFR category is significant for certain countries, e.g. 40 per cent of all tourists visiting Eire. The volume product of the European holiday market is the inclusive or‘ p a c k a g e ’tour: a useroriented‘ s u n and f u n ’holiday (alternatively the 4 S’s - sun, sand, sea and just a slight suggestion of sex) to the Mediterranean, taken in summer, travelling by air, and hotel based. This style of 23

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

(i)

Wintersports

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

SWEDEN SWITZERLAND AUSTRIA

NORWAY

(ii)‘Medsun’

Jan Feb. Mar Apr May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov Dec.

YUGOSLAVIA

GREECE

PORTUGAL

SPAIN

W.GERMANY

ENGLAND

(iii) Industrial

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Figure 2.3: Average monthly hotel occupancy rates for selected countries

Rate ( % )

Occupancy

24

European Tourism

holiday has accounted f o r much of t h e growth of holiday tourism s i n c e 1960. Such tourism i s a l s o m a r k e d l y s e a s o n a l , a s i l l u s t r a t e d by h o t e l o c c u p a n c y r a t e s f o r t h e‘ M e d s u n ’ and o t h e r c o u n t r i e s in F i g . 2 . 3 . Within d e s t i n a t i o n c o u n t r i e s t h e r e i s i n t e n s e s p a t i a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n of holiday-makers, e . g . f i v e p r o v i n c e s ( B a l e a r i c I s l a n d s , Gerona, B a r c e l o n a , Malaga and A l i c a n t e ) a c c o u n t f o r o n e - h a l f of S p a i n ’ s r e c o r d e d b e d s p a c e ( P e a r c e & Grimmeau, 1985). The t o u r i s t s a r e c a t e r e d f o r i n p u r p o s e b u i l t ‘ i d e n t i k i t ’ r e s o r t s i s o l a t i n g them from the surrounding region and h o s t p o p u l a t i o n , c r e a t i n g what Simpson (1968) called the ‘ocean liner’ atmosphere. New resorts were developed between 1955 and 1965 along the Costas d e l Sol and Bianca in Spain, t h e I t a l i a n R i v i e r a d i P o n e n t e and d i Levante, on the A d r i a t i c c o a s t north of Rimini, and along Yugoslavia’s Dalmatian c o a s t . Since 1965 t h e Costa Dorada i n S p a i n , t h e B a l e a r i c I s l a n d s ( e s p e c i a l l y Majorca), t h e Algarve c o a s t of Portugal and the Greek I s l a n d s of Corfu and Rhodes have been developed w h i l s t , most r e c e n t l y , Morocco, T u n i s i a and T u r k e y h a v e b e e n i n v e s t i n g in s i m i l a r developments, as have Bulgaria and Romania. The r i s e in the number of persons h o l i d a y i n g abroad from n o r t h e r n European c o u n t r i e s has l a r g e l y been a t t h e expense of domestic tourism in those c o u n t r i e s ( a l t h o u g h second and s h o r t - b r e a k h o l i d a y s , which a r e overwhelmingly domestic, a r e not i n s i g n i f i c a n t in t h e s e c o u n t r i e s ) . For e x a m p l e , i n t h e United Kingdom the p r o p o r t i o n of a d u l t s (60 per c e n t ) t a k i n g a h o l i d a y away from home has remained c o n s t a n t over the l a s t 15 years whereas the p r o p o r t i o n h o l i d a y i n g abroad has more t h a n d o u b l e d (from 10 t o 24 p e r c e n t ) ( B r i t i s h T o u r i s t A u t h o r i t y , 1985). Economic r e c e s s i o n i n t h e 1980s has not had a major e f f e c t on h o l i d a y s abroad, t h e Trade and I n d u s t r y Committee (1985) arguing t h a t unemployment a f f e c t s domestic tourism h a r d e s t . The r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n d e c l i n i n g d i s p o s a b l e income and holiday-making has a l s o been i n v e s t i g a t e d by Ashworth and Bergsma (1987) who concluded from Dutch evidence t h a t the amount, as opposed t o the t y p e , of f o r e i g n t o u r i s m has been l a r g e l y unaffected by s t a b l e or d e c l i n i n g incomes. But mass t o u r i s m i s c h a n g i n g : w i t n e s s t h e growth of e x t r a - h o t e l h o l i d a y s , t h e i n c r e a s i n g i m p o r t a n c e of w i n t e r s p o r t s t o u r i s m , of second h o l i d a y s , and of o t h e r a c t i v i t y and s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t h o l i d a y s . The growth i n p o p u l a r i t y of 25

European Tourism w i n t e r s p o r t s i s an e s p e c i a l l y n o t e w o r t h y development of t h e l a s t decade. Skiing has a mass support based on the Alpine model (with which o t h e r p l a c e s have d i f f i c u l t y i n c o m p e t i n g , e . g . t h e a t t r a c t i o n of Norway’s s k i r e s o r t s i s reduced by t h e s h o r t l e n g t h of d a y , S c o t l a n d ’ s b e c a u s e of u n c e r t a i n t y of snow, and the Pyrenees lack a c c e s s ) . In a d d i t i o n t h e r e a r e s i g n s t h a t European t o u r i s t s a r e looking t o the extra-European h o l i d a y market. The e v o l u t i o n of t h e European tourism i n d u s t r y has p a r a l l e l e d t h e growth of mass tourism and t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e i n d u s t r y h e l p s e x p l a i n t h e p a t t e r n s described above. Moreover, changes c u r r e n t l y t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e i n d u s t r y may well be i n s t r u m e n t a l in promoting new d i r e c t i o n s in mass t o u r i s m . STRUCTURE OF THE EUROPEAN TOURISM INDUSTRY

The tourism i n d u s t r y i s p r i m a r i l y a p r i v a t e s e c t o r i n d u s t r y , one which i s c h a r a c t e r i s e d by s t r o n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n in small e n t e r p r i s e s , e s p e c i a l l y in d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s (Commission of t h e European C o m m u n i t i e s , 1 9 8 5 ) . Its functional r a t i o n a l e i n v o l v e s t h e process of c o n c e n t r a t i o n and d i s p e r s a l whereby i n d i v i d u a l t o u r i s t s a r e s o r t e d , g r o u p e d and packaged a t o r i g i n s t o be s h i p p e d , u s u a l l y in bulk, t o t h e d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n where they a r e d i s p e r s e d t o h o t e l s / r e s o r t s . The t o u r i s t t a k i n g an i n c l u s i v e t o u r i s purchasing t r a n s p o r t , accommodation and t r a n s f e r s a s a ‘ p a c k a g e ’ , and probably a l s o a d d i t i o n a l s e r v i c e s such as car h i r e , e x c u r s i o n s or t h e a t r e e n t e r t a i n m e n t at the destination. These elements a r e ‘ p a c k a g e d ’ by a t o u r o p e r a t o r and F i g . 2 . 4 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e four d i r e c t i o n s t h e s y s t e m of d i s t r i b u t i o n i n t h e tourism i n d u s t r y t a k e s in Europe. Most common ( i ) i s where t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r i s an i n d e p e n d e n t e n t e r p r i s e , r e s p o n s i b l e for packaging a h o l i d a y by r e s e r v i n g t h e necessary accommodation, t r a n s p o r t , e t c . , and r e t a i l i n g t h e h o l i d a y t o t o u r i s t s through a network of t r a v e l a g e n t s . A second v e r s i o n ( i i ) c u t s o u t t h e t r a v e l agent with the t o u r o p e r a t o r s e l l i n g d i r e c t to the t o u r i s t : t h i s a c c o u n t s for 10-20 p e r c e n t of i n c l u s i v e t o u r s a l e s i n many n o r t h e r n European c o u n t r i e s . Much l e s s common (iii) i s where the t r a v e l agent assumes r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for t h e packaging, a system l a r g e l y c o n f i n e d t o I t a l y (Commission of t h e European Communities, 1 9 8 5 ) . In ( i v ) t h e p r o d u c e r of a 26

European Tourism basic service, e.g. an airline or hotel chain, assumes the role of the tour operator and sells direct to tourists. Emphasis is therefore on the role of the tour operator in the changing structure of the tourism industry.

Figure 2.4: Alternative chains of distribution in the tourism industry

TRANSPORT SERVICES

p

(i)

TOUR OPERATOR

TRAVEL AGENT

R O D ACCOMMODATION

(ii)

(iii)

E FACILITIES & ATTRACTIONS

u

TOUR OPERATOR

R

U

c

TRAVEL AGENT

I S T

R

S

T O

(iv)

S

The tour operator Tour operators came to the fore as producers of standard holidays in the 1960s. The key to their success is that their holiday prices are lower than the sum total of the services contained in the package if purchased individually because they achieve economies in transport, particularly via group charter flights, and season length. In the 1960s tour operators pioneered destinations, generating purpose-built resorts. For many tourists the country visited matters little: what matters most is the promise of reliable sunshine, warm temperatures, a beach to lie on, warm water to swim in, and clean and cheap hotels and restaurants (Matley, 1976). Thus in the first wave of foreign travel in the 1960s the standard ‘package holiday’ was created by tour operators to connect Spanish hoteliers and property developers with British and German demand for guaranteed sun, cheap booze, and a noisy night life. These developments were for the mass tourist market and the larger the market the less distinctive the destinations. Such ‘identikit’ destinations are the result of comprehensive market research, providing a degree of uniformity the tourist finds c o m f o r t i n g (Holloway, 1985). 27

European Tourism The 1960s boom in air travel was short lived for the 1970s energy crisis altered the economics of operating aircraft. The price factor is now more important in determining tour operators 1 strategies and is the single most important element in their choice of destinations. This central role of price in organised tourism helps explain the strong similarity of products offered by tour operators in a highy competitive market. In an effort to reduce transport costs by maximising occupancy of aircraft seats and to limit risks by operating in proven markets and a r e a s tour operators are now less pioneering and are not prepared to wait too long for the success of a destination. The tour business is more concentrated than travel retailing but there are still very many operators. Almost all tour operators limit their main selling operations to their home countries and very few control a large proportion of their home market. In the United Kingdom, for example, there were, in 1984, some 625 tour operator members of ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) and some 700 air tour operators licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority: if coach operators and cruise companies are included it is estimated that there are currently some 800 tour operators of all sizes and types, with the 30 largest operators commanding three-quarters of the overseas market (Keynote Report, 1985). The largest or mass-market tour operators concentrate on general air tours of the standard ‘summer sun’ format: they are based in the touristgenerating country and seek to promote outward travel. Notable, in recent years, has been the progress of integration within and between sectors of the tourism industry. Consequent upon the major growth of inclusive tours and the r u t h l e s s competition of the 1970s there has been horizontal integration amongst tour operators and vertical linkage of operators, especially with airlines. Such integration is most advanced in West Germany where nearly 66 per cent of all tours are sold by two operators - Turistik Union International (TUI, formed in 1968 by the merger of Touropa, Scharnow, Hummel and Tigges) and Neckermann and Reisen (established in 1963 by a mail order/department store and comprising GuT Reisen, Club Reisen, Terramar and Club Aldiana): mergers have similarly created SUNAIR (Belgium) and Holland International (Netherlands). The link between tour operators and 28

European Tourism a i r l i n e s i s g r e a t e s t i n t h e c a s e of t h e U n i t e d Kingdom where a g r e a t e r p r o p o r t i o n of i n c l u s i v e tours going abroad use a i r t r a v e l . Either, a i r l i n e s own t o u r o p e r a t o r s , e . g . KLM (Holland I n t e r n a t i o n a l ) , Air France ( S o t a i r ) , B r i t i s h Airways ( B r i t i s h A i r t o u r s , comprising Sovereign, Enterprise, F l a i r , Martin Rooks), B r i t i s h C a l e d o n i a n (Blue S k y ) ; o r t o u r o p e r a t o r s own an a i r l i n e , e . g . Thomson Holidays ( B r i t a n n i a Airways), I n t a s u n (Air E u r o p e ) , Horizon (Orion A i r w a y s ) , Tjaereborg ( S t e r l i n g ) . Firms from o u t s i d e t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y have a l s o shown an i n t e r e s t , as the ownership of o t h e r t o u r o p e r a t o r s i n d i c a t e s , e . g . banks (Thomas Cook i s owned by the Midland B a n k , V o y a g e s C o n s e i l by C r e d i t A g r i c o l ) , (Commission of t h e European Communities, 1985). What i s perhaps s u r p r i s i n g i s the l i m i t e d forward i n t e g r a t i o n t o d a t e of t o u r o p e r a t o r s i n t o t r a v e l retailing. Most common a r e s p e c i a l i s t t o u r o p e r a t o r s , s m a l l - t o medium-sized firms which a r e independent companies or s u b s i d i a r i e s of t r a n s p o r t c a r r i e r s , accommodation o r g a n i s a t i o n s ( o r even m a s s - m a r k e t operators). S p e c i a l i s a t i o n may be b a s e d on inclusive tours offered (i) to p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n s , e . g .‘ n a t i o n a l ’ o p e r a t o r s such as Yugotours or Olympic ( G r e e c e ) ; ( i i ) using p a r t i c u l a r , o f t e n s e l f - c a t e r i n g , accommodation, e . g . Canvas Holidays (camping), OSL ( v i l l a s ) ; ( i i i ) u s i n g s p e c i f i c t r a n s p o r t , e . g . c r u i s e s (P & 0 , Royal V i k i n g ) , coach t o u r s (Wallace A r n o l d ) o r l o n g - h a u l a i r ( K u o n i ) ; ( i v ) t o p a r t i c u l a r age groups, e . g . over 50s (Saga), y o u t h (Club 1 8 - 3 0 , p a r t of I n t a s u n ) , and (v) t o s p e c i a l i s t i n t e r e s t s such as s a f a r i s and a r t , e . g . Prospect Art Tours. Tour o p e r a t o r s u s i n g d i r e c t - s e l l m e t h o d s , e . g . P o r t l a n d (Thomson H o l i d a y s ) , T j a e r e b o r g , M a r t i n Rooks ( B r i t i s h Airways) have a l s o been s i n g l e d out but t h e s e firms a r e competing for the mass-market trade. Mention s h o u l d a l s o be made of domestic tour o p e r a t o r s , p r o v i d i n g inclusive tours to d e s t i n a t i o n s w i t h i n t h e c o u n t r y i n which t h e t o u r i s t r e s i d e s , and incoming t o u r o p e r a t o r s , based in t h e d e s t i n a t i o n country and s e l l i n g t o f o r e i g n v i s i t o r s t o u r s only t o t h a t d e s t i n a t i o n . The t r a v e l agent I n c l u s i v e t o u r s a r e s o l d by u n i q u e means, r e v o l v i n g around t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r s ’ b r o c h u r e s 29

European Tourism which holiday-makers usually obtain from their local travel agent, although in most European countries operators send brochures to old clients. Even with telephone ordering of brochures the majority still make their booking via the travel agent. The tour operator therefore shoulders the risks in setting up inclusive tours since the travel agent does not buy the package from the operator for resale to the consumer but reserves the package only after the holiday-maker has decided to buy. It is the tour operators’ strategies which dictate the market opportunity available to travel agents in the various European countries, i.e. the extent to which the tour operator uses the travel agent as retailer and it is only in Italy (where the tour operator sector is weak) that travel agents create tour programmes. In general, tour operators are heavily dependent upon travel agents who sell about 90 per cent of their foreign inclusive tours. For the a g e n t s straightforward foreign holiday packages comprise 75 per cent of their business (Keynote Report, 1985) with, in the United Kingdom, 80 per cent being sold via 20 per cent of the travel agencies (Holloway, 1985). The number of travel agencies has increased rapidly over the past 20 years, reaching over 7,000 in the United Kingdom and nearly 8,000 in West Germany. With the more difficult e c o n o m i c conditions since the mid-1970s tour operators have become more selective in appointing travel agents to represent them (as well as opening their own agencies, e.g. Thomson Holidays owns the Lunn Poly chain), and experimenting in some cases with direct sell. In addition horizontal integration is discernable with the retail travel business becoming increasingly concentrated in multi-branch agencies, e.g. Hogg Robinson in the United Kingdom have absorbed Wakefield Fortune, Renwicks and Ellermans; Pickfords have embarked on an agency expansion programme. This is a trend favoured by the rapid increase in computerization of booking systems by tour operators: Thomson and Horizon Holidays both take over 80 per cent of their bookings through viewdata systems (Cowie, 1986). Tour operators’ profit margins have been squeezed not only as a result of increased competition but also as a result of the trend to late booking witnessed in recent years. This means a later inflow of money and worsens the operator’s liquidity position. The competitive situation also 30

European Tourism prompted the recent procedure of ‘reissuing’ brochures (when the first operator to publish a brochure b r i n g s out a new one with lower p r i c e s in o r d e r t o compete w i t h o t h e r o p e r a t o r s who have undercut him). The r e t a i l m a r k e t , a s a c o n s e q u e n c e , i s moving away from the independent t r a v e l agency. Even s o , in t h e United Kingdom, the top 20 t r a v e l agency groups account for only 30 per cent of a l l o u t l e t s . In West Germany tour o p e r a t o r s have s u c c e e d e d i n s t r a t i f y i n g t r a v e l agents with some 2,000 s e l l i n g TUI products and not Neckermann ones and v i c e - v e r s a (Commission of the European Communities, 1985). Independent t r a v e l a g e n c i e s have begun t o band t o g e t h e r t o form c o n s o r t i a and i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e‘ s e l e c t i v e ’ s p e c i a l i s a t i o n m e n t i o n e d a b o v e a g e n c i e s h a v e become more s p e c i a l i s e d in o t h e r r e s p e c t s , e . g . t h e B u s i n e s s Travel Centre founded in 1982. The accommodation s e c t o r The major i n c r e a s e in European tourism since 1960 has not guaranteed success for a l l s e c t o r s of t h e i n d u s t r y , n o t a b l y the h o t e l t r a d e , where the numbers of h o t e l s and beds have decreased in some countries. The o n c e - p o p u l a r , fully-inclusive h o l i d a y i n s e r v i c e d accommodation i s no l o n g e r wanted by t h e modern t o u r i s t seeking f l e x i b i l i t y and t h e r e has been a s i g n i f i c a n t switch t o e x t r a h o t e l tourism, in a l l i t s forms - t o u r i s t v i l l a g e s , c a r a v a n and camping s i t e s , second homes, t i m e s h a r e , home exchange, agrotourism, s o c i a l t o u r i s m . The concept of the c l u b , e p i t o m i s e d by t h e Club Méditerranee, which a c t s as both t o u r o p e r a t o r and accommodation c h a i n , i s an e s p e c i a l l y n o t e w o r t h y development, adding s p o r t s t o the usual t o u r i s t menu of sun, sand and s e a . As a consequence t h e r e has been r e s t r u c t u r i n g in t h e h o t e l s e c t o r , b r i n g i n g g r e a t e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n and g r e a t e r s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n ( t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t a n d a r d H o s p i t a l i t y or ISH). This has been a c h i e v e d n o t o n l y t h r o u g h ownership but a l s o by f r a n c h i s i n g , e . g . Holiday I n n s . The h o t e l s e c t o r h a s a l s o r e s p o n d e d by u p g r a d i n g serviced accommodation, e . g . each h o t e l room w i t h p r i v a t e b a t h , and by competitive p r i c i n g . C e r t a i n summer r e s o r t s k e e p h o t e l s and f a c i l i t i e s open f o r t o u r i s t s seeking r e l i e f from n o r t h e r n w i n t e r s and a t t r a c t them w i t h cheap o f f - s e a s o n r a t e s : t h i s a p p l i e s p a r t i c u l a r l y t o the more s o u t h e r l y r e s o r t s , 31

European Tourism e.g. the Canary Islands, Madeira. The policy of marginal cost off-season pricing produced rockbottom prices in the 1970s for ‘mini-packages’ or ‘bargain b r e a k s ’of 3-4 d a y s ’duration, which introduced a new clientele to the idea of holidays abroad, as well as attracting pensioners for 3-4 months. Now, hotels are seeking to maintain, even increase, their share of traditional family summer holidays, e.g. Ryans Hotels in Eire make no accommodation charge for children sharing a room with parents and arrange special activities for children, including‘ p l a y - s c h o o l ’and creche facilities at their Killarney and Sligo hotels. Structure and patterns Three factors have been critical to the increase in European tourism over the last 15 years - rising living standards, rates of exchange, and air r o u t e s ’over-capacity. The first fuelled the demand; the latter two conditioned the industry’s response. The development of air transport, in particular the growth of group charter flights, solved the problem of access to destinations within easy transfer of at least a seasonal international charter airport: (transport costs depending on charter rights into a country, distance flown and ground handling charges). Accommodation and other costs to be met abroad are the outcome of exchange rates, inflation and the competitive environment. Tour operators exercise choice here in putting together their holiday programmes. For example, whilst the Greek, Italian and Spanish currencies have been relatively weak against the northern European ones over the last decade, the rate of inflation in Italy has been higher than in Greece or Spain and Italy has been most heavily penalized by tour operators as a result of the strong Mediterranean competition. It should, however, also be remembered that the tourist boom in Greece and Spain w a s , in part, politically inspired (Commission of the European Communities, 1985). The dependence on air charter is, of course, much less important in continental Europe where the majority of holidays, even to the Spanish, Italian and French Mediterranean coasts are taken by motor car. The car has proved to be not merely a transport mode but has shaped the rise in selfcatering, almost impossible without a car, and the choice of destinations within holiday regions. 32

European Tourism Now t h a t two h o l i d a y s a b r o a d p e r y e a r a r e w i t h i n r e a c h of many p e o p l e , a ‘ r e l a x i n g ’ summer h o l i d a y i s o f t e n complemented w i t h an a c t i v i t y h o l i d a y ( s k i i n g , camping, l e i s u r e l e a r n i n g , e t c . ) . The i n c r e a s i n g s o p h i s t i c a t i o n of t h e t o u r i s t h a s g i v e n r i s e t o a more s e g m e n t e d m a r k e t , w i t h o p p o r t u n i t i e s for s p e c i a l i s t t o u r o p e r a t o r s : t h e l a t t e r can s e t up a t o u r programme a t s h o r t n o t i c e (and w i t h d r a w e q u a l l y q u i c k l y from current c o m m i t m e n t s ) and t h e y t h e r e f o r e r e s p o n d more q u i c k l y t o market c h a n g e s t h a n t h e m a s s - t o u r i s m operator. The importance of s a t i s f i e d customers t o b o t h t o u r o p e r a t o r s and d e s t i n a t i o n s c a n n o t be u n d e r p l a y e d , f o r o v e r h a l f t h e bookings a r e for ‘ r e p e a t s ’ (Trade and I n d u s t r y Committee, 1985). PROSPECT

Future holiday-makers European tourist demand has considerable potential for volume and value growth since the proportion of persons holidaying abroad remains small. For example, only 24 per cent of British adults took an overseas holiday in 1984 (Keynote Report, 1985) and a 1 per cent increase in their numbers would generate 400,000 new consumers each year. Which age groups have the highest propensity to travel? The family holiday has been regarded as the corner-stone of tour operators’ business but higher than average propensities to travel are to be expected amongst the young unmarried and the retired. Demographic trends are important and by the year 2000, every fourth person in Europe will be at least 65 which suggests the ‘Golden Oldies’ market will live up to its name, especially since retired people have the freedom to take their holidays at any time of year, and the next generation of‘ s e n i o r s ’ , unlike the last, is accustomed to foreign travel. People expect more leisure time. The balance of both employee and employer preferences is for greater holiday entitlement rather than for a shorter working week (Shackleford, 1979). In 1970 four w e e k s ’paid holiday was the norm for only 20 per cent of British workers, by 1980 it was the right of 90 per cent and can be expected to increase by up to a further week by 1990. French workers already have an entitlement to five weeks’ paid holiday. 33

European Tourism T o u r i s t s a r e now m o r e e x p e r i e n c e d and demanding. The d e s i r e f o r g r e a t e r f l e x i b i l i t y , a l l i e d t o the a v a i l a b i l i t y of Convenience’ foods and more adventurous e a t i n g h a b i t s , s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e swing t o s e l f - c a t e r i n g w i l l c o n t i n u e . In t h i s c o n t e x t t h e s u b s t a n t i a l and growing VFR m a r k e t should a l s o be acknowledged. A growing m i n o r i t y i s looking for a more adventurous h o l i d a y . Perhaps t h e d a y s of t h e 4 S ’ s h o l i d a y a r e numbered! A r e c e n t r e p o r t (Webster, 1986) s u g g e s t s a r e v o l u t i o n of t h e F r e n c h a n n u a l g r a n d e v a c a n c e s w i t h t h e average French holiday-maker p r e f e r i n g c o u n t r y s i d e and a c t i v i t y h o l i d a y s ( r e f l e c t e d in t h e 50 per cent drop in R i v i e r a bookings for 1986). S h o r t and a d d i t i o n a l h o l i d a y s w i l l b e of i n c r e a s i n g i m p o r t a n c e and more t o u r i s t s w i l l be demanding made-to-measure h o l i d a y s . Even i n t h e f a c e of f u r t h e r f a l l s i n t h e v a l u e of s t e r l i n g B r i t i s h t o u r i s t s w i l l t r a d e down r a t h e r than forgo f o r e i g n holidays altogether. The tourism industry F u t u r e t r a n s p o r t p o s s i b i l i t i e s have a major b e a r i n g on t o u r i s m . Aviation e x p e r t s a g r e e t h a t t h e development of t h e j e t a i r c r a f t has reached a p o i n t where p r o d u c t i v i t y and e f f i c i e n c y have peaked - r e a l t r a v e l costs are therefore unlikely to d e c l i n e (Holloway, 1 9 8 5 ) . Energy p r i c e s w i l l t h e r e f o r e l a r g e l y d e t e r m i n e t r a n s p o r t c o s t s over t h e next two decades: the h i g h e r they a r e t h e more ‘ o r g a n i s e d ’ , r a t h e r than i n d i v i d u a l , tourism w i l l be f a v o u r e d . Private car holiday-making w i l l s u f f e r most. However, p o l i c y over t h e r e g u l a t i o n of competition in the a i r t r a n s p o r t market i s a l s o a key f a c t o r i n shaping f u t u r e t r e n d s in Europe, where s c h e d u l e d f a r e s a r e g o v e r n e d by‘ s y s t e m number two’ in which f a r e s a r e fixed in c o l l u s i o n by t h e two a i r l i n e s ( u s u a l l y s t a t e owned) t h a t have been ‘ g i v e n ’ the r o u t e by t h e governments i n v o l v e d . ( I t t h e r e f o r e c o s t s , for example, a t 1985/6 w i n t e r e c o n o m y - c l a s s r a t e s e i g h t t i m e s a s much p e r k i l o m e t r e t o f l y from London t o P a r i s a s from1 London t o Los Angeles.) A s h i f t t o an ‘ o p e n - s k y p o l i c y in Europe could d e f e r any r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of t o u r i s t f l o w s from t r a d i t i o n a l European d e s t i n a t i o n s t o l e s s developed c o u n t r i e s . The i n c l u s i v e t o u r w i l l s u r v i v e a s t h e s t a n d a r d format for foreign h o l i d a y s but t h e r e w i l l be g r e a t e r v a r i e t y of packages and more ‘ u p - m a r k e t ’ 34

European Tourism offerings to meet the demand for made-to-measure holidays. Activity and special interest holidays organised by specialist operators will proliferate to cater for the more educated and adventurous tourist market. There will be a move towards tours which provide a mixture of relaxation and activity, involving two centres, one of which has a cultural base for tourism. Breaking the monopoly of the beach/sun image will help overcome seasonality and will be critical to efforts, in Spain for example, to exploit other aspects of the country’s tourism potential. The flexibility demanded by more and more tourists can be met by developing one of the two main forms of inclusive tour - the ITX or inclusive tour by excursion ticket on scheduled air services (the other, the ITC or inclusive tour by charter caters to mass-market travel in the cheaper price ranges to give high load factors on aircraft). There are two v e r s i o n s of ITX: (i) IIT = independent inclusive tour, in which the tourist travels to his destination separately, and (ii) BIT or GIT = bulk or group inclusive tour, where travel is along with other tourists. ITXs, coupled with accommodation vouchers, car hire or special rail passes, etc., provide the tourist with a truly flexible product. The industry will remain highly competitive, necessitating further structural adjustments. In the United Kingdom, for example, there has been a ‘price w a r ’for 1986 summer sun holidays between the leading mass-market tour operators: it was started by Intasun, the second largest operator, reducing prices by an average 12.5 per cent; Thomsons, the largest operator, retaliated with an average 17 per cent cut. Despite the significant increase in bookings which resulted, profit margins are being squeezed with Horizon, the third largest operator, announcing (20 August 1986) first-half year trading losses of £5.4m (cf. profits of £10.7m for the comparable period in 1985). Some tour operators will be forced out of business (e.g. Sierra Holidays ceased trading, 2 August 1986). Further mergers are likely, e.g. Horizon are currently negotiating to take over Blue Sky and Arrowsmith. The stock market is cautious regarding the short-term prospects of the industry as evidenced by the difficulties experienced in placing shares amounting to 7.5 per cent of the equity of the International Leisure Group (owners of Intasun) in August 1986 – it took two attempts 35

European Tourism and institutional investors forced a substantial discount. Questions arise about the future of travel retailing. On the one hand, the demand for madeto-measure holidays is seen as preserving a role for the travel agent (Commission of the European Communities, 1985), even though the image may become more of a‘ s u p e r m a r k e t ’one with the entrance of non-travel agents, such as W.H. Smith in the United Kingdom, into the travel scene. On the other hand, Holloway (1985) acknowledges that advances in computerised reservation systems are likely to permit the tourist to select his holiday, book it and pay for it by direct debit to his account from his armchair and suggests this will encourage impulse buying, resulting in a further decline in traditional patterns of advanced booking. Indeed he goes on to suggest that if the tourist can‘ p a c k a g e ’his own arrangements at home at the touch of a button and call up on his own TV screen images of the destinations he wishes to choose from, not only travel agents but also tour operators could become obsolete. PERSPECTIVE

A f u r t h e r i n c r e a s e i n mass t o u r i s m on t h e s c a l e witnessed between 1960 and 1980 i s u n l i k e l y s i n c e t h e slow-down i n t h e growth of economic wealth in the developed c o u n t r i e s i s not e x p e c t e d t o be r e v e r s e d d r a m a t i c a l l y i n t h e next decade or s o . Moving from an i n d u s t r i a l t o a p o s t - i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y has consequences for life-styles, e s p e c i a l l y l e i s u r e , and w h i l s t in t h e 1980s people w i l l not forgo holidays they exercise g r e a t e r c a u t i o n in t h e i r e x p e n d i t u r e p a t t e r n s , e.g. r e d u c t i o n i n l e n g t h of s t a y , g r e a t e r u s e of s u p p l e m e n t a r y a c c o m m o d a t i o n , and s w i t c h i n g of d e s t i n a t i o n s t o n e a r b y c o u n t r i e s or o t h e r p l a c e s which appear more a t t r a c t i v e because of favourable exchange r a t e s o r where competition has improved t h e p r i c e / q u a l i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p (OECD T o u r i s m Committee, 1984). In p a r t i c u l a r t h e r e i s concern over r e c e n t i n c i d e n t s in i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e r r o r i s m i n v o l v i n g a i r l i n e s and o t h e r tourism s e c t o r s , most marked i n 1986 by t h e l a r g e d r o p i n A m e r i c a n s v i s i t i n g Europe for f e a r of t e r r o r i s t r e p r i s a l s for t h e US r a i d on L i b y a . Competition between d e s t i n a t i o n s , and between firms in the i n d u s t r y , can be expected t o i n t e n s i f y . 36

European Tourism The o r g a n i s a t i o n of t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e e a r l y p o s t - S e c o n d World War y e a r s , was p i e c e m e a l , w i t h p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e o p e r a t i o n of tourism e n t e r p r i s e s and p r i v a t e a s s o c i a t i o n s , n a t i o n a l and r e g i o n a l , a t t e m p t i n g to ensure necessary coo r d i n a t i o n and r e g u l a t i o n . The s i t u a t i o n changed s i g n i f i c a n t l y during the 1960s with more and more g o v e r n m e n t s s e t t i n g up p u b l i c o r s e m i - p u b l i c n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s t o oversee t h e i n d u s t r y (Shackleford, 1 9 7 9 ) , a l t h o u g h i n market economy c o u n t r i e s p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e has continued t o play the leading r o l e in the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the tourism product. Governments a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y r e c o g n i s i n g the p o t e n t i a l of t o u r i s m a s a growth i n d u s t r y and t h e i r r o l e i n p l a n n i n g and f a c i l i t a t i n g tourism, in e x e r c i s i n g supervisory c o n t r o l over the i n d u s t r y in t h e i r country, in promoting domestic and foreign v i s i t o r s , (and even i n d i r e c t o w n e r s h i p of i m p o r t a n t s e c t o r s of the i n d u s t r y ) w i l l be s t r e n g t h e n e d . Competition in t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y w i l l r e a c h new l e v e l s a s , f o r example, governments o f f e r i n c e n t i v e s t o t o u r o p e r a t o r s t o i n c l u d e p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n s in t h e i r programmes. REFERENCES

Ashworth, G . J . & Bergsma, J . (1987) Policy for tourism: r e c e n t changes i n t h e N e t h e r l a n d s , T i j d s c h r i f t v o o r E k o n o m i s c h en S o c i a l e Geografie, No. 2 B r i t i s h T o u r i s t A u t h o r i t y (1985) B r i t i s h National T r a v e l Survey, B r i t i s h Tourist Authority, London Commission of the European Communities (1985) The Tourism S e c t o r of the Community; A Study of Concentration, Competition and Competitiveness , Office for Official P u b l i c a t i o n s of t h e European Communities, Luxembourg C o w i e , A. ( 1 9 8 6 ) A room w i t h a v i e w d a t a , The Guardian, 19 June C r a i g - S m i t h , S. & Green, H. (1986) T o u r i s t t r a d e d o u b t s , The Guardian, 25 A p r i l Holloway, J . C . (1985) The Business of Tourism, 2nd e d i t i o n , Pitman, London Keynote Report (1985) Travel Agents/Overseas Tour O p e r a t o r s : An I n d u s t r y S e c t o r Overview, Key Note P u b l i c a t i o n s , London 37

European Tourism Matley, I.M. (1976) The Geography of International Tourism, Resource Paper No. 76-1, Association of American Geographers, Washington, DC OECD Tourism Committee (1984) Tourism Policy and International Tourism: Evolution of Tourism in OECD Member Countries in 1983, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris OECD Tourism Committee (1985) Tourism Policy and International Tourism: Evolution of Tourism in OECD Member Countries in 1984, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris Pearce, D.E. & Grimmeau, J-P. (1985) The spatial structure of tourist accommodation and hotel demand in Spain, Geoforum, 16 (1), 37-50 Shackleford, P. (1979) Planning for tourism, Futures, 11 (1), 32-43 Simpson, A. (1968) The New Europeans, Hodder & Stoughton, London Trade and Industry Committee (House of Commons) (1985) Tourism in the UK, HMSO, London Webster, P. (1986) French take a break from sea, sex and sun, The Guardian, 5 August

38

Chapter 3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES Erlet Cater

The precise role of tourism in development has been the subject of much debate (see de Kadt, 1979). It remains a fact, however, that the development of tourism has been regarded as a panacea for the economic malaise of many of the Less Developed Countries (LDCs), which are faced with a narrow resource base and serious balance of payment difficulties. It is not surprising that t o u r i s m seems an attractive proposition in attracting much needed foreign exchange. Indeed, tourism has stimulated employment and investment, modified land use and economic structure, and made a positive contribution to the balance of payments in many of the developing countries (Mathieson & Wall, 1982). At the same time, the growth of tourism has brought with it adverse economic, social, cultural and environmental effects. It is amongst the least developed of the LDCs (LLDCs) that these effects need most careful appraisal, particularly as they may more than offset the benefits to be gained from the development of tourism. The total environment, in terms of the interacting economic, social, cultural and environmental factors, is a very fragile one in these countries. The balance between the human and physical variables is a very fine one that is easily disturbed. The LLDCs were first singled out for special attention, as far as development in general was concerned, in 1971 (United Nations, 1971). In terms of general indicators they are defined on a basis of three criteria: a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of less than $350; a contribution of manufacturing to GDP of less than ten per cent; an adult literacy rate of 20 per cent or less. The designated 25 countries were added to over a ten-year period to arrive at a total of 31 (Weiss & Jennings, 1983) as shown in Table 3.1. 39

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Table 3.1:

Country

The 31 LLDCs – selected indicators % share manufacturing in GDP 1982

GNP Pop.1982 dollars (millions) 1982 -

16.8 Afghanistan Bangladesh 92.9 Benin 3.7 Bhutan 1.2 0.8 Botswana* Burundi 4.3 Cape Verde* 0.3 Central African 2.4 Republic Chad 4.6 Comoros 0.3 Democratic Yemen 2.0 32.9 Ethiopia Gambia* 0.6 5.7 Guinea Guinea-Bissau* 0.5 Haiti 5.2 Laos 3.6 1.4 Lesotho Malawi 6.5 0.1 Maldives Mali 7.1 15.4 Nepal Niger 5.9 Rwanda 5.5 0.1 Samoa Somalia 4.5 20.2 Sudan 19.8 Tanzania 13.5 Uganda U.Volta (Burkina Faso) 6.5 Yemen 7.5

Adult literacy rate % 1982

-

140 310 80 1010 280 340 310 80 320

7 7

20 26 28

-

-

10

25

-

8 4

33 15

-

-

470 140 370 310 190 300 80* 510 210

14* 11

-

20* 5

180 170 310 260 -

-

2 -

6 -

8 16 -

40 15 15 20 25 54 43 52 25 82 10 19 10 50 -

290 440 280 230

7 9 4

60 32 79 52

210 500

12 7

5 21

Source: World Bank Development Reports (1983 and 1984), Tables 1 and 3 *: 1981

40

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries It is the more detailed characteristics of these LLDCs that serve to complicate further the role of tourism in their development. These operate in two ways. First/ they condition the country’s actual potential for tourism: several of the LLDCs are so poor, economically, socially and physically that they will never attract anything other than the ‘explorer’ type of tourist. Second, amongst the LLDCs that do succeed in attracting tourists, the impacts of tourism are likely to be even more complex and damaging. These two issues will now be examined in detail. TOURISM POTENTIAL A country’s potential for attracting tourists depends on a wide range of interacting factors. It is not sufficient, for example, to possess outstanding scenery if the transport system of the country does not provide access to that scenery. Similarly political instability will deter potential visitors to an otherwise attractive destination. A systematic appraisal of the various types of tourism resources is essential. In order to make such an appraisal of the potential for tourism in LLDCs three resource categories need to be differentiated: physical, economic and socio¬ cultural. In defining these categories it must be remembered that none is mutually exclusive, and each will interact with and include aspects of the others. It is a useful categorisation in so far as it provides easy cross referencing with the same categories used in tourism impact studies. Physical resources for tourism T h i s c a t e g o r y c o v e r s a s p e c t r u m of characteristics including size, geographical position, climate, physiography, hydrology, flora and fauna. It is difficult to generalise about the potential for tourism among the LLDCs using these characteristics. Nevertheless, an attempt is made to draw attention to those natural features that individually, or in combination, influence LLDCs’ potential for tourism. The first consideration is the size of the country. It is no coincidence that 16 of the 31 LLDCs are under 200,000 km 2 in extent, 11 of these are less than 50,000 km 2 (Table 3.2). At its 41

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Table 3.2: the LLDCs

Country

Selected physical characteristics of

Area in thousands Landlocked of km 2

Afghanistan Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Botswana Burundi Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Yemen Ethiopia Gambia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Haiti Laos Lesotho Malawi Maldives Mali Nepal Niger Rwanda Samoa Somalia Sudan Tanzania Uganda U.Volta (Burkina Faso) Yemen

647 144 113 47 600 28 4 623 1284 2.2 288 1222 11 246 36 28 237 30 118 0.3 1240 141 1267 26 2.84 638 2506 945 236 274 195

Island state

X

X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X

X X

Source: Geographical Digest (1983), pp 5–9

42

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries simplest size comes into play, as far as tourism potential is concerned, in terms of assessing the physical carrying capacity of an LLDC for the number of tourists. It is, of course, only one of the variables to consider in ascertaining this constraint. In more developed locations, for example Malta and Hawaii, size has not proved so critical. Ward (1975), however, points out how size militates against development from both a demand and supply point of view. When size is considered in conjunction with other aspects of the physical regime it becomes evident how it conditions the strength of influence of these factors, in so far as it will dictate the diversity of environment found in that country. The movement of visitors in a mountainous country such as N e p a l is severely c o n s t r a i n e d by the physiography. Similarly, where there is any lack of diversity in climatic regimes due to smallness of size, any marked seasonality in the climate will not be cushioned by the existence of an alternative climatic zone in the country. Geographical location has an important role to play in attracting tourists. Location relative to the main tourist-generating regions is significant, although less so than hitherto with the advent of low-cost charter air travel. The increasing search for alternative destinations has brought previously peripheral locations into consideration. Many LLDCs are geographically well placed to increase their share of tourist movements. Certain countries are undeniably better located than others, proximity to already established tourist routes is a distinct advantage. Nepal is a popular stop-over on the route from E u r o p e to the Antipodes. Other locations may be relatively disadvantaged. Location on or near a high-cost air route may serve as a distinct deterrent. Air fares within the South Pacific region are among the highest in the world with the cost/km of a typical scheduled economy-class fare from Los Angeles to Fiji being almost twice that of Los Angeles to Honolulu, (6.84 cents/km as opposed to 3.39 cents/km) ( International Tourism Quarterly, 1977). Similarly location away from a high frequency air route acts as a disadvantage. Four of the LLDCs under consideration (Samoa, Maldives, Cape Verde and Comoros) are remote islands, at a distinct disadvantage in attracting all but the longer-stay tourist. 43

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Those counties which are landlocked are even more susceptible to the actions of outside policymakers/ whether they be airline companies, tour operators or neighbouring countries. A total of 15 of the LLDCs are landlocked (Table 3.2), which has important repercussions for tourism potential since they lack a coastline and therefore beaches to attract the sunlust tourists. In exceptional cases this may be compensated for by the presence of large inland bodies of water, as in the case of resorts developed around Lake Malawi. Conversely those LLDCs which are endowed with attractive beaches along their coastlines, experiencing long hours of sunshine that follow from their tropical and sub-tropical locations, have a considerable advantage in attracting tourists. The Maldives and Gambia have been very successful in recent years in developing tourism. Less easily defined under this heading is the country’s location relative to the ‘ d i s a s t e r ’ zones. The LLDCs are more prone to natural disasters, particularly those due to fluctuations in the atmospheric and hydrological elements such as typhoons, droughts and floods (Whittow, 1980). Due to their low level of development they are also less able to cope once such disasters strike, or even to ameliorate or prevent such occurrences. Climate plays an important part in attracting tourists . As mentioned above the tropical and subtropical location of most LLDCs places them at a considerable advantage in attracting tourists from the More Developed Countries (MDCs) for at least part of the year. The search for alternative destinations pushes the demand to the m o r e peripheral LLDCs. The rapid expansion of tourism in the Maldives in recent years (see Table 3.3) bears witness to this (International Tourism Quarterly, 1983a). Detracting somewhat from this advantage is the fact that, within these tropical and subtropical latitudes most of these c o u n t r i e s experience a marked climatic seasonality. Heavy rainfall coupled with high temperatures result in excessive humidity levels unconducive to tourism for several months of the year. The physiographic features of the LLDCs vary a great deal but they quite often contain extremes within their boundaries: Chad contains a desert area as large as the state of Texas, and many of the highest mountains of the world lie within the small Kingdom of Nepal. The complexity of the nature of tourism is highlighted by the fact that 44

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Table 3.3: Year 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

Maldives: number of visitors Total arrivals 29,325 33,124 42,007 60,358 68,685

Of which tourists 16,846 25,023 34,695 49,329 52,595

Source: I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Quarterly Maldives Special Report (1983)

The

what c o n s t i t u t e s an a t t r a c t i o n a t one l e v e l , for e x a m p l e t h e H i m a l a y a s i n N e p a l , may b e an impediment a t a n o t h e r , c o n s t i t u t i n g in t h i s i n s t a n c e a f o r m i d a b l e b a r r i e r t o t r a n s p o r t and communications. The h y d r o l o g i c a l r e g i m e has a l r e a d y been p a r t i a l l y d i s c u s s e d above, with the t h r e a t of flood e v e r imminent i n t h e r a i n y s e a s o n i n l o w - l y i n g areas. In a d d i t i o n t o t h i s , and t h e g e n e r a l l y u n c o n d u c i v e c l i m a t e f o r beach a c t i v i t i e s during s e v e r a l months of the y e a r , the problem of w a t e r s u p p l y must be m e n t i o n e d . It is particularly i r o n i c t h a t the c o n t r a s t i s o f t e n between e i t h e r too much or too l i t t l e . In t h e r a i n y season t h e r e i s t h e e v e r - p r e s e n t p r o b l e m of p o l l u t i o n of s u p p l i e s and t h e t h r e a t of w a t e r - a s s o c i a t e d d i s e a s e s , such as cholera and m a l a r i a . In the dry season t h e s h o r t a g e s a r e such t h a t l o c a l people may be r a t i o n e d t o a b u c k e t a day w h i l s t w i t n e s s i n g t o u r i s t s c a s u a l l y s h o w e r i n g on coming off t h e beach. F l o r a and fauna a t t r a c t t h e t o u r i s t in terms of b o t h t h e i r d i v e r s i t y and d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s . Vegetation may be one of the major a t t r a c t i o n s of many d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s . The j u n g l e f l o r a of t h e Terai of southern Nepal, or the thorn t r e e scrub of S e r e n g e t i in Tanzania are so markedly d i f f e r e n t t o t h e t e m p e r a t e v e g e t a t i o n of t h e t o u r i s t s ’ home l a t i t u d e s a s t o c o n s t i t u t e m a j o r f e a t u r e s of i n t e r e s t in themselves. The h u n t i n g of animals and, more r e c e n t l y , the viewing and p h o t o g r a p h i n g of w i l d l i f e a r e a l s o important t o u r i s t a c t i v i t i e s . The r a p i d i n c r e a s e i n p a t r o n a g e of E a s t A f r i c a n National Parks (30 per cent per annum over the p a s t fifteen years) bears witness to t h i s fact. T a n z a n i a , i n t r y i n g t o a t t r a c t t h e b i g game 45

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries hunters, may stand to gain considerable revenue from this source. The underwater attractions of the tropical seas also play an important role in developing tourism in such locations as Samoa and the Maldives. It is vital to take into account the fragility of such ecosystems in assessing the tourism potential of such localities. This will very much condition the impact of tourism as w i l l be discussed presently and consequently will have important policy ramifications. Economic conditions for tourism development The economic conditions for tourism development in LLDCs must be viewed in both a national and international context. At a national level the mixture, quality and prices of the facilities and services being offered are of paramount importance. In addition to the more obvious features of hotels, restaurants and entertainment facilities, the infrastructural demands of tourism are very high. Typically, the LLDCs have p o o r l y - d e v e l o p e d transport and commmunication networks. As can be seen from Table 3.4 the only LLDCs to exceed 10km of all weather roads per 100km2 are the island localities, which is a function of their smaller size. When the figures are contrasted with the UK provision of 141.6km per lOOkm2 the low level of provision in the LLDCs becomes obvious. The energy requirements of modern tourism are high (Soussan, 1985), with air-conditioned hotels and sophisticated services a prerequisite. Demands upon electricity generating capacity are particularly great, and the rapid expansion of a tourism industry frequently places a severe burden upon the electricity industry. The result is frequent blackouts or load-shedding, problems which many Western visitors regard as intolerable. Similar problems occur with water supply: water may only be turned on at certain times of the day. Other economic bottlenecks that occur during the development of the tourism industry are the limited supply of skilled labour and managerial expertise. Although tourism creates relatively few jobs at a managerial and professional level, imported labour will have to be used if the demand cannot be met domestically. This will intensify the n e g a t i v e l e a k a g e s as will be examined presently. 46

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Table 3.4: the LLDCs

Country

Density of transportation networks in

Km road per 100km2

0.4 Afghanistan Bangladesh 2.6 Benin 1 .8 Bhutan 0.9 Botswana 0.5 Burundi 6.1 16.4 Cape Verde C.African Republic 0.3 Chad na Comoros 17.8 Democratic Yemen na 1 .0 Ethiopia Gambia 4.1 Guinea 0.9 Guinea-Bissau 1 .5 Haiti na Laos na 9.2 Lesotho Malawi 2.3 Maldives na 0.6 Mali Nepal 0.9 Niger 0.2 Rwanda 1 .9 Samoa 10.6 Somalia 0.4 Sudan 0.1 Tanzania 0.6 Uganda 3.2 U.Volta (Burkina Faso) 1.4 Yemen na

Km rail per 100km2 na 0.5 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0.3 0 0 0 0.01 0.7 0 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.3 0.7 0.2 0

Source: Author’s calculations based on data from Europa Yearbook (1984) na: not available The shortage of capital to invest in tourism severely inhibits its development in the LLDCs. The workings of the world economic system (Hopkins & Wallerstein, 1982) largely dictate the economic fortunes of individual countries. Most poor countries need external sources of capital to 47

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries supplement meagre domestic savings in order to finance development projects. Exports of primary products typically account for 60-75 per cent of the annual flow of total foreign currency earnings into the developing world. The LLDCs display all the characteristics of a limited resource base providing too few exports to pay for imports. The falling real price of primary commodities has resulted in a c o n s i d e r a b l e d e c l i n e in the purchasing power of these countries. As they have limited resources of their own to support tourism the picture is bleak. The low level of domestic savings and government finance limit the degree of domestic involvement in the tourism industry. In addition in such capital-scarce situations the opportunity cost of investment in tourism is very high. The same amount of investment applied elsewhere in the economy may well bring more significant and lasting returns. It is not surprising, therefore, that the LLDCs are very much at the beck and call of patterns of foreign investment. If, for one reason or another, they attract no such investment, development of the tourism sector is unlikely. Weiss and Jennings (1983) record that in 1977, 16 of the LLDCs attracted no net private capital flows. Where such investment does occur, the degree of foreign ownership carries with it an element of loss of control, together with a reduction in 1oca1ly-rea1ised benefits. Many of the institutions involved with tourism in the LDCs are foreign owned and/or operated, for example hotel chains, tour operators, airline companies, car hire firms and food chains. When future economic prospects are considered it is further evident that the international economic system will continue to influence the destiny of the tourism industry in the LLDCs. Wahab (1975) has identified four major obstacles to future tourism development. The first is economic uncertainty stemming from inflation, fluctuating currency exchange rates, unemployment and sudden p r o t e c t i v e m e a s u r e s w h i c h are enforced on international money markets (including revaluation of currency, and the imposition of travel and departure taxes). Second, there is the problem of a v a i l a b i l i t y of energy resources at prices affordable to tourists and operators of tourism services. Third, inflation is increasing the capital requirements and operating costs of the tourism sector. Price changes will influence choice 48

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries of t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s and s p e n d i n g b e h a v i o u r w i t h i n them. Last, increased pressure to i n c o r p o r a t e e n v i r o n m e n t a l , s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l safeguards in tourism developments i s likely to i n c r e a s e the c o s t of such developments. The o v e r r i d i n g c o n s t r a i n t i s , however, t h a t of demand. The r o l e of domestic t o u r i s m and t o u r i s m f r o m o t h e r LLDCs t o t h e c o u n t r i e s under consideration is negligible. Only in e x c e p t i o n a l circumstances i s the flow from LDCs in general of any s i g n i f i c a n c e . Indian nationals c o n s t i t u t e 28.17 p e r c e n t of t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s in Nepal and 38.43 per cent in Bangladesh. This i s due p r i m a r i l y t o family and b u s i n e s s t i e s , and in t h e former case a l s o t o r e l i g i o u s p i l g r i m a g e . On the whole however t h e LLDCs a r e h e a v i l y dependent on t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s from N o r t h A m e r i c a , E u r o p e , A u s t r a l a s i a and J a p a n ( T a b l e 3 . 5 ) . This f a c t i l l u s t r a t e s t h e i r v u l n e r a b i l i t y to exogenous c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . Mathieson and Wall (1982) document how tourism i s a h i g h l y u n s t a b l e e x p o r t : ‘It i s s u b j e c t to s t r o n g s e a s o n a l v a r i a t i o n s , to pronounced and u n p r e d i c t a b l e i n f l u e n c e s from e x t e r n a l f o r c e s , t o t h e h e t e r o g e n e o u s n a t u r e of t o u r i s t m o t i v a t i o n s and e x p e c t a t i o n s , and i s highly e l a s t i c with r e s p e c t t o both p r i c e and income’. Socio-cultural resources The broad category of socio-cultural resources for tourism is perhaps the most difficult to evaluate as so many subjective considerations emerge. The peculiar mix of social, cultural and political factors experienced by each country may serve both to attract and deter tourists. The attraction of alternative cultures is of prime importance. Countries where there is a rich mix of art, crafts, music, dance, architecture, etc. are the most sought-after destinations. Amongst the LLDCs under consideration the rich cultural and architectural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal is the most obvious example. Several of the LLDCs do have considerable potential on this basis: on a cultural front the Polynesian island of Western Samoa and the Buddhist Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan are two such examples. Others may have already tapped such resources for tourism but due to unfavourable political and economic climates are suffering a suspension of the 49

50

Notes:

Source:

Bhutan Nepal Maldives Gambia* Haiti

59

na

27 12 2 na

75 91

46 35

na

na

3 3 4

North Europe Austra America -lasia

na

9 na

21 4

Japan

59

90 91

97 54

Total 1-4

na

na

na 1 .5 na

na

na .5 .5

Cent/S Africa America

na

na

8

na 34

na

na

na 9 2

3 1 1 9 41

South SE Not Asia Asia stated

Tourist Arrivals (1984) at selected LLDCs by origin (percentages)

World Tourism Organisation (19 85), World Travel and Tourism Statistics 1983–84, WTO, Madrid * For 1981: from International Tourism Quarterly (1983b) The Gambia National Report 85. na: not available as a separate figure. This data is included in final column. Percentages do not always add to 100 due to rounding.

LLDC Destination

Table 3.5:

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries tourist trade. The e a r l y C h r i s t i a n h e r i t a g e of E t h i o p i a has a t t r a c t e d a c o n s i d e r a b l e number of t o u r i s t s in the p a s t . The e x i s t e n c e of s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s in themselves i s i n s u f f i c i e n t t o a t t r a c t t o u r i s t s i f t h e w i l l i n g p a r t i c i p a t i o n of t h e p o p u l a t i o n cannot be m o b i l i s e d . The welcome t h a t i s extended t o t h e t o u r i s t has c o n s i d e r a b l e importance - t h i s may be i n h e r e n t or engendered; but if i t does not e x i s t , or i s l o s t , tourism w i l l s u f f e r . This in itself is often a changing v a r i a b l e . Doxey ( 1 9 7 5 ) , i n d e r i v i n g h i s i n d e x of tourist i r r i t a t i o n , d e s c r i b e s how t h i s c h a n g e s o v e r time t h r o u g h v a r i o u s s t a g e s b e t w e e n e u p h o r i a and antagonism on the p a r t of the host community. Not only must t h e i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s between v a r i a b l e s be considered t h e r e f o r e , but they must be s e t in a dynamic framework. The p o l i t i c s of a country come i n t o play as f a r as tourism i s concerned not so much in terms of d o c t r i n e b u t i n t e r m s of s t a b i l i t y . Countries a c t i v e l y promoting tourism have b o t h capitalist and s o c i a l i s t r e g i m e s . P a r a d o x i c a l l y Tanzania, d e s p i t e i t s s t r o n g s o c i a l i s t p r i n c i p l e s , i1 s a t t e m p t i n g t o a t t r a c t the‘ l a t t e r - d a y Hemingways . Tourism i s very v u l n e r a b l e t o d i s r u p t i o n a s has been made e v i d e n t in r e c e n t years by the d e c l i n e in t h e number of t o u r i s t s t o Uganda, E t h i o p i a and Afghanistan. A f u r t h e r i l l u s t r a t i o n of t h e p o l i t i c a l dimension of tourism i s o f f e r e d by t h e Southern African c o u n t r i e s of Malawi, Botswana and L e s o t h o . A l l t h r e e a r e h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t on t o u r i s t s from t h e same r e g i o n , n o t a b l y South Africa. In 1980 78 per cent of Malawi’s v i s i t o r s came from A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s south of the equator ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y , 1984). I t can be seen t h a t a wide range of p h y s i c a l , economic and s o c i a l f a c t o r s c o n d i t i o n a c o u n t r y ’ s p o t e n t i a l for tourism. Because of t h i s , even w i t h i n the r e l a t i v e l y narrow category of t h e LLDCs, t h e r e w i l l be c o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i a t i o n in terms of the number of t o u r i s t s a t t r a c t e d (Table 3 . 6 ) . I t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h e r e f o r e t h a t amongst the group t h r e e b a s i c t y p e s of c o u n t r y can be d i s c e r n e d . F i r s t , t h e r e a r e t h o s e c o u n t r i e s w i t h a low p o t e n t i a l for tourism due t o t h e i r own p a r t i c u l a r mix of v a r i a b l e s o u t l i n e d above. The landlocked sub-Saharan s t a t e s of Chad and Mali, although both a s p i r i n g t o d e v e l o p t o u r i s m , f a c e a b a r r a g e of constraints. The sheer l e v e l of p o v e r t y i n b o t h t h e s e c o u n t r i e s m i l i t a t e s a g a i n s t development, 51

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Table 3.6: Tourist Arrivals in selected LLDCs, 1980

Country

Tourist arrivals (000s )

Afghanistan Bangladesh Benin Botswana Burundi C.African Republic Chad (1978) Ethiopia Gambia Haiti Laos Lesotho Malawi Maldives Nepal Niger Samoa Sudan Tanzania Uganda U.Volta (Burkina Faso) Yemen

7 64 41 179 35 7 15 36 35 155 28 162 46 49 163 20 23 24 175 17 38 39

Growth (%) over last Over 5 year years -81 12 20 10 3 0 -6 16 -12 15 4 6 15 55 1 5 0 0 12 6 -14 11

-92 0.3 125 na 36 na na 18 47 96 na na 9 193 118 na 18 -22 78 na 160 144

Source: United Nations Statistical Yearbook (1979), Table 144, and (1981), Table 194 na: not available exacerbated by adverse physiographic and climatic regimes and a paucity of natural resources. The infrastructure in both countries is poor, and Chad has the added complication of civil strife over recent years. In terms of potential, Chad has the attraction of more varied scenery from the dense forests of the south to the deserts of the north, and has established two national parks and five game reserves. Mali, in addition to developing hunting and fishing, has the celebrated city of Timbuktu. None the less, for the above reasons tourism is largely undeveloped in both localities. A second group of countries comprises those LLDCs with considerably greater potential but where, for various reasons, tourism still remains at a 52

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries relatively low level. This may be because it is in an embryonic stage of development, such as Bhutan, or because it may be in a temporary state of abeyance due to political factors. Ethiopia and Afghanistan have already been cited as examples of this latter category. The final group contains those countries where tourism has developed very rapidly in recent years and figures as a mainstay of their economy. Bryden (1973) suggests that ‘tourism countries’ may be d e f i n e d on the basis of tourism r e c e i p t s constituting 5 per cent or more of national income, and those receipts furnishing 10 per cent or more of exports. Only six of the 31 LLDCs might be defined as‘tourism countries’ on the basis of one or both of these criteria: Benin, Gambia, Haiti, Maldives, Nepal and Samoa (Table 3.7). Of the remaining countries Botswana and Tanzania are the strongest contenders to join this group. The need for caution in interpretation of this data is highlighted by the example of Gambia, where although tourism receipts constitute 58.1 per cent of total exports, net foreign exchange earnings are considerably reduced by l e a k a g e s o v e r s e a s (International Tourism Quarterly, 1983b). It is evident from the above discussion that assessing the potential for tourism in an LLDC is not an easy task. However, whether the sector has been developed, is being developed or will be developed in the future it is essential to appraise what the likely impacts are. TOURISM IMPACT Many studies on tourism impact take a strictly topic-orientated approach. They have little or no regard to the spillover effects through the rest of the system other than those immediate to the topic under consideration. This is particularly true of the earlier studies where socio-cultural and environmental impacts were virtually ignored. It is extremely difficult, and indeed unwise, to generalise about the nature of such impacts. Variations will occur over three dimensions: spatial, topical and temporal. Spatial variations occur both between and within countries. Apart from the obvious physical and cultural differences that occur the wider developmental context will also condition the impact. An LLDC such as Nepal which never came 53

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Table 3.7: The contribution of tourism to national income and exports 1980

Country

Tourism Tourism Receipts GNP Exports Receipts as a % as a % (m $) (m $) (m $) of GNP of Expts

Afghanistan 2809+ Bangladesh 11505 Benin 1054 Bhutan 104 Botswana 728 Burundi 820 Cape Verde 90 C. African 690 Republic Chad 540 Comoros 120 Democratic Yemen 798 Ethiopia 4354 Gambia 150 82+ Guinea Guinea-Bissau 128 1350 Haiti 300 + Laos Lesotho 546 1403 Malawi Maldives 52 1330 Mali 2044 Nepal 1749 Niger 1040 Rwanda 78+ W. Samoa 492 + Somalia Sudan 7667 5236 Tanzania 1281 U. Volta (Burkina Faso) 3010 Yemen

1 551 157 na 54 7 1 na 544.5** 24 65 na na na 90 65 na 421b 350 31* 421 na 601 21 na 317 na 200 97 290 140 na 141 543 508 90.2* na

3 2a na

0.04 1.4 0.7 1 .0 3.3 na na

0.2 na 12.9 na 4.4 na na

0.4 0.4 na

3.3 3.1 na

4 0.5 5a 0.1 18 12.0 na na na na 65 4.8 na na na na 6 0.4 18.3 b 35.2 9 0.7 45 2.2 3 0.2 na na 6 7.7 5 1.0 6 0.1 21 0.4 7 0.5 72

2.4

1.0 1.4 58.1 na na 10.8 na na 1 .9 na 4.5 46.4 1.0 na na 3.5 1.1 4.1 7.7 na

Sources: Author’s calculations based on data from United Nations Statistical Yearbook (1981), Table 1 9 4 , and United N a t i o n s N a t i o n a l Accounts Statistics (1981 ) * United Nations International Trade Statistics Yearbook (1983) ** IMF International Finance Statistics (1982) +: GDP; a: 1979; b: 1981 54

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries under direct colonial rule and remained cut off from Western influence until the mid-1950s, will have a considerably different experience to that of an ex-colonial country such as Malawi. Similarly within countries the impact will vary enormously according to whether the area being considered is in a relatively poor, remote and previously inaccessible location or in an already developed urban hub of the country. Topical variations cover the vast range of tourism’s social, economic and physical impacts. These arise from the nature of tourism and the types of tourists involved as well as the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the d e s t i n a t i o n . The characteristics of tourists which have implications for the nature of tourism impacts include: the socio-economic characteristics of visitors; the level of use (the number of visitors and their distribution); their lengths of stay; and the types of tourist activity. The temporal variations may be particularly relevant in the case of tourism, it is very easy to incur long-term costs for immediate short-term gains, and it is the long-term interests which are so often sacrificed. Short-term effects arise primarily through direct activity (and related long-term multiplier effects), whereas ramifications may affect the nature and fabric of a city or community. Very little research has been undertaken into the lag effects, obviously these will vary according to whether the development is large or small scale, and the characteristics of the destination. Impact studies of all types are bedevilled by the difficulties of weighing up the relative costs and benefits as they occur over these dimensions. This is particularly well illustrated by the fact that the economic benefits of tourism have been over emphasized whilst there is a relative paucity of studies of environmental and social impacts. Furthermore the costs and benefits of tourism are not evenly distributed through society. The benefits to one group or individual in a community may be a cost to others in the same community. This is particularly true of the markedly skewed income distributions in the LLDCs: by enhancing the earning capabilities of one section of the population compared with those still engaged in subsistence activities the dualism between those two sections of the population will be further increased. 55

Tourism in t h e Least Developed Countries The c o m p l e x i t y of s u c h i s s u e s i s a l s o i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e case of employment in tourism and t o u r i s m - r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s . The p o s i t i v e e f f e c t of i n c r e a s i n g employment i n s e r v i c e s i n c e r t a i n i n s t a n c e s may be more t h a n o f f s e t by a c o u n t e r v a i l i n g n e g a t i v e impact of s i p h o n i n g off labour from the a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r , e s p e c i a l l y a t t i m e s of peak n e e d . Added t o t h e s e c o n c e p t u a l problems are the p r a c t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s of d e t e r m i n i n g what a r e t h e a c t u a l impacts and then measuring them. The i m p a c t s may be a b s o l u t e o r r e l a t i v e , d i r e c t or i n d i r e c t , q u a n t i t a t i v e or g u a l i t i t i v e . The n e t impact of tourism may well be d i f f i c u l t t o s e p a r a t e from the changes t h a t would have occurred a t any r a t e . The LLDCs a r e s e t in an e v e r - c h a n g i n g world and t o u r i s m i s f a r from t h e only agent of t h a t change. The complex n a t u r e of t o u r i s m makes i t extremely d i f f i c u l t t o d e v i s e a s i n g l e measure of i m p a c t . Measures of economic impact, that is monetary measures, are i n a p p r o p r i a t e t o t h e a s s e s s m e n t of many of t h e q u a l i t a t i v e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s t h a t emerge w h i l s t c o n s i d e r i n g s o c i a l and environmental i m p a c t s . Not only a r e t h e problems ones of d e f i n i t i o n or a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s , t h e LDCs a s a w h o l e a r e c h a r a c t e r i s e d by a s h o r t a g e of r e l i a b l e , t i m e l y and comparable d a t a . The inadequate d a t a s e t s r e l a t i n g to tourism present a p a r t i c u l a r l y severe constraint. Few c o u n t r i e s , f o r e x a m p l e , make a d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e b u s i n e s s and l e i s u r e t r a v e l l e r , each of w h i c h h a v e v e r y d i f f e r e n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and n e e d s . Much has been w r i t t e n a b o u t t h e i m p a c t of tourism in developing c o u n t r i e s , but because of the more extreme circumstances of t h e LLDCs the impact i n t h o s e n a t i o n s i s l i k e l y t o be t h a t much more significant. I t i s t h e n a t u r e of t h e t o u r i s t a c t i v i t y i t s e l f t o g e t h e r with t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e c o u n t r y d i s c u s s e d u n d e r t h e s e c t i o n on p o t e n t i a l t h a t w i l l c o n d i t i o n t h e n a t u r e of the impact. The physical impact of tourism The t r o p i c a l or s u b - t r o p i c a l l o c a t i o n of t h e LLDCs combined with t h e often severe t o p o g r a p h i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r r e s u l t in e x t r e m e l y f r a g i l e ecosystems t h a t a r e e a s i l y d i s r u p t e d . Once disrupted the physical f a c t o r s i n t e r a c t to cause r a p i d downgrading. This i s perhaps most e v i d e n t in 56

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries examining the impact of tourist activities on vegetation cover. A variety of tourist activities impact upon vegetation. The most drastic is the wholesale clearance of vegetation, either for initial use of the site or for firewood. In the absence of other, or more costly, fuels wood is extensively used for cooking and water heating in the LLDCs. This is, of course, primarily a domestic phenomenon, but in fuel-scarce situations is added to by the demands of the tourism industry. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic also impact directly on vegetation. In Nepal for example the large number of trekkers added to the local traffic scoring footpaths across the steep slopes has increased erosion. On the high plateau between Mawenzi and Kibo on Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, any detour from the well-beaten path results in considerable impact on the fragile ecosystem at that high altitude. Apart from problems of erosion, environmental pollution is a frequent problem. Excessive dumping of garbage is not only unsightly but ecologically damaging, and tends to be concentrated around sites of maximum usage. Those LLDCs with coastlines also have to pay particular attention to the threat of sea pollution, erosion, the destruction of habitats and the removal of shells and corals from reefs and beaches. The oceanic islands are especially vulnerable. Mention must also be made of the impact of tourism on wildlife. The direct effects of tourist activity on wildlife depend largely on the intensity of tourism development, the resilience of the species to the presence of tourists, and their subsequent adaptability. Added to the threat of extinction posed by uncontrolled hunting and killing are the problems of disruption of feeding and breeding patterns. These impacts are most e v i d e n t , and have c o n s e q u e n t l y been w e l l documented, in the case of big game in the national parks of East Africa. It is less obvious but still of considerable importance in the case of smaller species t h r o u g h o u t the L L D C s . There are significant indirect effects due to the complex r e l a t i o n s h i p that e x i s t s b e t w e e n t o u r i s m development and the needs of wildlife as well as those of the local inhabitants. This conflict is very much in evidence on the margin of national parks where the population is increasingly forced to seek alternative areas for cultivation and grazing. 57

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Much has been written in recent years of the importance of ‘bushmeat’ as a valuable source of protein in an otherwise deficient local diet. This further illustrates the complexity of tourism, as what is a potential area of conflicting interests (the viewing needs of tourists versus the killing of game by locals ), could be turned to a potential advantage. The controlled management of wildlife in Zimbabwe has benefited not only the local population but also has contributed to varied tourist menus in hotels including impala, warthog and crocodile meat. The ability of wildlife to withstand an influx of tourists will obviously vary from species to species and region to region. It is primarily a function of the size of national parks. In the smaller national parks such as Lake Manyara and Ngoro Ngoro the concentration of tourists is likely to be more of a problem than in the case of a larger expanse such as the Serengeti. There is, however, a distinct danger of being overtly pessimistic regarding the environmental impact of tourism. Mathieson and Wall (1982) emphasize that tourism can give rise to a positive impetus towards conservation, the need being to conserve that which attracts tourists in the first place. There are environmental limits to the development of tourism, but having recognised such l i m i t s it should be possible to defend the environment from adverse tourism impacts (Cohen, 1978). The economic impacts of tourism D u r i n g t h e 1960s t o u r i s m was a c c l a i m e d a s g e n e r a t i n g a m u l t i t u d e of b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t s upon such economic i n d i c a t o r s as b a l a n c e of p a y m e n t s , income, employment, regional e q u a l i t y , tax r e v e n u e s , improved i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , e t c . However, n o t o n l y a r e t h e r e t h e c o n s i d e r a b l e environmental and s o c i a l r i s k s t o be c o n s i d e r e d , but i n a d d i t i o n the positive economic effects may b e c o u n t e r b a l a n c e d o r e v e n e x c e e d e d by n e g a t i v e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s of t h e same i l k . Although tourism may be seen as a u s e f u l agent i n e a r n i n g f o r e i g n exchange t h i s may be o f f s e t i n many c a s e s i n t h e LLDCs by c o n s i d e r a b l e l e a k a g e s . With a narrow r e s o u r c e base i t becomes n e c e s s a r y t o import many of t h e r e q u i s i t e m a t e r i a l s and p r o d u c t s f o r t o u r i s m , a p r o c e d u r e e x a c e r b a t e d by t h e 58

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries centralised purchasing procedures of the larger hotel chains. In addition the repatriation of profits by foreign workers increases this leakage. In the case of the Gambia it is estimated that only 10 per cent of gross earnings are retained, in Tanzania 40 per cent. Even if there is a net rise in GNP it does not mean development for all, the distributional benefits are likely to be very skewed. Tourism, because it is a labour intensive activity, is often acclaimed for its employmentgenerating capabilities, both direct and indirect. Typically speaking, however, the employment is low paid, and of low skill levels. In addition, as tourism is in its infancy in many of the LLDCs, tourism-related employment remains very limited as a contributor to development. Farver (1984) for example concludes that the tourism industry in Gambia has not employed many Gambians, nor has it provided sufficient wages to allow them to improve their standard of living. Furthermore employment in tourism is very vulnerable to fluctuations due to downswings in the world economy, changing tastes and seasonality. The indirect employment generated may be particularly vulnerable, for example when construction of tourism facilities is completed. In addition there is the danger that in some instances scarce labour may be diverted from the rural sector. The widening of employment and earning opportunities for both young people and women has been attributed to tourism development by several writers. Reynoso y Valle and de Regt (1979) found significant changes in the employment of women in their Mexican case study. However, whilst this might be true of the Latin American situation, conditions are somewhat different amongst the LLDCs, especially in Africa. These differences can be attributed to a number of factors, quite often it is the sheer level of poverty and lack of alternative employment opportunities that mean that such vacancies are taken up by male workers, as in Malawi. In other instances, such as the Muslim countries of Yemen and Bangladesh, there will be cultural restrictions against the employment of women. In countries where tourism is significant in widening female employment opportunities there is the added complication, documented by de Kadt (1979) that, although this will decrease their dependence on traditional family ties, it will coincidently strain intra-familial relations. 59

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries Inflationary pressures often result from the development of tourism: consumer prices, land and house prices usually rise considerably. Any infrastructural improvements have to be paid for and are unlikely to benefit the entire population since they are concentrated in the urban areas and it is the tourists who will be the most intensive users. The social impacts of tourism In an ideal world contact between different peoples should promote wider understanding and remove national prejudices. In addition pride in culture may be engendered by tourism to such an extent that preservation or even renaissance of traditional arts and crafts should occur. In reality it has frequently been noted that tourism may play a more disruptive role in socio-cultural relations. The most obvious way in which this occurs is through the sheer pressure of numbers. As noted in the introduction many of the LLDCs are small in size, both in terms of land area and population. It follows that a large influx of visitors can have a considerable demographic impact (Table 3 . 8 ) . The presence of large numbers of tourists in particular places at specific times will mean congestion of facilities and services as well as having a considerable impact on the local community. Many writers have pointed to the workings of the demonstration effect, where socalled superior consumption patterns are likely to be adopted. The effect is stronger the wider the gap between the more and less developed, and the greater the extent and awareness of that gap. Obviously, although not the only agent publicising this gap, tourism is the most immediate and tangible. For most residents of destination areas the symbols of affluence remain tantalisingly beyond reach (Rivers, 1973). It is not surprising that, quite often, the ostentatious presence of the tourists results in resentment on the part of the indigenous population, as documented in Tanzania by Shivji (1975). They see yet further evidence of neo-colonisation as they are priced out of their own markets by foreigners. As Young (1973) points out this resentment can have a backlash in deterring tourists from visiting because of the local hostility generated. 60

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries

Table 3.8:

Tourism density in selected LLDCs, 1980

Country Afghanistan Bangladesh Benin Botswana Burundi C. African Republic Gambia Haiti Laos Lesotho Malawi Maldives Nepal Niger Samoa Sudan Tanzania Uganda U.Volta (Burkino Faso ) Yemen

Tourists/100 pop. 0.4 0.06 1.17 22.37 0.79

Tourists /km 2 0.01 0.44 0.36 0.31 1 .26

0.35 5.83 3.16 0.77 12.46 0.79 32.88 1.19 0.38 15.33 0.13 0.97 0.09

0.01 3.10 5.59 0.12 5.34 0.39 164.4 1.16 0.02 8.12 0.01 0.19 0.09

0.57 0.67

0.14 0.20

Source: Author’s calculations based on data from World Development Report (1982), Table 1 and United Nations Statistical Yearbook (1981), Table 194 Amongst the other disruptive socio-cultural effects is the commercialisation and consequent cheapening of c u l t u r e s . Turner and Ash (1975) refer to‘ d e e p - f r o z e n folklore’. Other disruptive influences include those on moral conduct and the breaking up of traditional community and kinship bonds. The forces of modernisation would bring a b o u t c h a n g e without tourism, but tourism, inevitably, accelerates that change.

CONCLUSION There is a definite danger of being unduly pessimistic about the role of tourism in the development of the LLDCs. They do have special 61

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries problems and they are more likely to be susceptible to the adverse effects of tourism given the very delicate balance that occurs between people and resources in those localities. However, with better-informed tourism planning, there is no reason why the positive effects should not be maximised and the negative ones minimised. It must be remembered that these countries have little else to turn to in attempting to accelerate their rate of development. The first essential is perhaps the most difficult, that is to appraise the country’s potential for tourism and from it determine how large a role it could or should play in the economy within the constraints of carrying capacity. It must be recognised that there will be an upper limit to the number of tourists a country can admit: if this limit is exceeded then the costs will outweigh the benefits. The limit itself will be dictated by the type of t o u r i s t s b e i n g considered and the characteristics of the area and its people as outlined in the s e c t i o n on potential. Research into the carrying capacity of countries and localities is still very much in a formative stage, but recognition of its importance was indicated several years ago when limits were set to the number of daily visitors to national parks in Tanzania (Young, 1973). Having decided on the role and relative size of the tourism sector a myriad of other policy decisions then have to be made. It is essential that tourism should not be planned for in isolation but should be integrated with the rest of the economy both sectorally and spatially, it should be co-ordinated with regional planning and fit in with overall economic and social planning policies. Similarly these wider social and economic policies will, in turn, have ramifications for tourism. As de Kadt (1979) points out:‘Planners of tourism can do little to provide greater equality in the distribution of the benefits of that industry, if the forces making for inequality are left a free rein in their society, and if policies aimed at the eradication of poverty are not rigorously pursued’. Decisions will have to be made as to the type of tourist to attract; if a mismatch between the type of tourist and what the country has to offer occurs the impact will be adverse. An interesting a p p r o a c h along these lines is the attempt, mentioned earlier, by Tanzania to attract the ‘white hunters’, recognising that the country does 62

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries not have t h e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e of her neighbour Kenya t o support the mass ( c h a r t e r ) type of tourism. The Bhutan government (Ray, 1983; R i c h t e r & R i c h t e r , 1 9 8 5 ) h a s a d o p t e d an u n u s u a l p o l i c y t o w a r d s t o u r i s m , i n an a t t e m p t t o k e e p t h e B h u t a n e s e r e l i g i o u s and c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e i n t a c t . Visitors have t o be members of a guided group and the c o s t s of t o u r s a r e p r o h i b i t i v e l y h i g h t o a l l b u t t h e ‘ e l i t e ’ type of t o u r i s t (Smith, 1977). Similarly W e s t e r n Samoa has a d o p t e d a c a u t i o u s a t t i t u d e towards the promotion of tourism, f e a r i n g t h a t the Samoan way of l i f e might be d i s r u p t e d by such an i n f l u x ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y , 1982). F u r t h e r debate concerns the s c a l e and l o c a t i o n of t o u r i s t a c t i v i t i e s . Rodenburg (1980) a r g u e s t h a t t h e o b j e c t i v e s of development a r e b e s t met by s m a l l e r - s c a l e tourism e n t e r p r i s e s , arguing t h a t i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o a d a p t t h e s c a l e of t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t t o t h e r e a l i t i e s of t h e l o c a l situation. Jenkins (1982), however, argues t h a t l a r g e - s c a l e d e v e l o p m e n t s a r e l i k e l y t o be i n e v i t a b l e because of e x t e r n a l economies of s c a l e and market s t r u c t u r e s i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s m . S i m i l a r d i s c u s s i o n concerns the l o c a t i o n of t o u r i s t a c t i v i t i e s in a c o u n t r y . One view s u g g e s t s t h a t they should be l o c a l i s e d in t o u r i s t enclaves in order t o confine a d v e r s e e f f e c t s . The M a l d i v e s have consciously r e s t r i c t e d t o u r i s t r e s o r t s t o the c e n t r a l Male and Ari a t o l l s . The a l t e r n a t i v e i s t o a t t e m p t t o d i s p e r s e d e v e l o p m e n t , p e r h a p s a s an instrument of r e g i o n a l p o l i c y , in order t o spread beneficial effects. These i s s u e s a r e perhaps not c o n t r a d i c t o r y but complementary: i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h a t d e c i s i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e s i z e , r o l e and l o c a t i o n of tourism should be s e t within a dynamic framework. I t i s i n e v i t a b l e t h a t in the e a r l i e r s t a g e s of tourism development, b e c a u s e t h e prime concern w i l l be t o a t t r a c t t o u r i s t s , the emphasis w i l l most l i k e l y be on l a r g e - s c a l e , l o c a l i s e d developments. The degree of foreign investment i s l i k e l y t o be h i g h e s t a t t h i s stage of development, b r i n g i n g w i t h i t c o n s i d e r a b l e k n o w l e d g e and e x p e r i e n c e of t h e p a t t e r n of demand, m a r k e t i n g c h a n n e l s and p r o d u c t i d e n t i t y . However, as i n d i g e n o u s f i r m s g a i n knowledge t h e d e g r e e of foreign involvement d e c r e a s e s . McQueen (1983) f o u n d t h a t ‘ t h e o w n e r s h i p a d v a n t a g e s of MNE ( m u l t i - n a t i o n a l e n t e r p r i s e ) h o t e l s , while p o s s i b l y s u b s t a n t i a l i n t h e i n i t i a l p e r i o d of t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l tourism s e c t o r , d e c r e a s e over t i m e ’ . As d e v e l o p m e n t p r o c e e d s 63

Tourism in the Least Developed Countries government planners can begin to co-ordinate investment in infrastructure with the needs of small-scale entrepreneurs and the needs of local communities. Thus the focus changes over time, from initially concentrating on the needs of the tourist, to seeking methods by which tourism can contribute to the development of an area. It is essentially therefore a gradual process, as de Kadt (1979) suggests‘ t h e negative socio-cultural effects are likely to be reduced if the growth of tourism facilities is neither rapid nor massive, and if there is time for local populations to adjust to this activity and for tourism to fit This gradualist itself to the local society’. approach is particularly endorsed for the LLDCs. It is also pertinent to draw attention to the fact that the impact of tourism needs as careful appraisal in the least developed regions of the LDCs as a whole. Indeed the very designation of the LLDCs as a special category of LDCs met with considerable resistance from the Group of 77, as documented by Weiss and Jennings (1983), for the very reason that gross discrepancies within their own boundaries may thus be neglected. Once more a plea is made for a systematic approach to the potential for and impact of tourism amongst the least developed nations and regions, recognising the complexity of interlinkages that occur, and setting such an approach in a dynamic framework. This latter requisite is all the more vital given the fact that tourism is still in its infancy in many of the LLDCs. Clearly flexibility of approach is necessary, and comprehensive monitoring an essential of tourism planning. Such monitoring of course depends very much on a flow of timely and reliable information, which in turn is likely to provide just as severe a constraint as any. Finally it is essential to consider the wider context in which tourism planning in the LLDCs must be set. To bring about more balanced development requires much more than improvement in tourism planning, it requires a national, and indeed international, commitment to a greatly modified development programme in which equality occupies a much more dominant position. At present too much blame is laid at the door of tourism for those impacts which arise as a result of the very nature and fabric of the social and economic milieu, both intra-national and international, in which it is operating as a process. 64

Tourism i n t h e L e a s t Developed

Countries

REFERENCES

Bryden, J.M. (1973) T o u r i s m and Development: A C a s e S t u d y of t h e Commonwealth C a r r i b e a n , Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , Cambridge Cohen, E. (1978) The i m p a c t of t o u r i s m on t h e p h y s i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t , A n n a l s of T o u r i s m R e s e a r c h 5 , 215-37 de K a d t , E. ( 1 9 7 9 ) Tourism: Passport to D e v e l o p m e n t ? , Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , Oxford Doxey, G.V. (1975) A c a u s a t i o n t h e o r y of v i s i t o r r e s i d e n t i r r i t a n t s : m e t h o d o l o g y and r e s e a r c h i n f e r e n c e s , 1 9 5 - 8 i n The T r a v e l R e s e a r c h Association, T h e I m p a c t of Tourism, P r o c e e d i n g s of 6 t h TRRA C o n f e r e n c e , S a l t Lake City F a r v e r , J . A . (1984) Tourism and employment i n t h e Gambia, Annals of Tourism R e s e a r c h , l l ( 2 ) , 249-65 H o p k i n s , T.K. & W a l l e r s t e i n , I . ( e d s ) (1982) World S y s t e m s A n a l y s i s : T h e o r y and M e t h o d o l o g y , Sage, Beverly H i l l s , C a l i f o r n i a I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y (1977) Fiji, N a t i o n a l R e p o r t 41 , 20-33 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y (1982) South P a c i f i c I s l a n d s , R e g i o n a l R e p o r t 1 2 , 14-34 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y (1983a) The M a l d i v e s , S p e c i a l R e p o r t 4 5 , 59-69 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y (1983b) The Gambia, N a t i o n a l R e p o r t 8 5 , 17-26 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y (1984) Malawi, N a t i o n a l R e p o r t 9 5 , 9-15 J e n k i n s , C . L . ( 1 9 8 2 ) T h e e f f e c t s of s c a l e i n tourism p r o j e c t s in developing c o u n t r i e s , Annals of Tourism R e s e a r c h , 9 ( 2 ) , 229-49 McQueen, M. (1983) Appropriate p o l i c i e s towards m u l t i n a t i o n a l h o t e l corporations in developing c o u n t r i e s , World Development, 11 ( 2 ) , 141–52 M a t h i e s o n , A. & W a l l , G. (1982) T o u r i s m : Economic, P h y s i c a l and S o c i a l I m p a c t s , Longman, London R a y , N. ( 1 9 8 3 ) M o u n t a i n s a n d monasteries, G e o g r a p h i c a l M a g a z i n e , 55 ( 1 2 ) , 645-50 R e y n o s o y V a l l e , A. a n d d e R e g t , J . P . (1979) Growing p a i n s : p l a n n e d t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t i n I x t a p a - Z i h u a t a n e j o , 111–34 i n E. de Kadt (Ed) T o u r i s m : P a s s p o r t t o Development?, Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , Oxford R i c h t e r , L. & R i c h t e r , W. (1985) P o l i c y c h o i c e s i n South Asian t o u r i s m development, Annals of Tourism R e s e a r c h , 7 ( 2 ) , 177-96 65

Tourism in t h e Least Developed Countries R i v e r s , P . (1973) T o u r i s t t r o u b l e s , New S o c i e t y , 23, 250 R o d e n b u r g , E. ( 1 9 8 0 ) The e f f e c t s of s c a l e i n economic development: Tourism in B a l i , Annals of Tourism Research, 7 ( 2 ) , 177-96 S h i v j i , I . G . (1975) T o u r i s m and socialist development, Tanzanian Studies 3, Tanzania P u b l i s h i n g House, Dar Es Salaam Smith, V.L. (1977) H o s t s a n d G u e s t s ; An A n t h r o p o l o g y of T o u r i s m , U n i v e r s i t y of Pennsylvania P r e s s , P h i l a d e l p h i a S o u s s a n , J . (1985) Energy in small i s l a n d economies, Ambio, 15 ( 4 ) , 242–4 Turner, L. and Ash, J . (1975) The Golden Hordes: I n t e r n a t i o n a l T o u r i s m and t h e P l e a s u r e P e r i p h e r y , Constable, London United Nations (1971) S p e c i a l measures in favour of t h e l e a s t developing c o u n t r i e s . United N a t i o n s , New York Wahab, S.E. (1975) Tourism Management, Tourism I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r e s s , London Ward, M. (1975) Dependent development: problems of economic p o l i c y in small developing c o u n t r i e s , pp 115-131 i n P. Selwyn ( e d . ) , Development p o l i c y in small c o u n t r i e s , Croom Helm, London W e i s s , T.G. and J e n n i n g s , A. (1983) More for t h e L e a s t : P r o s p e c t s for t h e Poorest C o u n t r i e s in t h e 8 0 ‘ s , Lexington, Lexington Whittow, J . B . (1980) D i s a s t e r s : The Anatomy of Environmental Hazards, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middx World Bank (1981) World Development Report, Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , Oxford World Bank ( 1 9 8 3 ) World Development R e p o r t , Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , Oxford Young, G. (1973) T o u r i s m : b l e s s i n g or b l i g h t ? , Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middx

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Chapter 4 THE ROLE OF TRAVEL AGENT AND TOUR OPERATOR

Maurice Buck

SETTING THE SCENE

I t would be f a i r t o say t h a t t h e t r a v e l a g e n t i s d e p e n d e n t , f o r h i s l i v e l i h o o d , on t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r ; b u t t h e c o n v e r s e may n o t n e c e s s a r i l y be true. The t r a v e l i n d u s t r y i n t h e U n i t e d Kingdom i s a dynamic e n v i r o n m e n t i n which a change i n one p a r t of t h e s y s t e m n e c e s s i t a t e s a d j u s t m e n t s e l s e w h e r e . The m u l t i p l i c i t y of c h a n g e s which have t a k e n p l a c e o v e r t h e l a s t t e n y e a r s have c r e a t e d an e n v i r o n m e n t i n w h i c h t h e s u p p l i e r of t r a v e l p r o d u c t s , the d i s t r i b u t i o n s y s t e m f o r t h o s e p r o d u c t s , and t h e c o n s u m e r a r e i n a c o n t i n u a l s t a t e of open hostility. T h i s may seem d r a m a t i c , b u t n o t a l t o g e t h e r s u r p r i s i n g i n a s i t u a t i o n where t h e o b j e c t i v e s of e a c h c o m p o n e n t of t h e t o t a l s y s t e m a r e n o t i n a c c o r d . For i n s t a n c e : (i) The t o u r o p e r a t o r b r i n g s t o g e t h e r t h e v a r i o u s s o u r c e s o f b o t h UK a n d o v e r s e a s s u p p l i e r s of goods and s e r v i c e s i n t o a p a c k a g e i n o r d e r t o s e l l t o t h e consumer a t a p r o f i t . T h e t o u r o p e r a t o r may s e l l d i r e c t t o t h e public or via t r a v e l a g e n t s . Some t o u r o p e r a t o r s use both methods. ( i i ) The t r a v e l a g e n t h a s no p r o d u c t of h i s own t o s e l l , o n l y t h e q u a l i t y of h i s s e r v i c e . Thus, t h e t r a v e l agent i s to a large extent d e p e n d e n t on t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r f o r his continued existence. Any c h a n g e s i n t h e t r a d i n g a r r a n g e m e n t s between o p e r a t o r and a g e n t s u c h a s w i t h d r a w a l of p r o d u c t , p r i c i n g p o l i c i e s , t e r m s of t r a d e and m e t h o d s of d i s t r i b u t i o n w i l l cause c o n s i d e r a b l e p r e s s u r e on t h e a g e n t . These p r e s s u r e s w i l l m a n i f e s t t h e m s e l v e s t o a g r e a t e r or l e s s e r e x t e n t 67

Travel Agent and Tour Operator depending on the inherent profitability of the agent. (iii) The consumer, generally, requires a travel product at the lowest price and of the highest quality - consistent with his own value judgement and preferences. It is quite evident to travel agents that there is a minority group of travellers whose value judgements are so out of line with the norm that their expectations could not be satisfied in any economic way. Within society, there are other pressure groups supportive of the rights of the consumer which tend to react to and lobby for this minority group. Consequently, both travel agent and tour operator need to react to this new pressure in such a way that ultimately quality is improved at a minimal increase in price. This brief synopsis may suggest an air of disenchantment with the tourism industry. It is categorically not so. This scenario is suggested if only to emphasize that the industry is organised and controlled by people for people; and that all those involved seek to maximise their own profit and pleasure from participation. THE ROLE OF THE TRAVEL AGENT A travel agent’s perception of his role will vary according to his organisation’s position in the structure of the tourism industry. Broadly speaking there is a dichotomy of roles between the single independent who must concentrate on service and skill and the multiple chain which adopts a ‘supermarket a p p r o a c h ’to r e t a i l i n g t r a v e l products. The independent, on the one hand, usually provides an in-depth service in three main areas: pre-sales service, the sales situation, after-sales service. The multiple chain, on the other hand, will allocate more resources and give greater priority to the period during which active selling takes place within the agency.

68

Travel Agent and Tour Operator Pre-sales service How a r e t h e s e d i f f e r e n c e s m a n i f e s t e d i n practice? The i n d e p e n d e n t t r a v e l a g e n t i s more s e n s i t i v e t o the i n d i v i d u a l consumer’s wishes than the multiple chain. I n r e s p e c t of p r e - s a l e s s e r v i c e independents maintain longer opening hours t h a n m u l t i p l e c h a i n s which keep s t a n d a r d s h o p opening h o u r s . At t h i s s t a g e the independent i s in much c l o s e r c o n t a c t w i t h h i s l o c a l m a r k e t and d e v e l o p s t h i s t h r o u g h l o c a l promotional a c t i v i t y whereas the m u l t i p l e c h a i n r e l i e s on mass media a d v e r t i s i n g t o bring in customers. The independent i s p a r t i c u l a r l y aware of l o c a l market segmentation and t h e n e e d s of s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t groups. Cost comparisons a c r o s s a w i d e r r a n g e of h o l i d a y and t r a v e l - a s s o c i a t e d s e r v i c e s are provided at t h i s s t a g e by t h e i n d e p e n d e n t . These d i f f e r e n c e s between independent and m u l t i p l e chain a t the pre¬ s a l e s stage a r e summarised in Table 4 . 1 . Table 4 . 1 : Pre-sales service Independent Travel Agency

Multiple Chain

Increased accessibility through longer opening hours

Standardized opening hours

Closer contact with specific market segments through local promotions

Blanket market coverage through press and TV advertising

More efficient local information gathering/ dissemination activities for special interest groups

Very little effort expended in this area

Cost comparisons across wide range of alternatives

Little effort made to compare alternatives

The s a l e s s i t u a t i o n T a b l e 4.2 compares the r o l e s of independents and m u l t i p l e c h a i n s d u r i n g t h e s a l e s s i t u a t i o n . Again t h e i n d e p e n d e n t has a g r e a t e r awareness of 69

Travel Agent and Tour Operator t h e consumer’s wishes and e x e r c i s e s g r e a t e r c a r e in matching t h e h o l i d a y package sold t o the c u s t o m e r ’ s needs. The m u l t i p l e c h a i n i s l e s s l i k e l y t o c o n s i d e r as wide a range of a l t e r n a t i v e s and more l i k e l y t o o f f e r p a c k a g e s which m a x i m i s e t h e i r commission e a r n i n g s . The independent t r a v e l agent t h e r e f o r e e s t a b l i s h e s a more p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h c l i e n t s , which i s l i k e l y t o be r e f l e c t e d i n t h e i r r e p e a t e d use of t h a t agency. Independents, h o w e v e r , a r e a t a d i s a d v a n t a g e compared t o m u l t i p l e s i n r e s p e c t of c a p i t a l i n v e s t m e n t i n i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y . The l a t t e r i s being widely a d o p t e d a s a means of s e a r c h i n g f o r travel i n f o r m a t i o n , making h o l i d a y bookings, e t c . Table 4.2: The sales situation Independent Travel Agent

Multiple Chain

Greater degree of questioning client in order to match the product commission earnings to client’s needs

Proclivity to sell product which maximises commission earnings

Advisory role on best choice or range of alternatives

Advisory role restricted since product range offered restricted

Personal relationship established with client/ increases credibility

Less chance to develop relationships as throughput is paramount

Limited financial resources available for technological developments

Considerable investment in new technology to increase throughput

After-sales service Feedback from clients on the success of a holiday (or lack of it! ) is actively sought to a much greater extent by the independent travel agent and the information thus gathered concerning travel modes, accommodation, resorts, etc. is evaluated for possible future use. Where holidays are not w h o l l y s u c c e s s f u l and p r o b l e m s a r i s e the 70

Travel Agent and Tour Operator independent agent may proffer more assistance as a ‘trouble-shooter’ both during the holiday and subsequently, e.g. in supporting complaints and i n s u r a n c e claims. The differences between independents and multiple chains at the after-sales stage are summarised in Table 4.3. Table 4.3:

After-sales service

Independent Travel Agency

Multiple Chain

Receiving, noting, using information provided by clients on resorts and hotels

Activity dependent on each individual travel clerk

Supportive role in dealing with clients’ complaints and insurance claims

Some effort expended in this area

Problem solving, e.g.clients Help mainly during requiring additional funds office hours only in resort/arranging for clients1 repatriation when return flights have been missed - both inside and outside office hours

Changing structure and practices It is not difficult to understand why the above distinctions occur. Most of the multiple retail chains are subsidiary companies of larger organisations. Thomas Cook belongs to the Midland Bank, Pickfords to the British Transport Services, Lunn Poly to Thomson Holidays and Hogg Robinson to the massive insurance company of the same name. The acquisition policy and continued expansion of these retail chains had very little to do with customer service. The rationale stemmed mainly from the cash-generating characteristics of the retail agent. Cash which could be utilised either for further investment in more cash-generating outlets or for use in the parent company’s existing business. The expansion of the major retail chains, for whatever reason, has had a significant effect on the travel industry. 71

Travel Agent and Tour Operator In the last three years, it is suggested that the major chains have probably reached a market penetration of between 20-25 per cent of outlets, and 40-45 per cent of sales. Their strength in the distribution network is such that they can force tour o p e r a t o r s into providing ‘ o v e r r i d e commissions’in excess of the generally accepted 10 per cent. Whilst there is an argument that productive agencies should be rewarded through increased commission levels, it is not in the public or tour operators’interest to have retail chains forcing the issue for all of their outlets whether these are productive or not. The Midlands tour operator, Horizon, withdrew its product from the Pickfords’s chain during 1984/5. It was reported that this action stemmed from differences over the amount of ‘ o v e r r i d e commission’which should be paid. Despite the fact that Horizon was then the third largest tour operator in the UK, the company found that the loss of more than 200 r e t a i l o u t l e t s for t h e distribution of its product could not be tolerated for more than one season. One could argue that this represents misuse of power in the market place. There are many examples that could be quoted where multiple chains‘ b u y ’ commercial business accounts through heavy discounting; thus increasing the size and growth rate of the multiple chains. The irony of the situation for the remaining 75 per cent of retail agents was that this practice was as rife under the period before ‘Stabiliser’ was dispensed with as it is now. Operation Stabiliser, introduced by ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents) in 1965, was the reciprocal booking arrangement, which amounted to a closed shop, whereby travel agent members of ABTA sold only the services of ABTA tour operators and the latter offered their products only via ABTA travel agents. ABTA had over the years developed a code of conduct, part of which was that tour operators’ products should be sold to the public at the price set by each tour operator. This policy was generally accepted by the trade as a form of retail price maintenance necessary for the preservation of retail margins and thus the tour operators’ distribution network. Current developments indicate that the recent banning of the‘ S t a b i l i s e r ’by the Restrictive Practices Court has created an environment in which discounting has become the norm. The consequence 72

Travel Agent and Tour Operator of such a policy will be to increase polarisation in the retail area - the large will get larger and the smaller less profitable – units will close down or merge with larger organisations. The effect that this will have on the consumer is quite clear. Since most retail chains sell only a‘ p r e f e r r e d ’list of tour operators consumer choice will diminish. It is the single independent outlet which provides a wider range of tour operators’ products and they are usually the only means that small specialist tour operators have to distribute their product and reach the market place. THE AGENT AND THE TOUR OPERATOR The discussion above concentrates on one aspect of the relationship between agents and tour operators. There are many other facets of this relationship which have been initiated by the tour operator and which are also leading to internal tension within the industry. Growth in the overseas holiday market is primarily a function of the marketing efforts of tour operators. For the majority of the public a package holiday is the only means by which they can afford to reach‘ g u a r a n t e e d ’sunshine. In the UK there are in excess of 600 tour operators licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority for charter air holiday packages. A proportion of these tour operators will also be licensed for charter flights only. In the last two to three years there have been significant changes in the number of major operators in the market place. Mergers between secondary operators have created several large companies at the top, v i z . Thomson, Intasun, Horizon, Rank and Cosmos, with a myriad of small operators below. Under the ABTA rules all ABTA tour operators’ products could be sold through all ABTA agents’ outlets. However, major operators, in their quest for cost savings, have invested heavily in computer reservations systems and begun to reduce their telephone reservations facility. Pressure has been exerted on retail agents to install computer terminals in their agencies in order to access the tour operators’reservations systems. Thus, tour operators are passing part of the reservation costs down the distribution chain. This development has 73

Travel Agent and Tour Operator reached the point with Thomson Holidays that the telephone reservation system for its summer sun/winter sun packages was withdrawn from 8 December 1986. Parallel with this development are moves to service only the most productive of retail agents. The effect on small retail agents will be quite significant - reduced sales from a lower level of service. Add to this the diminution of sales as a result of multiple chain discounting, and the closure of many independents becomes self evident. For those operators and agents who remain in business the future looks bright. The number of passengers travelling overseas is increasing steadily each year. Shifts in demand patterns are followed closely by the market, as illustrated by the trend towards increasing numbers of selfcatering holidays and flight-only arrangements. Tour operators have reacted quickly and expanded their range of products to satisfy this growing market: as indeed they must if they are to protect, and certainly enhance, their share of the market. Travel agents are not in the forefront of this development but responding to it through increased awareness of the sources of inexpensive charter flights to satisfy their clients’requirements. The introduction of new destinations arises from tour operator innovation. Travel agents can help stimulate demand following familiarisation visits and educational programmes. It is possible that the scenario for the future will result in restricted opportunities for the marketing of new products and resorts through conventional retail agents. Thought should then be given to marketing the product directly to the public via tourist offices or organisations. This policy could be marginally successful until the industry, as a whole, recognises the p r o d u c t or resorts’ potential.

74

Chapter 5 THE ROLE OF THE TOURIST BOARD Stan Bowes

TOURIST BOARDS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM Tourist boards in the United Kingdom exist in a variety of guises. There are the statutory boards which include England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the British Tourist Authority as well as the non-statutory boards which include 12 Regional Boards in England. There are also three Regional Tourism Councils in Wales plus the Scottish network of Area Tourist Boards and a number of ‘off-shore’ boards, like the Isle of Man Tourist Board. The status of the Guernsey Tourist Board and of the Jersey Tourist Board, Sark Tourism Council, the Alderney Tourist Board, and a number of ‘Trade Associations’, which call themselves s o r t s of t o u r i s t b o a r d s s h o u l d a l s o be acknowledged. Tourism in the UK is remarkably free from legislation. The 1969 Development of Tourism Act is the only piece of legislation in the entire post-Second World War period devoted to tourism. Astonishing in its brevity (14 pages), it is really an enabling Act which left all of the details to be filled in by the Secretary of State as and when he saw fit. It actually came out of the Harold Wilson government’s response to the interminable problem with the balance of payments. No Conservative government could have produced a better piece of legislation from the viewpoint of the private sector. The 1969 Act contained quite sweeping powers, some of them so sweeping that no government has yet dared to use them. For instance the compulsory registration of accommodation, which needs only an Order in Council, and from this it would be an easy step to introduce grading and classifications, then it would be one more easy step to introduce price controls.

75

The Role of the Tourist Board The English Tourist Board Enlarging on this latter theme the English Tourist Board has recently introduced for 1987 an accommodation classification system called the Crown Classification. For a long time in this country the Automobile Association with its star ratings has been the sign for the consumer to recognise that standard hotel accommodation has arrived and the English Tourist Board’s Rose classification or Rose Category never gained widespread acceptability. The Crown Classification is having an awful struggle to gain acceptance by a fairly large majority of the accommodation sector in this country at this moment in time, but it is something that is practicable. As previously mentioned, it only needs an Order in Council and it could become mandatory, but at the moment it is voluntary. The English Tourist Board, created under the 1969 Act, got going around 1970, with Sir Mark Ungar as its first chairman: at the time he was leader of Leicester City Council. He felt there should be a partnership between the English Tourist Board, local government and trade interests. The Regional Tourist Boards in England The 1970s was a period in which regionalism was very much the vogue in England - the Regional Sports Councils, Regional Arts Association, Regional Orchestral Associations, Regional Tourist Boards all being established during this period. The various regional tourists boards and councils in England and Wales are shown in Fig. 5.1. There is a striking variation in the spatial extent of tourist board areas and the regions covered are frequently unique. For example, the Thames and Chilterns Tourist Board comprises five counties Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire – a spatial grouping not recognised for any other government function. These regions also differ markedly in terms of the number of tourists, both domestic and overseas, who visit. The West Country attracts most domestic tourists, whilst London is the focal point for tourists from overseas. The London Tourist Board tried changing its name to the London Visitor and Convention Bureau (for reasons best known to themselves) for a period of two years but reverted to its original name in 1987. 76

The Role of the T o u r i s t Board Figure 5.1: Regional Tourist Boards and Councils in England and Wales

NORTHUMBRIA

CUMBRIA

YORKSHIRE & HUMBERSIDE NORTH WEST NORTH WALES

MID WALES

EAST MIDLANDS

HEART OF ENGLAND

SOUTH WALES

EAST ANGLIA

THAMES & CHILTERNS LONDON

SOUTHERN

SOUTH EAST

WEST COUNTRY

0

100 kilometres

77

The Role of the Tourist Board In most cases the Regional Tourist Boards were easy to set up because there were already local organisations which could be absorbed or developed: for instance, the English Lakes Travel Association became the Cumbria Tourist Board. The Yorkshire Travel and Tourism Association became the Yorkshire Tourist Board. The London Tourist Board had in fact already been in existence for six years when the 1969 Act was passed. Some boards were immediately successful. The East Midlands Board was able to find a local politician of standing who was favourable to the new tourist boards - Alan Yates in Nottinghamshire, who was chairman of the E a s t M i d l a n d s S p o r t s C o u n c i l / chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council and a Manpower Services Commissioner, and who rapidly gathered political and cash support for the East Midlands Tourist Board. However, other Regional Tourist Boards were seen as a menace: the Thames and Chilterns, for instance, was met with indifference from Oxfordshire and Berkshire County Councils, n e i t h e r of whom would put up an i n i t i a l subscription, and with outright hostility from Buckinghamshire who felt that it would lead to ‘brutalisation’of the Chilterns. Buckinghamshire in actual fact only joined the Thames and Chilterns Tourist Board in 1986, some 14 years after the inaugural annual general meeting. Differing roles of tourist boards Right from the outset different tourist boards had different roles to play, which reflected the great differences in tourism on the ground in different parts of England. The four Northern Boards (Cumbria, Northumbria, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside) play a very important role in stimulating tourism development partly through Section 4 of the 1969 Act. Section 4 is that part of the Act which gives the government powers to grant money for capital investment in tourism projects as long as the private sector contributes a fair amount. The Northern Boards adopted this role, in part, because of the famous Peter Shore tourism growth point experiments, e.g. Scarborough and the North East, and many other coastal boards have had very great involvement with their resorts: the infamous problem of the resorts I Some resorts are flourishing, like Blackpool, whereas others are in the final throes of death, like Hunstanton in 78

The Role of the Tourist Board north-west Norfolk. The reasons for this have not been fully established but probably reflect the local political and social structures. Table 5.1 summarises the grants and loans received by the boards over their first 15 years of life and also indicates their current sources of income. There is more than a ten-fold variation in the amount of grant aid received by boards over this period, with well over half the total amount being spent in peripheral regions. Similarly there is wide variation in Regional Boards’ dependence upon different sources of income. Most receive about a fifth of their annual income in the form of a subvention from the English Tourist Board whereas local authority contributions vary from a low (if L o n d o n discounted) of 4 per cent (Thames & Chilterns) to a high of 48 per cent (Northumbria). Likewise there is considerable variation in the proportion of income deriving from commercial interests (4 per cent in North West to 44 per cent in London) and other private sources (25 per cent Northumbria to 70 per cent Southern). Table 5.1: Regional Tourist Boards - Tourism Development Grants (1971-86) and Sources of Income (1985-86) Tourist Board

Gov.Grants/ Loans reed Total 1971-86 E’OOOs

6,502 Cumbria 4,839 Northumbria North West 4,982 Yorks & 8,586 Humberside East Midlands 2,288 Heart of 1,654 England 1,322 East Anglia Thames & 825 Chilterns London 1,195 West Country 10,164 Southern 3,012 Eastern 1,752 Totals

47,121

Income Sources % from ETB LAs Comm

Other

437 479 703

23 23 17

14 48 15

13 5 4

50 24 64

619 385

21 30

25 15

8 6

46 49

518 524

22 22

20 12

14 7

44 59

484 783 700 463

22 19 18 15 26

4 13 9 19

12 44 11 6 12

62 37 58 70 43

7,456

21

15

50

1,361

14

Source: English Tourist Board (1986) Annual Report

79

The Role of the Tourist Board It must be stressed, however, that the boards are first and foremost marketing agencies, although in addition some are seen as having development roles, and yet others are seen as having to manage tourism (in so far as it is manageable). GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES Amidst all of this the central government policy has been far from c l e a r , or indeed consistent. The Shore guidelines, written in the back of a taxi, talked of the need to get tourists out of London, and any scheme which involved tourists and work on the p e r i p h e r y of the metropolis or beyond was entirely acceptable. In Lord Young’s Pleasure, Leisure and Jobs published in August last year, and due to be launched in the mark II edition later this year, this body of policy was described as a mistake (Cabinet Office, 1985). It is now recognised that about two-thirds of all visitors to Britain start their holidays in London. This is not expected to change and there may well be a hotel shortage there, certainly in the foreseeable future. Some of the government’s own schemes have shown this same ambivalence over policy. The hotel development incentive scheme appeared highly successful and open-ended, but ran only from 19 70 to 1 9 7 3 , d u r i n g w h i c h time it produced an incredible rush of hotel building and extensionsome of it unnecessary, some of it poor quality, but it got Britain ready for the great tourist boom of the late 1970s. A whole range of investment promotion schemes have been tried since: one scheme, subsidising the interest that entrepreneurs pay on loans as the base rates rose, has proved almost impossible to administer. Section 4 of the 1969 Act permitted grants or loans to be made, but the loan part has never been used, just grants only. In some ways Section 4 is a misconceived scheme since applicants must pass a test of financial need yet simultaneously pass a test of financial viability! These are mutually exclusive. It would be much better to pay a standard rate of grant, say 25 per cent or whatever. In practice the average grant runs at just under 20 per cent.

80

The Role of the Tourist Board FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR TOURIST BOARDS Looking more towards the future it is accepted that Regional Tourist Boards will need to generate more and more of their own money if they are to continue to grow. By the late 1980s there will be several Regional Tourist Boards with budgets of well over one million pounds, with the average probably approaching two million pounds and a staff of around 50. Central government funding will probably drop as a proportion of the total: which for the Thames and Chilterns at the moment is around 22 per cent. In the case of the Thames and Chilterns Board we feel we will remain very much a marketing organisation but we are also looking at major new development initiatives (as are other tourist boards). For instance, bringing waterbased tourists from The Netherlands. The Thames and Chilterns and English Tourist Boards are working together to try and create new p r o d u c t s in the t o u r i s m s c e n e – b u d g e t accommodation, inns with bedrooms, high quality self-catering complexes. Given the rise in the self-catering field, this latter tourism need is quite significant, especially at this moment in time. This is a general synopsis of the tourist board as seen by a participant: we see ourselves as principally a marketing operation and we have a commercial membership as well as a local government membership of the Board. The director of the Thames and Chilterns Board, Christopher Jennings, has an academic and town planning background and has been with the Board for fourteen years. We have a research and development officer who administers Section 4 grants for the region as well as advising and giving consultations on development in the areas of a c c o m m o d a t i o n and tourism attractions. The management structure of the Thames and Chilterns Board is shown in Fig. 5.2. The Board itself has set up a self-catering agency which is self-supporting and covers 120 people who have self-catering cottages throughout the Thames and Chilterns which are now administered by the Board. We also run, on behalf of the West Oxfordshire District Council, three tourist information centres. Tourist information centres are a bane, if not the bane of our existence, because they are so often unprofessional. There are, however, some very good ones. Information centres are, in the main, run by district councils and they are as good 81

82

VERIFICATION ASSISTANTS ( 4 )

SECRETARY (PART TIME)

Tourist Information Centre

Systems Control Officer

Youth Training Scheme

TIC

SCO

YTS

KEY

ACCOMMODATION ASSISTANT

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

YTS PERSON

ACCOMMODATION/ INFORMATION OFFICER AND SCO

TRAVEL CLUB ASSISTANT

DISTRIBUTION ASST (PART TIME)

PRINT AND PRODUCTION MANAGER

(PART TIME)

BACKUP COPY TYPIST

SUPPORT SECRETARY (PART TIME)

TEAM SECRETARY

YTS PERSON

TIC ASSISTANTS ( 3 PART TIME)

ACCOUNTS COMPUTER INPUT (FREELANCE)

YTS PERSON

WEEKEND TIC ASSISTANT

RECEPTION TIC ASSISTANTS (2 PART TIME)

ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT

PRINT MACHINE OPERATOR (PART TIME)

FINANCE OFFICER/ OFFICE MANAGER

BURFORD AND WOODSTOCK TIC MANAGER

MARKETING MANAGER PLACES TO VISIT/ PUBLICATIONS

SELF CATERING AGENCY MANAGER INFORMATION (COLLECTION)

HEAD OF MARKETING MEMBERSHIP

MARKETING MANAGER ACCOMMODATION

WORDSMITH (FREELANCE)

COMPUTER INPUT ASST (PART TIME)

OUTPOSTED MARKETING OFFICER

SECRETARY TO THE DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR OF THE BOARD

CHAIRMAN AND EXECUTIVE

Management structure of the Thames and Chiltern Tourist Board

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Figure 5.2:

The Role of the Tourist Board as the people that are employed in them - employees are poorly paid, and centres’opening hours are not really the right hours in terms of what the tourists need. It is an area infested with difficulties and one worthy of further research. The association with tourist boards is generally limited, although not appreciated by the general public or the tourists. The Thames and Chilterns Board operates several information centres for the county councils, e.g. the one we run for the Vale of White Horse, which is our head office in Abingdon and is considered to set a good example. All tourist information centres should be run to guidelines set down by the English Tourist Board (1984). The actual way they run varies between district councils because the latter pay and provide the space. MARKETING STRATEGIES Turning to marketing, our overall objectives are to increase the emphasis on overseas markets particularly towards the long-haul English-speaking markets. We work with the British Tourist A u t h o r i t y on t h a t , w h e r e there are many opportunities for overseas promotions. We are particularly interested in the European market and are conscious of the fact that 3-4 million visitors come from The Netherlands every year to this country (33 per cent of them on business). But we need to cultivate the Western European market much more. The private or commercial sector amongst our members in the tourist board seems to concentrate on the North American market: perhaps not solely but they have devoted a lot of finance and energy marketing opportunities in North America. It is only this year they suddenly realised that they have put all their eggs in one basket and that they need to cultivate the Western European market a great deal more than they have done. So at least the lesson was learned by the people in the tourism business as such: the early part of 1986, during which American visitor numbers dropped dramatically, served as a salutory warning. We need to e n c o u r a g e a wider range of availability in the accommodation sector. There is a general feeling, both amongst people in the tourist boards as well as more generally, that the accommodation sector prices itself too highly in this country and we are seeking what is known as 83

The Role of the Tourist Board ‘budget-priced’ accommodation, or to use the AA Handbook analogies,‘ 2 Star’ (but good two Star). Such provision would complement the earlier c o n c e n t r a t i o n on the h i g h e r priced luxury accommodation, and hopefully reduce the extent to which consumers are turning to a self-catering operation rather than spend a lot of money on hotel accommodation. We are working on this: for example, the inn style accommodation by publicans, who have suddenly developed an interest in providing accommodation in their licensed premises. We are working with about three breweries: Charles Wells brewery in Bedfordshire comes to mind as they have two or three properties available at this moment and are transforming their licensed premises into more than a pub - an inn for accommodation with a nice restaurant associated. Marketing is designed to attract family business rather than the old-style beer drinker for which the English pub is rather well known. Encouraged by the government, the tourist boards are supporting better signposting of usually by-passed, historic communities, scenic routes and certainly instructions on hard-to-find hotels (and there are many tucked away in the rural communities - those very nice hotels that people never seem to find). The extension of signposting follows on from the successful tourist attraction signing experiments in Kent and Nottinghamshire in the summer of 1985. The scheme is now recommended for use throughout England (Department of Transport, 1986). The role of tourist information centres as an aid to marketing must be improved. What we would like to see is the development of new‘ k e y ’ centres: the British Tourist Authority themselves have just developed one such centre in London’s Regent Street. We feel that provided the finance can be found this would be a good tool in terms of marketing tourism, but it is likely to be complicated by local political overtones. Support is also needed for proposed schemes that would make the region a better place to visit. We are committed in various ways to help improve the quality of the local environment for the visitor (in so far as we are a b l e ) . We are encouraging as many projects as we can through the job creation scheme. In line with the national opinion we are trying to encourage attractions within the region to open longer and to develop all-weather facilities where appropriate. 84

The Role of the Tourist Board Opportunities exist which would qualify for a Section 4 grant, but we have found a reluctance, certainly on the historic house side, for them to extend their season any further than they are doing at the moment. This needs more persuasion by the Board. We want to encourage amongst employees within the travel industry and in particular those who have front–line contact with tourists, such as hotel receptionists, an awareness of the range of leisure facilities that exists throughout the region in order that visitors are better briefed to prolong and enjoy their stay within the Thames and Chi Items area. Specific areas of marketing that we are looking at are waterways, self-drive hire and short off-season breaks. The Board itself is committed to the promotion of waterway holidays on the Oxford, Grand Union, and Kennet and Avon Canals, the Lee and Stort Navigation and especially the River Thames. We are seeking to ensure that the self-drive hire market sustains the maximum season and to d e v e l o p this w h e r e v e r p o s s i b l e in conjunction with the trade. We also recognise the vast importance of past performance but we have in our region the River Thames which is a very important tourist attraction and capable of further development. On the accommodation front we are continuing to market short breaks, which are of vital importance in improving occupancy levels throughout the season and especially out of season. The scheme that the English Tourist Board has run for the past four or five years called ‘ L e t ’ s Go’ (which is a free publication, some two million copies of which are now in circulation) is a marketing tool for motoring short breaks throughout the whole country. The ‘shoulder–month’ promotions and other peaks and troughs of occupancy may not be as great in the Thames and Chilterns as in certain other regions, but there is little room for complacency. Many of the region’ s accommodation establishments remain vulnerable, July through to September, and are heavily dependent upon the strength of the overseas market at a particular time. We are seeking to develop a marketing programme for this peak period, perhaps using the theme * luxury at budget prices’. To further this the Thames and Chilterns Tourist Board is a member of a consortium of regional boards which is called ‘London Plus’: this incorporates in addition the London Tourist Board, East Anglian Tourist Board, South East Tourist Board, and the Southern Tourist 85

The Role of the T o u r i s t Board Board. I t seeks t o market t o u r i s t accommodation and t o u r i s m a t t r a c t i o n s , w i t h i n 100 t o 130 km of London. Our o t h e r m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g y c o n c e r n s c o n f e r e n c e s . Conference b u s i n e s s i s a r i s i n g t r e n d in tourism as such. In e s s e n c e i t i s b u s i n e s s based but c l o s e n e s s t o London, t h e major a i r p o r t , t h e motorway and r a i l networks, and the s t r e n g t h of t h e b u s i n e s s e c o n o m y , makes t h e T h a m e s a n d C h i l t e r n s a r e a a p o p u l a r choice for c o n f e r e n c e s . The Board i s f u l l y s u p p o r t i v e of t h e b u s i n e s s t r a v e l segment on the grounds t h a t i t b u i l d s upon s t r e n g t h s r a t h e r than weaknesses and the r e g i o n ’ s c o n f e r e n c e h o t e l s and c o n f e r e n c e c e n t r e s may provide a basis for d e v e l o p i n g the i n c e n t i v e m a r k e t , a g a i n f o r a North American as well as a Western European c l i e n t e l e . For example, I was in Copenhagen in February 1987 promoting p a r t i c u l a r l y conferences t o t h e Scandinavian c o u n t r i e s . J o i n t promotions, with commercial board members such a s h o t e l g r o u p s , f o r d e v e l o p i n g s p e c i f i c marketing themes a r e under i n v e s t i g a t i o n : t h e s e w i l l cover g a r d e n s , h i s t o r i c h o u s e s , z o o s , s c e n i c r a i l w a y s , as well as g e o g r a p h i c a l subr e g i o n s . The‘ B e a u t i f u l B e r k s h i r e ’Campaign i s one which t h e Board i n i t i a t e d i n c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h B e r k s h i r e County Council and t h i s has developed a momentum of i t s own. Another j o i n t promotion d e a l s with‘ h o u s e s and gardens in t h e Vale of t h e White H o r s e ’ ; o t h e r s e x i s t with St Albans and H a t f i e l d House. The Board has r e c e n t l y j o i n e d w i t h t h e B e a u t i f u l B e r k s h i r e campaign t o help provide them (on a f i f t y - f i f t y b a s i s ) with a marketing employee, a n d we a r e i n t e n d i n g t o d o t h e s a m e i n H e r t f o r d s h i r e where t h e county has s u d d e n l y r e a l i s e d t h a t t h e M25 has opened up new avenues for tourism. Under t h e‘ j o i n t p r i n t ’ programmes with t h e B r i t i s h T o u r i s t A u t h o r i t y (for s t a n d a r d format brochure p r i n t s for overseas d i s t r i b u t i o n ) the Board produces well over one m i l l i o n brochures each year and t h i s r e p r e s e n t s another marketing a r e a of importance. As p a r t of t h i s programme t h e brochure ‘Oxford: City of Dreaming Spires* has been produced in five languages (Dutch, French, German, I t a l i a n and S p a n i s h ) in a d d i t i o n t o E n g l i s h . Such promotional l i t e r a t u r e d e a l s with e x c u r s i o n s t h r o u g h o u t the region although t h e r e i s a c e r t a i n wariness of the‘ d a y s - o u t ’ promotion because of t h e volume of day v i s i t o r s a l r e a d y r e c e i v e d in p a r t s of the Thames and C h i l t e r n s r e g i o n , e . g . Windsor. But 86

The Role of the Tourist Board throughout much of the region, apart from those areas that benefit especially from this day-trip market, most of the tourism industry is indifferent as to whether it sells to the day or staying visitor in terms of attractions. The‘ d a y – o u t of L o n d o n campaign’ was dovetailed with an excursions workshop. The excursions workshop is to be held again under the aegis of the London Plus consortium in London, with all the tourism attractions concentrating on one exhibition area to which are invited all the various organisations, institutions, etc. who are planning days out through a club or society. We are intending to develop this market even further, for example, by running, a schools fair, because tourism attractions need business all the year round and all through the week. The Board also works with the recognised language schools and from our research in Oxford we have found that schools there have a great part to play in this context. So we are maintaining a helpful attitude to these schools and are working with them in their own marketing groups as well as with the British Tourist Authority serving their interests overseas. Our final marketing exercise is to become more adventurous in the identification and promotion of the geographical sub-areas of the region. Less attention should be paid to county boundaries and more to the geography of the region, highlighting the internationally known areas such as the River Thames Basin and the Cotswolds. CONCLUSION Having described the Board’s role in marketing t o u r i s m its r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h n a t i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s must be understood by way of conclusion. The British Tourist Authority has recently announced its marketing strategy for the late 1980s and the Thames and Chilterns Board will dovetail into the national marketing strategy and plans over the next three to five years. That general strategy concentrates on the following objectives. First, the maximum net national benefit is sought from tourism, notably in terms of export earnings, which is the prime factor in encouraging tourism. Second, all possible steps should be taken to spread overseas visitors to destinations throughout Britain, emphasizing the attractions of Scotland, Wales and the English 87

The Role of the Tourist Board regions, whilst continuing to recognise London as Britain’s principal gateway as well as being a major visitor attraction. Despite statements to the effect that visitors do not need to go to London, or they can visit London from another area, 80 per cent of foreign tourists go to London. This is a fact, and you cannot change it to any significant extent. Third, there is a need to create demand for periods of low occupancy, since nearly 50 per cent of tourism accommodation, attractions and transport are unused much of the year. Obviously we, as well as the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board are looking for increased support through joint activity with the trade. More money cannot be anticipated from government sources, even though government support for tourism is a minute proportion of total government expenditure. Tourist boards will therefore have to generate their own finance (as in part we do already). As a consequence tourist boards will become more and better integrated with the activities of tourism and the travel trade as a whole and will play a significant role in ensuring a continuous flow of tourists. REFERENCES Cabinet Office (Enterprise Unit) (1985) Pleasure, Leisure and Jobs; The Business of Tourism, HMSO, London Department of Transport (1986) Traffic Signs to Tourist Attractions in England, Circular Roads 3/86, Dept of Transport, London English Tourist Board (1984) Tourist Information Centres; Operating Guidelines, English Tourist Board, London English Tourist Board (1986) Seventeenth Annual Report, 1985–86, English Tourist Board, London Note; The views expressed in this chapter are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily represent the policy of the Thames and Chi I t e m s Tourist Board.

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Chapter 6 PLANNING OF TOURIST ROUTES: THE GREEN COAST ROAD IN THE NORTHERN NETHERLANDS

J a n R. Bergsma

CONTEXT

Before describing the procedures and d i s c u s s i n g t h e r e s u l t s of a r e s e a r c h project c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e f i r s t h a l f of 1986 on t h e p l a n n i n g of a s p e c i f i c k i n d of t o u r i s t r o u t e i n t h e n o r t h e r n N e t h e r l a n d s , some r e m a r k s a r e i n o r d e r a b o u t t h e w i d e r c o n t e x t i n which t h i s s t u d y must be considered. Using t o u r i s m a s a t o o l f o r r e g i o n a l economic d e v e l o p m e n t r e m a i n s one of t h e p r i m e o b j e c t i v e s of s t u d i e s of t h e R e c r e a t i o n R e s e a r c h Group i n G r o n i n g e n (Bergsma, 1983 & 1 9 8 6 a ) . I t was a l s o t h e main t o p i c of t h e j o i n t G r o n i n g e n - R e a d i n g R e c r e a t i o n and T o u r i s m W o r k s h o p of 1985 on ‘ t h e impact of tourism in disadvantaged regions’ (Ashworth & Goodall, 1986). If tourism is to be u s e d a s a v e h i c l e f o r r e g i o n a l and economic d e v e l o p m e n t p u r p o s e s , we n o t o n l y n e e d k n o w l e d g e a b o u t t h e i n t r i n s i c p h y s i c a l , s o c i o - c u l t u r a l and economic p o t e n t i a l s for d e v e l o p i n g a r e g i o n a l t o u r i s m p r o d u c t , b u t we a l s o n e e d t o know what p o s s i b i l i t i e s t h e r e are for promoting, d i s t r i b u t i n g and f i n a l l y s e l l i n g t h e p r o d u c t . T h i s can be l i n k e d w i t h more general q u e s t i o n s : namely t o what e x t e n t and i n what way i s i t p o s s i b l e for the l o c a l i s e d tourism i n d u s t r y , the i n t e r m e d i a r y o r g a n i s a t i o n s and t h e government t o d i r e c t and m a n i p u l a t e t o u r i s t f l o w s a n d m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y t o u r i s t b e h a v i o u r and tourist s p e n d i n g ? A c t u a l l y t h i s p o s e s t h e q u e s t i o n of t h e d e g r e e of autonomy of t o u r i s t b e h a v i o u r , i n t e r m s , f o r e x a m p l e , of t r a v e l p a t t e r n s . Of c o u r s e t h i s w i l l v a r y w i t h t h e k i n d of t o u r i s m t h a t i s i n v o l v e d a n d e s p e c i a l l y w i t h t h e t r a n s p o r t mode t h a t i s used. I n p a r t i c u l a r t h o s e k i n d s of t o u r i s m where a complete package i s s o l d , i n c l u d i n g n o t o n l y t h e t r a v e l t o and from t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a , b u t a l s o o v e r n i g h t accommodation and o r g a n i s e d e x c u r s i o n s , 89

Planning of Tourist Routes offer the greatest possibility to direct tourist flows and tourist behaviour. The role for example of the tourist guide in determining tourist behaviour and spending in a coach full of Americans ‘doing E u r o p e ’is considerable. More detailed understanding of the structure and the meaning of all kinds of organised, inclusive tours or package deals are very important in this context, as G o o d a l l has already emphasized at the 1985 Groningen-Reading Workshop in his contribution about the role that package tourism can play in the tourism development of less favoured regions of the EEC (Goodall, 1985). Besides the possibilities offered by package tourism, however, there is a completely different way of generating and directing tourist flows, which is by the planning and promoting of tourist routes. TOURIST ROUTES A simple distinction can be made between two kinds of tourist route: (i) Most tourist routes have a circuitous character, without a clear point of origin or a clear point of destination. Normally such routes are planned in an attractive landscape and allow for stops to be made at points of interest. For the tourists the‘travel on the r o u t e ’is part of the tourism experience itself (Clawson & Knetsch, 1966). There is no such thing as distance minimising behaviour, because the tourist is seeking to maximise satisfaction and because of the absence of a clearly identifiable destination. Most scenic circuit routes have a total length that does not exceed a certain value, and most are intended to be used by day trippers. (ii) Other tourist routes, also planned through attractive landscapes, are linear and are often destination linked. The planning of this second type of tourist route was the subject of a research project carried out by the Recreation Research Group of the University of Groningen in 1986.

90

Planning of Tourist Routes THE GREEN COAST ROAD Planning objectives and problems The Green Coast Road more or less follows the coastline from Bergen in Norway, via Sweden, Denmark, northern Germany and The Netherlands to Belgium and the coast of northern France. The route is primarily intended for tourists travelling by car from the Scandinavian countries or from the northern part of Germany, who want to go to the Dutch, Belgian or northern French coastal resorts (Schut, 1970). As early as the 1950s the Green Coast Road was signposted and promoted by leaflets, advertisements and so on. To date the number of users and in particular the way the route is used is disappointing. This low level of usage u n d e r l i e s the e f f o r t s of an international foundation over a number of years to improve the situation. The Dutch representatives especially play a very active role. They are giving the Green Coast Road careful attention and are trying to promote increased awareness of its existence and therefore the use made of it by tourists. Of course they are primarily concerned with the Dutch part of the route, leading through the provinces of Groningen and Friesland (see Fig. 6.1). The Dutch part of the foundation has two main objectives. Besides attracting more tourists there is the aim of encouraging tourists to stay longer in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland, with the expectation that this will result in an increase of regional tourist expenditure. In order to realise these objectives it has been suggested that a new route for the Green Coast Road through the northern Netherlands should be planned, which opens access to other and probably more attractive places. The R e c r e a t i o n Research Group of Groningen was commissioned to design a new route for the Green Coast Road through the provinces of Groningen and Friesland, taking into account both of the above mentioned objectives. In carrying out the research, the first problem to come to terms with was the very specific type of tourist traffic which the route had to cater for. Most of the tourist traffic was destination linked. In fact this kind of tourist traffic cannot be distinguished from business or f r e i g h t t r a f f i c in the sense that it is characterised by the minimising of time, money or distance involved in the journey. Previous 91

Planning of Tourist Routes Figure 6.1 : The Green Coast Road

: BERGEN Route of Green Coast Road

OSLO

GOTEBORG

COPENHAGEN

RESEARCH AREA

HAMBURG : LEEUWARDEN' GRONINGEN

BREMEN

AMSTERDAM THE HAGUE

ANTWERP GENT

200

0 kilometres

92

Planning of Tourist Routes

r e s e a r c h on t h i s t o p i c made c l e a r t h e importance of time-minimising in p a r t i c u l a r as t h e main f a c t o r in t h e e x p l a n a t i o n of r o u t e c h o i c e b e h a v i o u r (Hamerslag, 1979; Bovy, 1981). The Green Coast Road as a d e s t i n a t i o n - l i n k e d r o u t e s h o u l d g e n e r a t e a t y p e of t o u r i s t t r a f f i c t h a t l i e s somewhere in between t h e above mentioned e x t r e m e of minimising time or c o s t and the o t h e r extreme where t h e r e i s no minimising behaviour a t a l l , as i s the s i t u a t i o n on c i r c u i t o u s r o u t e s . On the one hand the p o t e n t i a l u s e r s and t h e t a r g e t groups of the Green Coast Road a r e t o u r i s t s who a r e on t h e i r way t o a c e r t a i n d e s t i n a t i o n p o i n t or area ( l i k e a s e a s i d e r e s o r t or a b i g c i t y ) . On the o t h e r hand, in order t o r e a l i s e a l o n g e r s t a y i n t h e n o r t h e r n N e t h e r l a n d s , t o u r i s t s have t o be seduced t o a t r a v e l b e h a v i o u r t h a t i s n o t f u l l y c h a r a c t e r i s e d by minimising d i s t a n c e , time or c o s t . The main planning problem t h a t emerged was t o plan a r o u t e t h a t was a t t r a c t i v e and gave r i s e t o l o c a l t o u r i s t e x p e n d i t u r e , for example on overnight accommodation and c a t e r i n g , but a t the same time was not too long in order t o maintain the e s s e n t i a l destination-linked function. We were t h e r e f o r e d e a l i n g with t h e r e a l i s a t i o n of two o b j e c t i v e s , which were p u l l i n g in o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n s . The research phases The r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t was c a r r i e d out in phases:

four

( i ) d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e s p a t i a l v a r i a t i o n in attractiveness, ( i i ) a n a l y s i s of the i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , (iii) d e t e r m i n a t i o n and a s s e s s m e n t of alternative routes, (iv) choice of the optimal r o u t e . F i r s t we had t o consider t h e a t t r a c t i v e n e s s of t h e a r e a of t h e p r o v i n c e s of G r o n i n g e n a n d Friesland. In o r d e r t o determine a t t r a c t i v e n e s s t h e a r e a was d i v i d e d i n t o 240 l o c a l i t i e s , each c o n t a i n i n g several features likely to a t t r a c t tourists. The d a t a b a s e c o m p r i s e d tourist i n f o r m a t i o n b r o c h u r e s of t h e p r o v i n c i a l t o u r i s t boards of Groningen and F r i e s l a n d (VW’s Groningen en F r i e s l a n d , 1 9 8 5 ) . Using a s e t of c r i t e r i a (covering not only the i n t r i n s i c a t t r a c t i v e n e s s but a l s o t h e a c c e s s i b i l i t y and t h e c h a r a c t e r of 93

Planning of Tourist Routes facilities) it was possible first to assign an individual‘ a t t r a c t i o n v a l u e ’to each attraction point and later, taking into account the so-called synergism effect and the existence of the tourism industry, to assess the attractiveness of each of the 240 places. Although it was acknowledged that the spatial pattern of attractiveness may vary for different target groups among tourists, this was not taken into account in this research project.

Figure 6.2: The potential (attraction) surface of Friesland and Groningen

E N

S

W

Figure 6.2 presents a computerised threedimensional attraction surface calculated as a result of the assessment process described above. The highest attraction values are to be found in the south western part of Friesland, together of course with the towns of Groningen and Leeuwarden. The second phase of research was concerned with the infrastructure. The new track of the Green Coast Road will necessarily comprise sections from the existing road network. For the purpose of this research the complete road network of 94

Planning of Tourist Routes Groningen and Friesland was divided into nearly 1600 road sections, all between two recognised nodes or places. Length and attractiveness was determined for each of these sections. Road section attractiveness was directly related to the attractiveness of the immediate environment, established in phase (i). Every place that could be reached within 3 km driving distance from any point on a certain road section was taken into account. It would take too long, as well as not being necessary, to analyse every possible route through the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. Hence a selection was made of a limited number of alternative routes representative of as much of the area as possible. For this purpose the area of the provinces of Groningen and Friesland was divided into three parts: the area between Nieuweschans and G r o n i n g e n , the area b e t w e e n Groningen and Leeuwarden and the area between Leeuwarden and the A f s l u i t d i j k (see F i g . 6 . 3 ) . A n u m b e r of alternative routes were determined for every subarea. Because every alternative was made up from a number of already analysed and assessed road sections, it was easy to determine for every alternative: (i) the route attractiveness, by adding up the attraction values of every road section that was part of the route, (ii) its total length, by adding up the lengths of the individual road sections. The last phase of the research was the most complicated one, because it gave rise to severe methodological and technical problems. How to choose, out of a number of alternative routes, the best one with regard to the objectives mentioned above? We have already noted that the alternative that unlocks the most attractive parts of the area and receives the highest route attraction value is not necessarily the best choice, because if it is too long the main, destination-linked character cannot any longer be maintained. A trade-off therefore existed between attractiveness of a place and the length of detour the tourist would be prepared to accept.

95

Planning of T o u r i s t Routes Figure 6.3: The Green Coast Road - sub-areas within Friesland and Groningen

III

I

II

GRONINGEN LEEUWARDEN NIEUWESCHANS HARLINGEN AFSLUITDIJK

50

O kilometres

The optimal route F i g u r e 6.4 r e l a t e s t o the problem of making the r i g h t o r o p t i m a l c h o i c e o u t of a number of alternatives. The curve in F i g . 6.4 can be c a l l e d an ‘ i s o - w i l l i n g n e s s c u r v e ’ ( B e r g s m a , 1 9 8 6 b ) . A c t u a l l y t h i s i s a s p e c i f i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e well-known d i s t a n c e - d e c a y f u n c t i o n . With an i n c r e a s i n g l e n g t h of r o u t e we need more and more e x t r a r o u t e a t t r a c t i v e n e s s in order t o m a i n t a i n a given number of t o u r i s t s t h a t i s w i l l i n g t o use and follow t h e r o u t e . The t h e o r e t i c a l c u r v e had t o be operationalised. Because of t h e lack of a v a i l a b l e e m p i r i c a l d a t a on t h i s m a t t e r , t h e b a s i s of t h e o p e r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n adopted i s shown i n F i g . 6 . 5 . Each of the d o t s in F i g . 6.5 r e p r e s e n t s one of the r o u t e a l t e r n a t i v e s , a l l c h a r a c t e r i s e d by a c e r t a i n l e n g t h and a s s o c i a t e d a t t r a c t i o n v a l u e . Route number one i s the s h o r t e s t . It is self-evident t h a t r o u t e a l t e r n a t i v e s t h a t would have l e s s a t t r a c t i v e n e s s t h a n t h e s h o r t e s t one a r e n o t interesting. The t h e o r e t i c a l curve shown in F i g . 6.4 h a s t h e r e f o r e been o p e r a t i o n a l i s e d i n t h e following way:

96

Planning of Tourist Routes Theoretical relationships between route length and attractiveness

Route length

Figure 6.4:

Route attractiveness

(i) we assumed that in all those cases where route alternatives have a length less than twice the length of the shortest route, length does not operate as an increasing constraint. So in all these cases the assumption is made of a l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p between attractiveness and length, (ii) when route alternatives are longer than twice the s h o r t e s t p o s s i b l e o n e , the assumption is that length becomes more and more a constraint on the intensity of use of the route, (iii) the last assumption made is that every route alternative longer than three times the shortest route is not of interest, because the difference in the distance that has to be bridged and therefore probably in time and cost is considered as too large. In these cases the characteristic function as a route meant for people on their way to a holiday destination does not exist anymore. A correct interpretation of Fig. 6.5 makes clear that the r o u t e a l t e r n a t i v e that is characterised by the greatest deviation from the operationalised curve in the‘bottom direction’of the figure is the best and optimal choice.

97

Planning of Tourist Routes Figure 6.5: Length-attractiveness ratios for eight alternative routes

,7

100 length ( km. )

6

8

60

3 2

1

4

5.

20

7

11

15

19

23

27

31

Attraction value

By applying this procedure a decision could be reached for a new course of the Green Coast Road through the Northern Netherlands as shown in Fig. 6.6. The optimal route leads from the eastern part of Groningen via Groningen town, the attractive L a u w e r s m e e r a r e a , L e e u w a r d e n town to the Afsluitdijk. It is characterised by a length twice, and an attraction value almost three times, that of the shortest possible route. Consequently the Dutch part of the international Green Coast Road Foundation will in the near future promote this particular alternative as the new route for the Green Coast Road. At the same time they will try to stimulate and activate the private tourism industry that is located along this route into taking initiatives for a further development of this specific kind of a regional tourism product. CONCLUDING REMARKS The method of p l a n n i n g a d e s t i n a t i o n l i n k e d r o u t e through a c e r t a i n a r e a , in such a way t h a t r e g i o n a l e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t s c a n be o p t i m i s e d , d e s c r i b e d above, h a s t o be c o n s i d e r e d a s o n l y a f i r s t s t e p i n d e v e l o p i n g a more e l a b o r a t e and g e n e r a l l y a p p l i c a b l e method of r o u t e p l a n n i n g . The m e t h o d c a n be c r i t i c i s e d i n s e v e r a l ways and further r e s e a r c h i s needed to r e f i n e the m e t h o d o l o g y . F o r t h e p u r p o s e of a b e t t e r 98

66

Staveren

Afsluitdijk

Sneek

Bolsward

Harlingen

Lemmer

LEEUWARDEN

O

Wolvega

Heerenveen

kilometres

Appelscha

Drachten

Dokkum

Lauwersoog

20

Shortest route b e t w e e n Nieuweschans and Afsluitdijk

Recommended route

Bourtange

Ter Apel

Stadskanaal

Veendam

Winschoten

Nieuweschans

Delfzijl

HoogezandSappemeer

Appingedam

GRONINGEN

Winsum

The recommended route for the Green Coast Road in Friesland and Groningen

Franeker

Figure 6.6:

Planning of Tourist Routes

o p e r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n we e s p e c i a l l y n e e d m o r e e m p i r i c a l d a t a about the w i l l i n g n e s s of t o u r i s t s , on t h e i r way t o or from a h o l i d a y d e s t i n a t i o n t o t r a v e l and b e h a v e l i k e n o n - d i s t a n c e / c o s t / t i m e m i n i m i s e r s . Moreover we have t o e s t a b l i s h how t h e l o c a l i s e d r e g i o n a l t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y can t a k e a d v a n t a g e of t h e e x i s t e n c e and t h e u s e of an i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t r o u t e . The r e s e a r c h r e p o r t e d above w i l l hopefully function as an i n c e n t i v e f o r more academic and non-academic a t t e n t i o n for t h i s p a r t i c u l a r t o p i c in tourism r e s e a r c h . REFERENCES

Ashworth, G.J. & Goodall, B. (1986) The impact of t o u r i s m on d i s a d v a n t a g e d r e g i o n s , S o c i a a l – Geografische reeks no 35, GIRUG, Groningen Bergsma, J.R. (1983) Recreatieonderzoek Geografisch Instituut R.U.G./Activiteiten W e r k g r o e p R e c r e a t i e 1 9 7 7 – 1 9 8 3 , GIRUG, Groningen B e r g s m a , J . R . (1986a) V a a r r e c r e a t i e i n Noord N e d e r l a n d f een v o o r b e e l d van t o e g e p a s t g e o g r a f i s c h o n d e r z o e k , pp 3 1 9 - 2 8 i n Proceedings Nederlandse Geografendagen 1986, Utrecht Bergsma, J . R . (1986b) Groene Kustweg, h e t plannen van een t o e r i s t i s c h e doorgaande r o u t e , pp 6976 in Proceedings Nederlandse p l a n o l o g i s c h e Diskussiedagen 1986, Delft Bovy, P.H.L. (1981) Het k o r t s t e - t i j d r o u t e k e u z e p r i n c i p e : een t o e t s i n g van de v o o r s p e l l e n d e k w a l i t e i t , Verkeerskunde no 6, 291–96 Clawson, M. and J . K n e t s c h (1966) Economics of Outdoor R e c r e a t i o n . J o h n s Hopkins P r e s s , Baltimore Goodall, B. (1985) Some i n i t i a l thoughts about t h e r o l e of p a c k a g e t o u r i s m i n t h e e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t of l e s s favoured r e g i o n s , GIRUG, Groningen Hamerslag, R. (1979) Onderzoek naar routekeuze met b e h u l p van een g e d i s a g g r e g e e r d l o g i t m o d e l , Verkeerskunde no. 8, 377-82 Schut, H.J. (1970) De Groene Kustweg, NWIT, Breda VVV F r i e s l a n d (1985) Gids voor Vakantie en V r i j e T i j d . Leeuwarden VVV Groningen (1985) Gids voor Vakantie en V r i j e T i j d , Groningen 100

Chapter 7 RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN GRAVEL WORKINGS: THE LIMBURG EXPERIENCE Henk Voogd

INTRODUCTION

C e n t r a l Limburg i n The N e t h e r l a n d s , o r i g i n a l l y an a r e a w i t h few w a t e r r e s o u r c e s and w i t h a p r e d o m i n a n t l y a g r i c u l t u r a l l a n d s c a p e , i s in the process of an unprecedented r e s t r u c t u r i n g of i t s r e g i o n a l economy. This i s a geographical r e v o l u t i o n of h i s t o r i c p r o p o r t i o n s as well as a r a t h e r unique s o c i o - e c o n o m i c p r o c e s s t h r o u g h which a very intensive r e c r e a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e is being developed. The commercial e x p l o i t a t i o n of t h e l a k e s , b e a c h e s , mooring p l a c e s and p o r t s , t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of s m a l l - and l a r g e - s c a l e h o t e l and r e s t a u r a n t f a c i l i t i e s , s a i l i n g and b o a r d s a i l i n g c o u r s e s and t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n of w a t e r s p o r t s a s s o c i a t i o n s w i l l no doubt evoke an e n t i r e l y new r e g i o n a l economic s t r u c t u r e . The main cause of t h i s r e s t r u c t u r i n g process i s gravel. I t i s an i n d i s p e n s a b l e b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l , used i n l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s f o r p u r p o s e s of c i v i l engineering and housing. Almost 95 per cent of the Dutch production of, on average, almost 11 m i l l i o n tons of g r a v e l per year i s won by p r i v a t e firms in wet mineral workings in the most s o u t h e r l y province in The N e t h e r l a n d s : Limburg. The t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a of Limburg i s o n l y 220,000 h e c t a r e s (550,000 a c r e s ) . The quarrying of g r a v e l i s l i m i t e d t o a r e l a t i v e l y small area along t h e f l o o d p l a i n of t h e r i v e r Maas, a s t r e t c h of about 20 km near t h e c i t y of Roermond i n C e n t r a l Limburg. Almost 25 per cent of t h i s area i s being excavated t o a depth of 10–15 metres so as t o leave a landscape covered i n lakes (see F i g . 7 . 1 ) . I t i s obvious t h a t such q u a r r y i n g a c t i v i t i e s o f f e r g r e a t o p p o r t u n i t i e s for large-scale recreational developments with an emphasis on water s p o r t s (see a l s o G o o d a l l , 1 9 8 6 ) . T h i s c h a p t e r w i l l examine t h e s e developments and d i s c u s s some c o n s e q u e n c e s with r e s p e c t t o r e c r e a t i o n and tourism. 101

Recreational Developments in Limburg Figure 7.1 : Central Limburg

30

Beesel

Neer Roggel

Leveroij 30

30

Nunhem

Heythuysen

Haelen Swalmen

Baexem Kelpen

Boukel

20

Ell

20

Horn

Maalbroek

Grathem Beegden.

ROERMOND

Hunsel 30

Heel Ittervort

Neerlter Wessem

Melick

Meerum Linne

Thorn

St. Odillenburg Maasbracht

Montfort Stevensweert Posterholt

30

Sint Joost 30 Peij

Built-up areas

Echt L a k e s a n d rivers Maaseik

30

10m interval c o n t o u r s

0

1

2

3

kilometres

THE HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND Over the ages the river Maas, with its source on the Plateau de Langres (France), carried along large quantities of stone rubble (mainly gravel and sand) from the Ardennes mountains. In many places in South and Central Limburg, a layer of gravel averaging 10 metres in depth was formed. In the north of the province, a considerable quantity of sand piled up, thus protecting the deeper layers for commercial exploitation today. 102

Recreational Developments in Limburg The first impetus for gravel quarrying was given by the canalisation of the Maas in 1929, making this river navigable for larger ships. The building industry’s demand was very modest in the pre-war period: less than two million tons annually. However, this increased explosively after 1945 when post-war rebuilding began. In 1971, almost 19 million tons of gravel were quarried in Limburg (Dutch domestic requirements totalled 25 million tons). In 1976 the Limburg production fell back to 11 million tons and now the gravel companies in this area extract approximately 10 to 11 million tons each year. At first, gravel was quarried from the areas exposed as the river shrank in summer and later from the lower river terraces. Before 1969 the gravel workings were mainly small-scale pits in the winter bed of the Maas. As Fig. 7.2 shows, the impact of these pits on the regional structure of Central Limburg is considerable. Until now, an area of approximately 3,500 hectares (8,750 acres) has been involved. The fact that the Dutch building industry is almost totally dependent on this region for its gravel supply makes extension of the quarry area in the future economically essential and, therefore, very likely (see also Bennema, et.al., 1985). In order to avoid a further uncontrolled deterioration of the landscape, the Provincial Government decided in 1969 to concentrate future gravel production in a limited number of areas. The reasons for concentration were very similar to those advanced by Yeoman (1986) who advocated a big‘ s u p e r q u a r r y ’in Glensanda (Scotland): less nuisance, competitive prices, security of supply over many years, etc. In the years after 1969 a new big pit has therefore been created near Panheel-Beegden, an area outside the winter bed of the Maas. Local citizens, municipalities and environmental organisations protested vigorously against this project. Major objections were, among others, imminent isolation of small villages which are more or less permanently surrounded by open water, the disappearance of the characteristic landscape and the loss of environmental and agricultural qualities in the vicinity of the quarry due to hydrological changes. Last but not least, criticisms were focused on the emphasis in the restoration plans on the creation of water recreation instead of aiming at a dry restoration. The total amount of land directly involved in the 103

104

KEY

Worked out gravel pits

Echt Echt

Maasbrach

Echt

Maasbracht

ROERMOND

ROERMOND

ROERMOND

Maasbracht

Asselt

1962

Asselt

1952

Asselt

ontgrindingen 1 9 4 2

Figure 7.2; The spatial impact of gravel pits in Limburg

Echt

0

1

2

3

4

5

km.

Echt

Maasbracht

ROERMOND

ROERMOND

Maasbracht

Asselt

1982

Asselt

1972

Recreational Developments in Limburg Panheel-Beegden project was 464 hectares (1,160 acres). By comparison, the Scottish ‘ M a m m o t h Concept’ quarry Glensanda, in its first 20 or 25 years, will occupy about 240 hectares (600 acres) (Yeoman, 1986). WET RESTORATION: MAKING A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY Fig. 7.3 compares the amount of wet versus dry restoration of the Limburg gravel pits over time. It shows that in earlier days approximately 40–50 per cent of the quarries were filled for‘ d r y ’ reuse (mainly agriculture). However, due to the lack of suitable filling materials the percentage of wet restoration has increased considerably, up to 80 per cent in recent years. In comparison in England, on average, 27 per cent of sand and gravel workings have undergone wet restoration, with South West England as a high exception where 48 per cent of the workings have been left as water areas (Neville, 1985). In earlier days mine-stone, a waste product from the old coal mines, was often used as filling material. However a more thorough chemical investigation of this mine-stone in the 1 970s revealed some u n d e s i r a b l e environmental characteristics that may cause, in the long run, groundwater pollution. Besides, due to the closure of all coal mines in the 1960s, mainly as a result of the discovery of large reserves of natural gas in the northern part of The Netherlands, the production of mine-stone stopped. Consequently, this kind of filling material is no longer used. The top layer of sand above the gravel, has, until recently, mostly been used in building and other civil engineering works. However, the rules in recent planning permits now make it impossible for the gravel firms to sell this top layer, since it may also be used as a filling material. Therefore, the sand above the gravel is nowadays used to restore the pit, but obviously this enables only a partially dry restoration. Filling material costs money, if only for transporting it to its final destination. This was one of the reasons why in 1969 the provincial government entered into a contract with the joint gravel producers. According to this contract the f i r m s h a v e to r e s t r i c t u n t i l 1990 their applications for new production sites to areas which are assigned by the provincial government. 105

Recreational Developments in Limburg Figure 7.3:

The progress of gravel pit restoration

Hectares

2000

WET RESTORATION

1000

0 47

55

60

65

70

75

80

Years

The p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n m e n t , i n r e t u r n , had t o guarantee g r a v e l p r o d u c t i o n u n t i l 1990, amongst o t h e r s by m e a n s of t h e p r e v i o u s l y m e n t i o n e d B e s i d e s , i t was Panheel-Beegden ‘ s u p e r q u a r r y ’ . a g r e e d t h a t a f t e r c l o s u r e of a q u a r r y , the ownership r i g h t s are t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e p r o v i n c e w i t h o u t payment. The c o s t of r e s t o r i n g t h e l a n d w i l l be c o v e r e d by a s p e c i a l r e h a b i l i t a t i o n f u n d . To t h i s e n d , t h e g r a v e l c o m p a n i e s have t o pay 1.8 7 g u i l d e r s p e r t o n of q u a r r i e d g r a v e l and 0.86 g u i l d e r s p e r t o n of sand i n t o t h i s f u n d . ASPECTS OF RECREATION PLANNING AND POLICY The r e c r e a t i o n a l u s e of t h e L i m b u r g g r a v e l l a k e s s t a r t e d i n t h e e a r l y 1960s and h a s d e v e l o p e d r a t h e r h a p h a z a r d l y . A t o t a l of 13 y a c h t h a r b o u r s were b u i l t d u r i n g t h i s t i m e , a s w e l l a s v a r i o u s small-scale facilities f o r w a t e r and l a n d recreation. The a r e a e n j o y s a g r o w i n g r e p u t a t i o n b o t h w i t h i n and beyond The N e t h e r l a n d s a s a v e r y water-rich province. Over 25,000 w a t e r s p o r t s e n t h u s i a s t s v i s i t e d the Central lakes area in 1983. 106

R e c r e a t i o n a l Developments in Limburg In the p r o v i n c i a l‘ r e s t o r a t i o n plan’ f o r t h e gravel p i t s , several reuse functions are considered. The 12 p r o j e c t s in t h i s plan include 1,930 h e c t a r e s ( 4 , 7 2 5 a c r e s ) of water and 1,540 h e c t a r e s ( 3 , 8 5 0 a c r e s ) of l a n d , of w h i c h approximately 85% i s now owned by the province of Limburg. In the plan a d i s t i n c t i o n i s made between ‘major’ and‘ i m p o r t a n t a d d i t i o n a l ’ reuse f u n c t i o n s . In T a b l e 7.1 an o v e r v i e w i s g i v e n f o r t h e 12 (major) r e s t o r a t i o n p r o j e c t s . Table 7 . 1 : Proposed r e c r e a t i o n a l Limburg and t h e i r functions Project

Major function

Ohe en Laak

sailing/motorboats

Stevensweert

intensive day recreation nature intensive day recreation nature/angling/ water basin sailing/motorboats

Thorn Wessem Panheel Pol Molengreend Osen Oolerveld Roermond Asselt Rijkel

projects

in

Additional functions boardsailing/ nature angling/watersports angling angling/boardsailing boardsailing

agriculture/ nature boardsailing day recreation sailing/motorboats nature sailing/motorboats angling/day recreation intensive day boardsailing/ recreation angling sailing/motorboats nature/water sports nature angling

Source: H e r i n r i c h t i n g s n o t a , Provincie Limburg, 1985 For each p r o j e c t a s e p a r a t e p r o j e c t plan has been designed, in which the v a r i o u s functions a r e spatially elaborated. Generally, these project p l a n s s h o u l d b e a p p r o v e d by t h e v a r i o u s governmental a u t h o r i t i e s b e f o r e t h e q u a r r y i n g begins. But given the f a c t t h a t the plans often have t o d e a l with geographical s i t u a t i o n s 15 or 20 107

Recreational Developments in Limburg

y e a r s l a t e r , they do n o t have a l e g a l l y b i n d i n g status. At the moment 2,170 h e c t a r e s (5,425 a c r e s ) i s s t i l l b e i n g e x p l o i t e d by t h e g r a v e l c o m p a n i e s . V7hen f i n a l l y worked out - in the e a r l y 1990s - i t w i l l encompass 1,750 h e c t a r e s ( 4 , 3 7 5 a c r e s ) of water and 420 h e c t a r e s (1,050 a c r e s ) of l a n d . The c o s t of r e s t o r i n g t h e land and f a c i l i t i e s of t h i s a r e a i s e s t i m a t e d a t around 220 m i l l i o n g u i l d e r s , t o be covered by t h e r e h a b i l i t a t i o n fund, mentioned b e f o r e . The p h y s i c a l r e s t o r a t i o n of the p i t i t s e l f ( i . e . f i l l i n g , c r e a t i o n of s h o r e s , e t c . ) i s e s t i m a t e d a t 1 3 6 . 4 m i l l i o n g u i l d e r s ; the r e s t i s necessary for completing the Panheel-Beegden p r o j e c t ( f 1 . 3 4 . 3 m i l l i o n ) , planning and management ( f l . 1 7 . 5 m i l l i o n ) and m a i n t e n a n c e c o s t s ( f l . 1 5 million). A c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r p o l i c y of o p t i m i s i n g the r e c r e a t i o n a l b e n e f i t s of t h e C e n t r a l Limburg water l a k e s , t h e p r o v i n c i a l government d e c i d e d a few y e a r s ago t o s e l l t h e e n t i r e lake area t o a s i n g l e private organisation. S e v e r a l c a n d i d a t e s showed i n t e r e s t , in p a r t i c u l a r : ( i ) t h e j o i n t g r a v e l companies, who r e a l i s e d t h a t , in o r d e r t o g a i n t h e g o o d w i l l of t h e p o p u l a t i o n , a s a t i s f a c t o r y r e s t o r a t i o n could mean c o n t i n u i t y of employment; ( i i ) t h e 14 m u n i c i p a l i t i e s in the a r e a , who, on t h e one hand, not only feared t h e n e g a t i v e consequences of a f u l l y commercial development for t h e i r own i n h a b i t a n t s , b u t , on the o t h e r h a n d , a l s o r e l i s h e d t h e l i k e l i h o o d of financial profits if the subsequent e x p l o i t a t i o n of t h e l a k e a r e a c o u l d be e n t i r e l y in t h e i r hands; ( i i i ) p r o j e c t development groups, who saw t h e lake area simply as a p r o f i t a b l e o b j e c t f o r investment. The m u n i c i p a l i t i e s were not r e a l l y considered as s e r i o u s c a n d i d a t e s by t h e p r o v i n c e b e c a u s e of t h e i r i n a b i l i t y t o f i n a n c e t h e whole o p e r a t i o n . The g r a v e l f i r m s , however, were well a b l e t o r a i s e the money, but they were not a c c e p t a b l e as buyers because of t h e i r ‘ p o s s i b l e c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t s ’ . In March 1985 t h e d e c i s i o n was made t o s e l l the l a k e a r e a f o r 6 . 5 m i l l i o n g u i l d e r s t o an i n t e r n a t i o n a l i n v e s t m e n t group L a n e r a (with the B r i t i s h c a r p e t f i r m T r e d f o r d an i m p o r t a n t p a r t i c i p a n t ) and t h e D u t c h p r o j e c t d e v e l o p e r 108

Recreational Developments in Limburg Wyckerveste. Today the group already exploits several restored projects under the name Aqua Terra and the first signs of a more commercial approach can already be seen (e.g. fencing to enclose the lakes). The present situation is obviously viewed with mixed feelings by the local communities. According to the present plans by 1995 there will be room for 6000 motorboats and yachts. With an average of almost three persons per boat, these figures imply almost 20,000 boat-tourists, most of them Germans. Presently every sunny weekend, many people from Mönchengladbach, Köln and Dusseldorf drive to the Central Limburg lake area for a few hours sailing or boating, and then drive back home. Consequently, the desired local economic impact is not great as yet, although the presence of the Germans is very obvious. Many watersports clubs in the area seem to survive only by having many German ‘ g u e s t members’. German guests, however, only need this membership in order to obtain a place in one of the many harbours. In the Touristic and Recreational Overall Plan of Limburg (TROP, 1981) it is estimated that approximately 60 per cent of the boats in the harbours of Central Limburg are owned by Germans. Where a harbour is combined with camping facilities, this participation rate may be up to 90 per cent (TROP, 1981). CONCLUDING REMARKS The Dutch experience in Limburg shows that mineral extraction may play a significant role in providing a basis for the development of various kinds of water recreation. Despite the fact that the gravel companies have to hand over the exhausted quarries to the provincial government without payment, the eagerness of several parties to buy this‘ d e r e l i c t ’or‘ i d l e ’land nevertheless clearly demonstrates its intrinsic economic value. The final consequences of the large scale privatisation of the Limburg water lakes is not yet fully discernable. The province stresses the fact that the sale of the area to one single firm. Aqua Terra, enables a better control of the developments than in the case where many individual developers are involved. The provincial authorities expect that Aqua Terra, having determined the recreation activities that can be accommodated, should set a market rent appropriate to encouraging viable 109

Recreational Developments in Limburg tenants and the growth of recreation, rather than trying to charge unrealistic rentals that encourage nobody. The m u n i c i p a l i t i e s , h o w e v e r , are very concerned about the present developments. Not only because their influence on the whole process is rather limited, but also because privatisation implies for their inhabitants a restriction on the use of (or in practice, a fence around) the water areas - the same inhabitants who also had to suffer yesterday from the nuisance of the gravel workings. This addresses the fundamental planning problem of efficiency versus equity: the ‘oil’ and the ‘water’ of policymaking (Miller, 1985). The case of Central Limburg illustrates that they do not mix well in most operational contexts ! REFERENCES Bennema, S.; Hoen, H.‘t.; Setten, A. van & Voogd, H. (1985) Studying Gravel Extraction through Multicriteria Analysis, 179-88 in: A. Faludi & H. Voogd (eds), Evaluation of Complex Policy Problems, Delftsche Uitgeversmaatschappij, Delft G o o d a l l , B. (1986) O u t d o o r Recreation and Environmental Improvement, Department of Geography, University of Reading (mimeographed) Miller, D.H. (1985) Equity and Efficiency Effects of Investment Decisions, 35–50 in A. Faludi & H. Voogd (eds), op.cit. Neville, B. (1985) Wet restoration. Mineral Planning, 24, 24-32 Provincie Limburg (1985) Herinrichtingsnota, Maastrict TROP (1981) Toeristisch en recreatief ontwikkeling plan voor Limburg, Eindrapport, Netherlands Institute of Tourism Development Consultants, Arnhem Yeoman, J. (1986) The Mammoth Concept, Mineral Planning, 27, 4-8

110

Chapter 8 THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON DESTINATION AREAS OF FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY: A SPANISH APPLICATION Thea Sinclair and Charles Sutcliffe

The tourism industry is currently receiving increasing acknowledgement for its role in promoting the development of tourist destination areas. However, differences in the degree of foreign relative to domestic ownership and control of the tourism industry can lead to considerable differences in the effects which tourism has on a destination area. Such effects can be divided into five main categories: the balance of payments, the distribution of public and private revenue, the value of foreign expenditure on tourism and the associated income multiplier effects in the destination area, the techniques of production utilised and the level of employment, and the degree of control which the host area can exercise over the development of the tourism industry and destination area. This chapter will use empirical evidence for the Spanish tourism industry to examine the ways in which alternative degrees of foreign and domestic participation in the tourism industry can lead to differing effects on tourist destination areas. THE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS Foreign tourism plays a very important role in the economy of many destination countries (Erbes, 1973; United Nations, 1973). The tourism industry in Spain, for example, developed into one of the most important sectors of the Spanish economy in an extremely short period of time. Table 8.1 shows that whereas in 1951, 1.3 million tourists visited Spain, by 1985 43.2 million tourists arrived (Ministry of Information and Tourism, 1964-77; Ministry of Commerce and Tourism, 1978–83). The rise in tourist arrivals which occurred during the 1960s was due particularly to the intervention in the travel trade of foreign tour operators who 111

Economic Effects on Destination Areas Table 8.1:

Tourist arrivals in Spain (000s)

Year

With passport

In transit

24hr Excurs.

Span. resid. abroad

Total

1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

676 776 909 993 1 ,383 1 ,560 2,018 2,451 2,863 4,332 5,496 6,390 7,941 10,507 11,080 14,443 14,810 16,238 18,879 21 , 2 6 7 23,738 29,438 31,606 27,364 27,359 27,389 31,597 36,943 33,860 32,925 35,569 37,651 37,089 39,004 39,672

325 430 545 679 765 731 719 661 715 837 827 762 855 1 ,094 1 ,013 1,051 1 ,132 1 ,182 1 ,220 1 ,109 1 ,139 1 ,131 1 ,050 1 ,001 968 922 959 832 994 903 882 815 741 732 792

189 196 172 177 244 277 220 152 283 256 319 573 1 ,113 1,309 979 366 328 282 240 281 443 428 209 172 75 72 119 481 2,112 2,689 1 ,943 1 ,462 1 ,379 1 ,175 780

72 81 83 102 129 157 227 327 332 686 813 942 1 ,022 1 ,193 1 ,180 1 ,392 1 ,589 1 ,482 1 ,343 1 ,448 1 ,439 1 ,509 1 ,694 1 ,806 1 ,721 1 ,631 1 ,592 1 ,715 1 ,937 1 ,510 1 ,735 2,083 2,054 2,051 1 ,991

1 ,263 1 ,485 1 ,710 1 ,952 1 ,522 2,728 3,187 3,593 4,194 6,113 7,455 8,667 10,931 14,103 14,252 17,252 17,859 19,184 21,682 24,105 26,759 32,506 34,559 30,343 30,123 30,014 34,267 39,971 38,903 38,027 40,129 42,011 41,263 42,962 43,235

Source: Ministry of Information and Tourism, 196477 and Ministry of Commerce and Tourism, 1978–83, Madrid

112

Economic E f f e c t s on D e s t i n a t i o n Areas Table 8 . 2 : in Spain

Foreign currency r e c e i p t s from tourism

Year ($ 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

Receipts million) 58.4 94.2 90.0 90.7 94.8 76.9 71 .6 128.6 297.0 385.0 513.0 679.3 918.6 1,156.9 1 138.5 1,126.8 1,178.9 1,310.7 1,680.8 2,054.5 2,607.6 3,091 . 2 3,187.9 3,404.3 3,083.4 4,003.0 5,488.0 6,483.8 6,967.7 6.715.9 7,126.1 6,836.1 7,716.7 8,150.8

s t a r t e d t o provide low-priced package h o l i d a y s on a massive s c a l e . The growth i n demand for Spanish tourism has c a u s e d t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y t o be of p r i m e i m p o r t a n c e i n the Spanish economy. As Table 8.2 d e m o n s t r a t e s , t h e a b s o l u t e v a l u e of f o r e i g n c u r r e n c y r e c e i p t s from t o u r i s m i s c o n s i d e r a b l e . 113

114

(1)

1,327 1,857 1,584 31,529 7,837 30,998 9,337 2,728

1,352 7,162 6,970 36,133 9,517

-1,753 -3,755 -1,860 -28,085 -9,426 -31,773 -12,413 -3,782 31.1 23.7 12.9 10.1 12.7 18.0

4.6 6.3

5.6

-1,592 -10,828 -9,588 -35,003 -12,952

-26,628 -141,615 -100,658 -76,035 -134,656 -441,200

(4)

26.0 18.0 13.3 21.0

5.1 8.6 1.8 3.9 3.1

16.9

(3)

13.0

3.8 6.1 9.5

23.6 11.7 11.0 11.4

4.1

21.6

9.7

22.0 11.9

5.2 8.3 2.0 4.0 2.5

16.4

(5)

(millions of SDRs)

Source: IMF Balance of Payments Statistics, Vol.36, Yearbook, Part I, 19 85 Key: (1) Travel Receipts, (2) Goods,Services and Income: Total Receipts, (3) 1 as % of 2, (4) Imports of Goods, Services and Incomes, (5) 1 as % of 4.

351 Cyprus 1,288 Greece Portugal 929 7,572 Spain Turkey 535 Third World Countries Jamaica 413 Jordan 440 Kenya 205 3,198 Mexico Philippines 358 Singapore 1,944 Thailand 1,182 Tunisia 491

Austria France Italy Netherlands

25,964 4,376 7,409 144,504 96,752 8,369 1,499 81,823 UK 5,393 138,585 US 11,110 353,700 Southern European Countries

(2)

Tourism and the balance of payments, 1984

Industrialised Countries

Country

Table 8.3:

Economic Effects on Destination Areas Spain’s tourism receipts are also high relative to the amounts received by other countries, as is shown in Table 8.3. Of all the countries included in the table, Spain received the third highest value of travel receipts. The value of travel receipts is also high in most industrialised countries, followed by Mexico, Singapore, Greece and Thailand. Additional measures of the importance of tourism receipts to a country’s development process are tourism receipts relative to total receipts, and to payments for imports. Column 2 in Table 8.3 gives the values of total receipts from goods, services and income, column 4 the values of imports and columns 3 and 5 travel receipts as percentages of each of these categories. Column 3 shows that Spanish travel receipts constituted 21 per cent of total receipts, the percentages for Cyprus, Jordan, Greece and Tunisia being 18 per cent or higher. Ten of the 13 southern European and Third World countries included in the table obtained over 10 per cent of their total receipts from tourism. The final column in Table 8.3 provides travel r e c e i p t s as a p e r c e n t a g e of the value of expenditure on imports and indicates the importance of tourism receipts as a source of foreign exchange for financing imports, which are frequently necessary for a country’s development process. The calculated percentages again tend to be higher for the southern European and Third World countries included in the table than for the industrialised countries. Of the latter, travel receipts only constitute over 10 per cent of expenditure on imports in Austria, whereas eight of the southern European and Third World countries have percentages of over 10 per cent, with three over 20 per cent. In Spain, tourism receipts were 22 per cent of the value of imports. The value of expenditure on travel by Spaniards who have travelled abroad has been low relative to the value of receipts, constituting only 11 per cent of the value of travel receipts in 1984. Thus current receipts from foreign tourism greatly exceed expenditure abroad by Spanish tourists and the sector appears to make a large positive contribution to the economy in terms of supply of foreign exchange. However, before concluding that this is definitely the case, it is necessary to examine the amount of expenditure on inputs which are imported to meet the requirements of the tourism industry. Such imports include goods and services consumed by 115

Economic E f f e c t s on D e s t i n a t i o n Areas t o u r i s t s and c a p i t a l goods r e q u i r e d for p r o v i d i n g accommodation and i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . T h i r d World c o u n t r i e s w h i c h h a v e an e s t a b l i s h e d tourism i n d u s t r y but a l i m i t e d i n d u s t r i a l base often import l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of b o t h t h e goods and s e r v i c e s which a r e d i r e c t l y purchased by the t o u r i s t s who v i s i t them and t h e g o o d s and s e r v i c e s w h i c h i n d i r e c t l y meet t h e t o u r i s t s ’ needs. Thus a high p r o p o r t i o n of g r o s s r e c e i p t s from t o u r i s m c a n be l o s t from t h e d e s t i n a t i o n c o u n t r y i n t h e form of payments f o r i m p o r t s from f o r e i g n f i r m s . Foreign ownership or c o n t r o l of tourism f a c i l i t i e s ( h o t e l s , f l a t s , e t c . ) in the d e s t i n a t i o n area can lead t o higher payments f o r i m p o r t s i f f o r e i g n e r s h a v e a p o l i c y of i m p o r t i n g goods and s e r v i c e s with which they a r e f a m i l i a r from t h e i r own c o u n t r y . Foreign firms a l s o b e n e f i t from i n c r e a s e d purchases of imported goods and s e r v i c e s by l o c a l r e s i d e n t s who r e c e i v e h i g h e r incomes a s t h e r e s u l t of l o c a l t o u r i s m development, or who i n c r e a s e t h e i r e x p e n d i t u r e on i m p o r t e d g o o d s a s a c o n s e q u e n c e of t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n e f f e c t of c o n s u m p t i o n by f o r e i g n tourists. The r e l a t i v e l y developed n a t u r e of t h e S p a n i s h economy w i t h i t s d i v e r s i f i e d r a n g e of e c o n o m i c a c t i v i t i e s means t h a t a c o n s i d e r a b l e p r o p o r t i o n of the products which a r e r e q u i r e d by t h e tourism i n d u s t r y a r e produced w i t h i n Spain. A s t u d y c a r r i e d o u t by t h e S p a n i s h I n s t i t u t e of Tourism h a s shown t h a t t h e t o t a l value of goods imported t o meet the r e q u i r e m e n t s of t h e t o u r i s m s e c t o r amounts t o approximately 1.5 per cent of GNP and 2.8 per cent of t h e t o t a l value of imports i n t o Spain (IET, 1978a, 222–23). Foreign p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the tourism i n d u s t r y a l s o l e a d s t o l o s s e s from the d e s t i n a t i o n country i n t h e form of f a c t o r p a y m e n t s a b r o a d . For e x a m p l e , f o r e i g n o w n e r s h i p of tourism f a c i l i t i e s such as h o t e l s , f l a t s , r e s t a u r a n t s , e t c . i n t h e d e s t i n a t i o n area u s u a l l y r e s u l t s in r e m i t t a n c e s of r e n t , p r o f i t s and d i v i d e n d s . In a d d i t i o n , income i s earned by f o r e i g n e r s who s e l l t h e i r e x p e r t i s e t o the d e s t i n a t i o n c o u n t r y , for example v i a management c o n t r a c t s i n v o l v i n g t h e management of h o t e l s , b l o c k s of f l a t s o r o t h e r t o u r i s m f a c i l i t i e s . Income i s a l s o paid t o f o r e i g n e r s who a r e employed in the d e s t i n a t i o n area or who t r a i n r e s i d e n t s of the d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a . In t h e case of Spain, f a c t o r payments abroad which a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f o r e i g n t o u r i s m a r e r e l a t i v e l y low. Outflows in the form of investment 116

Economic Effects on Destination Areas income constitute approximately 3 per cent of total o u t f l o w s , while wages and salaries paid to foreigners are negligible owing to the country’s strictly enforced laws prohibiting the employment of foreigners when Spanish nationals are available to carry out the work. Expenditure by the Spanish government is only approximately 2 per cent of total outflows. The total value of outflows which occurs as a direct consequence of foreign tourism in Spain is 13 per cent of the total value of receipts from tourism. However, it should be borne in mind that outflows from particular sub-national tourist destination areas are of far greater relative importance than outflows at the national level; for example, the propensity to import, resulting in considerably lower income multiplier values for the former than the latter. The importance of outflows in the form of payments for imports which are a s s o c i a t e d with t o u r i s t expenditure in the Spanish province of Malaga will be discussed below. THE DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REVENUE The development of a tourist destination area is considerably affected by the distribution of the revenue obtained from tourism b e t w e e n the destination area and elsewhere and, within the destination area, between the public and private sectors. It was argued above that, for a given total value of tourist spending, such as might occur in a country with a stable, well-established tourism industry, an increase in the extent of participation in the tourism sector by origin countries can lead to a notable increase in the proportion of tourist spending received by origin countries and a corresponding decrease in the revenue received by the destination area owing to payments for imported goods and services, factor payments abroad, etc. The decrease in the revenue received by the destination will, in turn, affect the private sector by lowering profits. It will also affect the public sector by decreasing the value of tax receipts - both of direct tax and indirect taxes such as sales tax, customs revenue, tourist arrival or departure tax etc. Foreigners can increase their control over the tourism industry in the destination area in two ways (Dunning & McQueen, 1982): 117

Economic Effects on Destination Areas (i) direct foreign investment in tourism facilities in the destination area, resulting in partial or total ownership; (ii) the drawing-up of contracts between foreign tour operators and the indigenous owners of tourism facilities. In the case where there has been considerable direct foreign investment in the destination area, some local policy makers have attempted to increase the proportion of revenue from tourism which is retained within the destination area by increasing the rate of taxation on the profits generated by the tourism industry, or by imposing restrictions on the amount of money which can be remitted abroad. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can circumvent such restriction by the manipulation of transfer pricing. This can occur because, in the case of MNEs, a large number of transactions take place within the firm, so that the traditional theory of pricing does not apply. Buyers and sellers do not try to maximise their individual profits. Instead, their aim is to maximise the joint profits of the firm as a whole. If, for example, the rate of taxation in the destination area exceeds the rate of taxation elsewhere, the MNE will wish to decrease the proportion of its profits which it declares in the destination area. An example will clarify how this occurs. If an international hotel chain finds that there is a relatively high tax rate on profits in the foreign country and a relatively low rate on profits in the home country, it will attribute a relatively high accounting price to accommodation in the foreign country. This results in a fall in the value of declared profits in the foreign country and an increase in the home country, giving rise to a decrease in the total value of tax payments. Accommodation in the foreign country is said to be‘ o v e r p r i c e d ’relative to the‘ a r m ' s length price’; i.e. the price which would occur in the open market, between unrelated units. Thus MNEs can use transfer pricing to decrease or increase the value of revenue from tourism in the tourist destination country. A decrease will lower receipts from taxation. It is obviously extremely difficult to obtain data to ascertain the extent to which transfer pricing occurs, and there is a lack of evidence concerning the extent to which it takes place in the Spanish tourism industry. However, there has 118

Economic Effects on Destination Areas been a tradition of tax evasion via the underdeclaration of profits in Spain and the tax rate on declared profits has been 20 per cent. Hence it is unlikely that large amounts of money have been transferred out of Spain for the motive of tax avoidance. Further motives for transfer pricing include the aim of decreasing payments to local shareholders, the avoidance of an effective tax on profits via the existence of multiple exchange rates, currency speculation and decreases in the level of risk a s s o c i a t e d w i t h p o l i t i c a l instability. These are unlikely to apply in the case of Spain, where payments to local shareholders are of relatively low importance, there is only one exchange rate which has not been prone to a high level of fluctuation and there has been relative political stability. However, it is likely that the foreign owners of tourism facilities in Spain wish to retain a high proportion of their profits in their home countries, and a common way of attaining this objective has been by requiring tourists to Spain to pay for the use of ownership of these facilities in their home countries. For example, many newspapers commonly advertise the sale of Spanish villas for which payment can be made in the purchaser’s country of origin. By this means a considerable proportion of the profits from tourism in Spain never reach the destination area, and the distribution of profits is switched towards the tourists’ countries of origin. The second means by which foreigners gain c o n t r o l over the tourism industry in the destination area, where tour operators make contracts with indigenous owners of tourism facilities, which is very common within the international tourism industry. The tour operator is the prime mover in the provision of the product of package holidays. Since the tour operator decides which hotels or flats, in which countries and which airlines or other form of transport are used, the tour operator has a vital role in determining the structure of the tourism industry. It is likely that a lower level of demand for tourism would be forthcoming in the absence of the tour operator’s intervention, implying a lower level of expenditure on tourism in the destination area. This, in turn, would result in a lower value of income generation in the area, as will be explained below. However, if an equivalent level of demand for tourism could be attained without the intervention of foreign tour operators, it is 119

Economic Effects on Destination Areas likely that the value of expenditure on tourism in the destination area would be higher. This is because tourists who purchase package holidays from tour operators pay for their holidays in their country of origin, so that part of the purchase price fails to reach the destination area. Tourists who purchase inclusive tours to Spain almost invariably pay for their holidays in their country of origin. Thus, a proportion of the amount which they pay for their holidays remains in the origin countries in the form of profits, and the tour operator does not have to face the problem of repatriating these profits from Spain. Since a high proportion of tourists arrive in non-Spanish airlines, further amounts are siphoned off before payment is made for accommodation. In the case of accommodation which is owned by a foreign MNE, foreign companies or individuals, a further proportion of tourist expenditure is lost to Spain. Finally, considerable pressure is often placed upon both indigenous and foreign accommodation owners to charge extremely low prices to tour operators, almost all of which are foreign. Original survey data obtained by Sinclair and Sutcliffe (1979) showed that the maximum legally permitted discounts of 30 per cent off the officially established accommodation prices are common, particularly during the low season, and informal conversations with numerous participants in the tourism industry, including employees of foreign tour operators, showed that much larger discounts are often obtained. Thus, of the initial cost of the holiday to the tourist, a considerable proportion never reaches the Spanish economy. THE VALUE OF EXPENDITURE ON TOURISM AND ASSOCIATED MULTIPLIER EFFECTS IN THE DESTINATION AREA Tourist expenditure in a given destination country induces increases in the value of national income. The changes in the value of income which result from tourist expenditure can be quantified by means of various techniques such as export base multipliers, input-output analysis and simultaneous e q u a t i o n s models, as has been explained by Sutcliffe (1985). One of the most useful ways of estimating the income generation effects associated with tourist expenditure is via the use of the Keynesian income multiplier model. The technique requires a smaller quantity of data than would be 120

Economic Effects on Destination Areas r e q u i r e d f o r t h e f o r m u l a t i o n of an i n p u t - o u t p u t t a b l e or a s i m u l t a n e o u s e q u a t i o n s model b u t p r o v i d e s a l a r g e amount of i n f o r m a t i o n which i s of u s e t o p o l i c y makers by p e r m i t t i n g t h e e s t i m a t i o n of t h e m u l t i p l i e r v a l u e s and i n c o m e g e n e r a t i o n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a r a n g e of d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of tourist expenditure. M u l t i p l i e r v a l u e s c a n a l s o be e s t i m a t e d i n o r d e r t o c a l c u l a t e t h e c h a n g e s i n income which a r e g e n e r a t e d by c h a n g e s i n t o u r i s t e x p e n d i t u r e i n t h e d i f f e r e n t r e g i o n s o r o t h e r s u b - n a t i o n a l a r e a s where t o u r i s t s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d . M u l t i p l i e r formulae for s u b - n a t i o n a l a r e a s have b e e n d e r i v e d by S i n c l a i r and S u t c l i f f e ( 1 9 8 2 ) f o r c h a n g e s i n GNP and d i s p o s a b l e income. The formula f o r t h e l o n g r u n GNP m u l t i p l i e r i s : Y’/ where

Y ’ =

E

=

K* =

K

=

K

=

E = K*(1+KK)

(1 )

t h e c h a n g e i n GNP a t f a c t o r c o s t , r e s u l t i n g from an i n i t i a l change i n t o u r i s t e x p e n d i t u r e in the a r e a , which o c c u r s o v e r a l l r o u n d s of t h e multiplier process; t h e i n i t i a l change in tourist expenditure in the area; t h e p r o p e n s i t y t o g e n e r a t e GNP during the f i r s t r o u n d of the m u l t i p l i e r p r o c e s s and K* = ( l - L 1 ) w h e r e L1 i s t h e f i r s t round p r o p e n s i t y t o withdraw for the a r e a ; t h e p r o p e n s i t y t o g e n e r a t e GNP d u r i n g t h e s e c o n d r o u n d of the multiplier process; 1/ ( 1 - K S ) and i s t h e s u b s e q u e n t round m u l t i p l i e r f o r GNP where KS i s t h e p r o p e n s i t y t o g e n e r a t e GNP d u r i n g s u b s e q u e n t r o u n d s of t h e m u l t i p l i e r process.

As shown i n S i n c l a i r and S u t c l i f f e ( 1 9 8 2 ) , t h e formula which i s a p p r o p r i a t e f o r c a l c u l a t i n g t h e GNP m u l t i p l i e r , i n c l u d i n g s e p a r a t e l y e s t i m a t e d f i r s t and second round p r o p e n s i t i e s i s : Y’/

The f o r m u l a f o r multiplier is:

E =

the Y’d/

( EK*

long E =

+

EK*KK)/

E

run d i s p o s a b l e

EKOK’/

E

(2)

income (3)

121

Economic E f f e c t s where

Y’d

=

KO

=

K ’ =

on D e s t i n a t i o n

Areas

t h e change in d i s p o s a b l e income, r e s u l t i n g from an i n i t i a l change i n t o u r i s t expenditure in the a r e a , which o c c u r s o v e r a l l r o u n d s of t h e multiplier process; the propensity to generate d i s p o s a b l e income d u r i n g t h e f i r s t round of t h e m u l t i p l i e r p r o c e s s and K O = ( 1 - L * ) w h e r e L* i s t h e f i r s t round p r o p e n s i t y t o w i t h d r a w f o r t h e area; 1 / ( 1 - Q ) and i s t h e s u b s e q u e n t round m u l t i p l i e r for d i s p o s a b l e income where Q is the p r o p e n s i t y to g e n e r a t e d i s p o s a b l e income d u r i n g s u b s e q u e n t r o u n d s of t h e m u l t i p l i e r process.

The t o t a l change i n GNP o r d i s p o s a b l e income which r e s u l t s from a change i n t o u r i s t e x p e n d i t u r e i s s i m p l y o b t a i n e d by m u l t i p l y i n g e q u a t i o n s (1) t o (3) by E. A h i g h d e g r e e of f o r e i g n o w n e r s h i p a n d / o r c o n t r o l of t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y c a n have p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t e f f e c t s on two v a r i a b l e s within the m u l t i p l i e r formulae: the change in E , and t h e f i r s t round tourist expenditure, p r o p e n s i t i e s t o w i t h d r a w from t h e a r e a , L1 and L*. E, a s was e x p l a i n e d a b o v e , a h i g h I n t h e c a s e of d e g r e e of f o r e i g n o w n e r s h i p a n d / o r c o n t r o l w i l l often result i n a l o w e r l e v e l of tourist e x p e n d i t u r e t h a n would have o c c u r r e d if the f a c i l i t i e s had been owned by l o c a l r e s i d e n t s a n d t h e demand f o r t o u r i s m had r e m a i n e d t h e same. The effect i s t o d e c r e a s e t h e v a l u e of income generation within the d e s t i n a t i o n area. P a r t i a l o r t o t a l f o r e i g n o w n e r s h i p of t o u r i s m f a c i l i t i e s d e c r e a s e s t h e v a l u e of l o c a l i n c o m e g e n e r a t i o n by i n c r e a s i n g t h e v a l u e of t h e f i r s t round p r o p e n s i t y t o w i t h d r a w p r o f i t s from t h e a r e a , e i t h e r d i r e c t l y i f t h e r e a r e no c o n t r o l s on p r o f i t s r e m i t t a n c e s , or i n d i r e c t l y via transfer p r i c i n g . T h i s r e s u l t s i n t h e l o s s of p o t e n t i a l income m u l t i p l i e r e f f e c t s in the a r e a . Considerable f i r s t r o u n d w i t h d r a w a l s a l s o f r e q u e n t l y o c c u r i n t h e form of payments f o r i m p o r t s of goods and s e r v i c e s which a r e r e q u i r e d by t h e t o u r i s m s e c t o r a n d are p u r c h a s e d from f i r m s and i n d u s t r i e s i n o t h e r a r e a s - e i t h e r i n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , i f t h e n a t i o n a l income m u l t i p l i e r i s being e s t i m a t e d , or in both f o r e i g n c o u n t r i e s and o t h e r a r e a s w i t h i n t h e same c o u n t r y , 122

Economic Effects on Destination Areas if the local income multiplier is being quantified. Such payments can lead to a considerable decrease in the value of the multiplier associated with tourist expenditure and to a corresponding fall in the value of income generation resulting from such expenditure. In the case of Spain, as was shown above, outflows in the form of payments for imports into Spain are relatively low. The latter conclusion is supported by survey evidence in which managers of both nationally owned hotels and hotels which form part of a non-Spanish MNE stated that they purchased virtually all of their inputs from Spanish sources. However, regions and other subnational areas are far more open than national economies and so have a higher propensity to import, including ‘imports’ from other parts of the same country as well as from abroad. This can be seen by examination of the income multiplier values calculated for d i f f e r e n t types of tourist expenditure in the Spanish province of Malaga, which are given in Table 8.4. .

Table 8.4: Long-run multiplier values for changes in different types of tourist expenditure in the Spanish province of Malaga Types of tourist expenditure

Long-run GNP multiplier

Accommodation Food, drink and entertainment Expenditure by tourists staying in flats & villas Tourist expenditure on miscellaneous items All tourist expenditure

Long-run disposable income multiplier

0.66

0.50

0.53

0.40

0.47

0.36

0.99

0.75

0.72

0.54

The way in which the values included in the table should be interpreted is that, for example, for every £1 which tourists spend on accommodation in Malaga, the values of GNP and disposable income which are generated in the province are £0.66 and £0.50 respectively. The main reason why the 123

Economic E f f e c t s on D e s t i n a t i o n Areas m u l t i p l i e r v a l u e s a r e f a i r l y low i s t h a t a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of the change in t o u r i s t e x p e n d i t u r e in Malaga i s l o s t t o o t h e r a r e a s i n t h e form of p r o f i t s r e m i t t a n c e s and e x p e n d i t u r e on i n p u t s which a r e p u r c h a s e d from o u t s i d e t h e p r o v i n c e . For e x a m p l e , t h e v a l u e s of t h e l o n g - r u n f i r s t - r o u n d p r o p e n s i t i e s t o remit p r o f i t s which a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e c h a n g e i n t o u r i s t e x p e n d i t u r e on a c c o m m o d a t i o n a r e 39 p e r c e n t f o r t h e GNP m u l t i p l i e r and 51 p e r c e n t f o r t h e d i s p o s a b l e income m u l t i p l i e r , and t h e f i r s t round p r o p e n s i t i e s t o‘ i m p o r t ’ i n p u t s i n t o Malaga a r e 74 per cent and 78 per cent r e s p e c t i v e l y ( S i n c l a i r , 1 9 8 1 ) . The e x t r e m e l y h i g h v a l u e s of t h e f i r s t round p r o p e n s i t i e s t o i m p o r t i n d i c a t e t h a t one p o l i c y which could i n c r e a s e t h e v a l u e of income g e n e r a t i o n i n t h e p r o v i n c e w o u l d be a p o l i c y of i m p o r t s u b s t i t u t i o n , in which t h e aim could be t o i n c r e a s e t h e v a l u e of l o c a l production of t h o s e i t e m s f o r which imports a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y h i g h . S i m i l a r l y , an i n c r e a s e in the value of l o c a l production of those goods and s e r v i c e s which l o c a l r e s i d e n t s purchase u s i n g a d d i t i o n a l income g e n e r a t e d by t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y would r e s u l t in f u r t h e r i n c r e a s e s in t h e v a l u e of l o c a l income g e n e r a t i o n . TECHNIQUES EMPLOYMENT

OF PRODUCTION

AND THE LEVEL OF

The d e g r e e of f o r e i g n o w n e r s h i p of tourism f a c i l i l i t e s i n t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a may i n c l u d e both t h e techniques of production which a r e used in the tourism i n d u s t r y v i a t h e t r a n s f e r of technology t o t h e d e s t i n a t i o n c o u n t r y and t h e l e v e l of employment. For example, p a r t i a l or t o t a l foreign ownership i s often accompanied by access t o f o r e i g n as well as domestic c a p i t a l m a r k e t s , p e r m i t t i n g a l a r g e r s c a l e of o p e r a t i o n s t o occur and hence a h i g h e r l e v e l of employment. However, f o r e i g n ownership may a l s o lead t o i n c r e a s e d employment of f o r e i g n e r s r e l a t i v e t o domestic r e s i d e n t s . F o r e i g n o w n e r s a n d m a n a g e r s of t o u r i s m f a c i l i t i e s may a l s o have g r e a t e r knowledge a b o u t a n d a c c e s s t o l a b o u r - s a v i n g t e c h n i q u e s of production than l o c a l owners and managers. The use of such t e c h n i q u e s r e s u l t s i n h i g h e r l e v e l s of p r o d u c t i v i t y p e r employee and l o w e r l e v e l s of employment p e r u n i t of o u t p u t . In some c a s e s , b e n e f i c i a l spread e f f e c t s occur in the d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a a s f o r e i g n e r s ’ k n o w l e d g e of a l t e r n a t i v e 124

Economic Effects on Destination Areas techniques of production is transferred to domestic suppliers, and an increasing demand for tourism is sufficient to compensate for any falls in the level of employment which the use of alternative techniques of production might otherwise generate. However, in some cases foreign suppliers have unique knowledge about alternative techniques of production and there is an absence of spread effects. Foreign ownership may result in greater training of the labour force if the foreign owners or managers have greater access to training facilities than locals. Table 8.5: The level of employment in Spanish and foreign-owned hotels Ownership

Locat ion Coastal area

Average Employment employment per bed-place

Cities Average Employment employment per bed-place

Spanishowned

141

0.30

243

0.68

Foreign MNE

180

0.29

285

0.49

Survey evidence obtained by Sinclair and Sutcliffe (1979) for both Spanish and foreign-owned hotels permitted investigation of the potential effects. Table 8.5 shows the average level of employment and employment per bed-place in hotels which are owned by residents of Spain and hotels It demonstrates a higher which are part of MNEs. average level of employment in hotels which are part of a foreign MNE and which are located in both coastal areas and cities, although the average level of employment for both types of hotel is greater in cities than in coastal areas. The level of employment per bed-place is similar for the two types of hotel in coastal areas, but is higher for Spanish-owned hotels located in cities, although it is possible that the figure 0.68 is a slight overestimate of the true value. Owing to the strict Spanish legislation concerning the employment of foreigners, there were few foreign employees in 125

Economic Effects on Destination Areas either type of hotel. There was little difference in the wages and conditions of employment of the employees in hotels in a given province because these are determined by negotiations for all hotels at the provincial level. Knowledge concerning labour-saving techniques was not found to be significantly greater for hotels forming part of an MNE than for Spanishowned hotels. Any specialist knowledge which the MNE-owned hotels may have possessed concerning the equipment or related techniques of production utilised in hotels appears to have been transferred to local enterprises, and there was some tendency t o w a r d s i n c r e a s i n g productivity levels and decreasing levels of employment in both types of hotel in coastal areas. The only area in which the MNE-owned hotels seemed to possess g r e a t e r expertise was in the area of marketing. The only hotels which incurred limited expenditure on training courses for employees were Spanish-owned hotels located in cities. Thus it appears that Spain, unlike some Third World countries, has a supply of labour which is sufficiently skilled to meet the needs of the hotel sector. THE DEGREE OF CONTROL WHICH THE HOST AREA EXERCISES OVER THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND THE DESTINATION AREA There are a number of ways in which foreign participation in the tourism industry can decrease the degree of control which the host area can exert over the development of the tourism industry and the associated development of the destination area. First, if foreign capital promotes the development of the t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y in the absence of alternative forms of economic activity, the destination area will become increasingly dependent upon the tourism industry for the provision of foreign exchange and associated generation. The figures in Table 8.3 show that Spain receives 21 per cent of its total receipts from goods, services and income from tourism and that its dependence upon earnings from tourism to provide the foreign exchange necessary for financing its imports is also high, receipts from travel constituting 22 per cent of the value of imports. Although the income g e n e r a t i o n e f f e c t s r e s u l t i n g from tourist expenditure in particular destination areas such as the province of Malaga are relatively low, Spain as 126

Economic E f f e c t s on D e s t i n a t i o n Areas a whole b e n e f i t s g r e a t l y from the income m u l t i p l i e r e f f e c t s o r i g i n a t i n g from r i s i n g t o u r i s t expenditure (IET, 1 9 7 8 b ) . The i n t e r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y and o t h e r s e c t o r s of the Spanish economy mean t h a t a d e c l i n e i n e x p e n d i t u r e on S p a n i s h t o u r i s m g e n e r a t e s a c o n s i d e r a b l e downward m u l t i p l i e r e f f e c t on t h e l e v e l of income i n t h e economy. Moreover, t h e e x t r e m e l y high l e v e l of dependence of a number of Spanish p r o v i n c e s upon t o u r i s m and r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s , s u c h a s t h e construction industry, causes these areas to e x p e r i e n c e p a r t i c u l a r l y l a r g e f a l l s in income and i n c r e a s e s in the l e v e l of unemployment when t o u r i s t demand d e c l i n e s . The p r o v i n c e of Malaga i s one example of t h i s e f f e c t , w i t h 25 p e r c e n t of t h e a c t i v e p o p u l a t i o n b e c o m i n g unemployed i n t h e immediate aftermath of the 1974 o i l ‘ c r i s i s ’ and t h e consequent drop in foreign tourism. Second, dependence upon a l i m i t e d number of f o r e i g n t o u r o p e r a t o r s for maintaining the demand for tourism e n t a i l s a high l e v e l of r i s k s i n c e tour o p e r a t o r s have t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of switching the t o u r i s t s t o a l t e r n a t i v e d e s t i n a t i o n s if t h e l e v e l of wages and o t h e r l o c a l c o s t s i n c r e a s e s . In Spain some i n c r e a s e s in wages have occurred, as l i m i t e d i n c r e a s e s in t r a d e union s t r e n g t h in the h o t e l and c a t e r i n g s e c t o r have t a k e n p l a c e . However, i n c r e a s e s in wages have tended t o r e s u l t in f a l l s i n t h e l e v e l of e m p l o y m e n t a s l a b o u r - s a v i n g t e c h n i q u e s s u c h as s e l f - s e r v i c e have been i n t r o d u c e d , p a r t i c u l a r l y in c o a s t a l a r e a s . T h i r d , d e p e n d e n c e upon f o r e i g n e r s for promoting the tourism industry increases f o r e i g n e r s ’ a b i l i t y t o p r e s s u r i s e the government of the d e s t i n a t i o n country t o provide a l a r g e amount of c o s t l y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , e . g . a i r p o r t s , which i s necessary t o meet the requirements of the t o u r i s t s who a r r i v e a t the peak of the season. Such p r e s s u r e can be e x e r t e d v i a the e x p l i c i t or i m p l i c i t t h r e a t of s w i t c h i n g demand t o o t h e r d e s t i n a t i o n s . Government p r o v i s i o n of i n f r a s t r u c t u r e can be argued t o c o n s t i t u t e a hidden subsidy to the foreign owners of tourism f a c i l i t i e s , t o f o r e i g n o p e r a t o r s and t h e t o u r i s t s t h e m s e l v e s . The i n f r a s t r u c t u r e which has been p r o v i d e d f o r t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y in Spain has been financed from revenue obtained by t a x i n g the Spanish p o p u l a t i o n , p r i n c i p a l l y in the form of i n d i r e c t t a x a t i o n . Thus t h e c o s t s of developing the s e c t o r have been borne by t h e p o p u l a t i o n as a w h o l e , whereas a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of the b e n e f i t s has been received by a 127

Economic E f f e c t s on D e s t i n a t i o n Areas small p r o p o r t i o n of Spanish n a t i o n a l s . F o u r t h , d e p e n d e n c e upon f o r e i g n e r s for p r o m o t i n g t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y e n a b l e s them t o e x e r t p r e s s u r e on the government t o ensure t h a t the development of t h e s e c t o r i s i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e i r r e q u i r e m e n t s . P r e s s u r e from both f o r e i g n and Spanish b u s i n e s s i n t e r e s t s for the development of t h e S p a n i s h t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y t o c a t e r f o r mass tourism a t t h e f a s t e s t p o s s i b l e r a t e has e n t a i l e d numerous s o c i a l c o s t s in the t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n areas. The d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t which h a s o c c u r r e d a l o n g much of t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n c o a s t l i n e i s obvious t o t h e most c a s u a l o b s e r v e r . Large a r e a s of the c o a s t l i n e have been taken over by huge h o t e l s o r b l o c k s of f l a t s , i n a d e q u a t e p r o v i s i o n of s e w e r a g e and w a s t e - w a t e r d i s p o s a l f a c i l i t i e s has led t o s e r i o u s p o l l u t i o n of t h e s e a , and many beaches a r e extremely d i r t y , r e s u l t i n g in skin infections. The ‘demonstration effect’ produced by the 40 million tourists who arrive in Spain every year has led t o n o t i c e a b l e changes in t h e v a l u e s and t r a d i t i o n s of the l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n . Although i t i s extremely d i f f i c u l t to place monetary v a l u e s on t h e s e phenomena, t h i s does not l e s s e n t h e s i g n i f i c a n t c o s t s which they e n t a i l . I t i s t h u s c l e a r t h a t as well as b e n e f i t i n g t h e S p a n i s h economy, t o u r i s m has b r o u g h t a b o u t c o n s i d e r a b l e adverse e f f e c t s . Although some of t h e damage which h a s o c c u r r e d t o t h e S p a n i s h environment i s probably permanent, the Spanish a u t h o r i t i e s c o u l d implement s t r i c t e r p l a n n i n g c o n t r o l s t o l i m i t any f u r t h e r d a m a g e . The p r o v i s i o n of v i t a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e such as sewerage and w a s t e - w a t e r d i s p o s a l f a c i l i t i e s c o u l d be f u r t h e r improved, and t h e method of financing such p r o v i s i o n could be made more e g a l i t a r i a n . This has a l r e a d y s t a r t e d t o o c c u r , as r e c e n t changes in the Spanish t a x a t i o n system have decreased t h e l e v e l of t a x e v a s i o n a n d made t h e t a x s y s t e m m o r e progressive. The government could a l s o c o n s i d e r i n c r e a s i n g t h e r a t e of t a x a t i o n on p r o f i t s obtained from t h e tourism s e c t o r and imposing an a r r i v a l or d e p a r t u r e t a x on t h e t o u r i s t s themselves. Fifth, many h o s t a r e a s h a v e limited p o s s i b i l i t i e s of i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r degree of c o n t r o l over the development p r o c e s s because of t h e i r high d e g r e e of d e p e n d e n c e o n f o r e i g n e r s , and p a r t i c u l a r l y on f o r e i g n t o u r o p e r a t o r s , f o r maintaining t h e demand for tourism in t h e a r e a . It is difficult for domestic policy-makers to c h a l l e n g e t h i s s i t u a t i o n because they a r e d e a l i n g 128

Economic Effects on Destination Areas with t o u r o p e r a t o r s who often o p e r a t e on a massive s c a l e and have i n t e r n a l i s e d a l a r g e q u a n t i t y of i n f o r m a t i o n and e x p e r t i s e . In c o n t r a s t , the domestic t o u r i s m s e c t o r which provides accommodation, e t c . for f o r e i g n t o u r i s t s f r e q u e n t l y c o n s i s t s of a l a r g e number of independent u n i t s competing with each o t h e r , and which have a v e r y low l e v e l of b a r g a i n i n g power. In t h e c a s e of Spain, i t i s not p o s s i b l e f o r t h e fragmented S p a n i s h a c c o m m o d a t i o n and c a t e r i n g s e c t o r t o bargain s u c c e s s f u l l y with o l i g o p o l i s t i c tour operators. Hence t h e government could c o n s i d e r t h e v a r i o u s mediating r o l e s which i t could p l a y . CONCLUSION Using data for Spanish tourism, this chapter has argued that increases in the level of foreign relative to domestic participation in the tourism industry have a considerable impact on the role which tourism plays in the development of the destination area. Examination of countries’ balance of payments accounts shows the importance of receipts from tourism as a percentage of total receipts from goods, services and income, and as a percentage of payments for imports. Foreign tourism can also be associated with considerable outflows in the form of payments for imports and factor payments abroad. In Spain, most of the inputs which are purchased for use in the tourism industry originate from domestic rather than foreign sources so that the value of outflows which are related to the tourism industry are relatively low. However, a large amount of tourists’ expenditure on holidays never reaches Spain because tourists usually pay for their holidays in their country of origin, and a considerable proportion of the profits which are made are retained abroad. Such losses to the destination country do not feature in the balance of payments figures. Direct foreign investment and intervention by foreign tour operators tend to reduce the share of tourist revenue received by the destination area. In the case of foreign investment in the tourism industry by an MNE, profits can be remitted from the destination area by means of transfer pricing. However, it is unlikely that transfer pricing for the purpose of evading tax has occurred on a large scale in Spain since under-declaration of profits and tax evasion has been common throughout the 129

Economic Effects on Destination Areas country. It is possible that the main means by which profits are retained within the countries of origin of tourists is via the operation of foreign tour operators, from whom the vast majority of tourists to Spain purchase their holidays. Since the tour operators often use carriers from their own country and also obtain large discounts from the suppliers of tourism facilities such as accommodation within the tourist destination area, only a limited proportion of the tourists’ total expenditure on package holidays ever reaches the destination country. One effect is to decrease the values of profits and tax revenue in the country. Since tourist expenditure in the destination area generates rises in the local level of income via the income multiplier process, limitations in the value of expenditure reaching the destination area result in correspondingly lower levels of local income generation. The value of income generation also depends on the values of the propensities to withdraw which are included in the multiplier equation, and in particular on the value of the first round propensity to import into the area. If the national level of income generation resulting from tourist expenditure in Spain is being considered, the value of the first round propensity to import is relatively low since participants in the Spanish tourism industry, unlike those in many Third World countries, purchase most of the goods and services which are required from domestic sources. However, if the value of income generation is estimated for different sub-national areas where tourism is concentrated, the first round propensity to ‘import’ is high since a large proportion of inputs originate from outside the destination area. This results in a considerably lower value for the local income multiplier and a decrease in the value of local income generation. Foreign firms which invest in the tourism i n d u s t r y tend to have g r e a t e r a c c e s s to international capital markets and to available expertise in the tourism industry than domestic firms. They often generate a higher absolute level of employment per tourism establishment than domestic firms, while their greater access to labour-saving techniques of production tends to result in a lower level of employment per unit of output. In the case of the Spanish hotel sector the average number of employees in hotels forming part of an MNE was greater than in Spanish-owned 130

Economic Effects on Destination Areas hotels. The average number of employees per bedplace was found to be similar in hotels located in coastal areas, but was lower for hotels forming part of an MNE in cities than for Spanish-owned establishments. The level of knowledge about available techniques of production, with the exception of marketing, was found to be similar in both types of hotel, indicating the developed nature of the Spanish hotel sector. The growth of the tourism industry can lead to increasing dependence upon tourism as a major source of foreign currency and domestic income generation. Such dependence increases the ability of foreign participants in the tourism industry to exert direct or indirect pressure on local policymakers to maintain low levels of wages, provide the infrastructure required by the tourism sector and develop the destination areas in general accordance with foreigners’interests. In the case of Spain, tourism is one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange and means of financing imports. It also leads to considerable income generation in the country. The high level of dependence upon the tourism industry and reliance upon a limited number of foreign tour operators to channel tourists to Spain entails a high level of risk, since a decrease in tourism demand would result in pressure on the balance of payments, a considerable decrease in the level of income and a large rise in the level of unemployment. Both foreign and domestic pressures for the rapid development of the tourism industry have resulted in considerable costs - both direct monetary costs such as the cost of providing the infrastructure required by the tourism industry, and n o n - m o n e t a r y c o s t s s u c h as a d v e r s e environmental effects. It is thus clear that foreign participation in the tourism industry has had a wide range of effects, both beneficial and adverse, upon the tourist destination areas and that such effects should be taken into account by analysts and policy-makers who are concerned with the development of both the tourism and the destination area. REFERENCES

Dunning, J . H . and McQueen, M. (1982) M u l t i n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s in the i n t e r n a t i o n a l h o t e l i n d u s t r y , Annals of Tourism Research, 9, 69-90 131

Economic E f f e c t s on D e s t i n a t i o n Areas E r b e s , R. (1973) I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism and the Economy of Developing C o u n t r i e s , OECD, P a r i s I n s t i t u t o Espanol de Turismo (Research Team of t h e S p a n i s h I n s t i t u t e of Tourism: c o o r d i n a t e d by M. F i g u e r o l a P a l o m o ) ( 1 9 7 8 a ) , La B a l a n z a de Pagos T u r i s t i c a de Espana en 1976, E s t u d i o s T u r i s t i c o s , 57/58, 1/2, 205-32 I n s t i t u t o Espanol de Turismo (Research Team of the Spanish I n s t i t u t e of Tourism: c o o r d i n a t e d by M. F i g u e r o l a Palomo)(1978b), Determinacion y V a l o r a c i o n de l a E s t r u c t u r a Economica d e l Turismo E s p a n o l , E s t u d i o s T u r i s t i c o s , 59/60 3/4, 301–65 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Monetary Fund (1985) B a l a n c e of Payments S t a t i s t i c s , 36, P a r t I , Washington DC M i n i s t e r i o de T r a n s p o r t e s , Turismo y Cemunicaciones ( M i n i s t r y of T r a n s p o r t , T o u r i s m a n d Communications) ( 1 9 6 4 - 8 6 ) A n u a r i o de E s t a d i s t i c a s d e T u r i s m o , M i n i s t r y of T r a n s p o r t , Tourism and Communications, Madrid S i n c l a i r , M.T. (1981)‘ T h e Theory of the Keynesian Income M u l t i p l i e r and i t s A p p l i c a t i o n t o Changes in T o u r i s t Expenditure in t h e Spanish P r o v i n c e of Malaga', PhD T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of Reading S i n c l a i r , M.T. and S u t c l i f f e , C.M.S. (1979) The R o l e of T r a n s n a t i o n a l C o r p o r a t i o n s i n t h e Tourism I n d u s t r y of Spain, Report submitted t o the U n i t e d N a t i o n s C e n t r e on T r a n s n a t i o n a l C o r p o r a t i o n s , New York S i n c l a i r , M.T. and S u t c l i f f e , C . M . S . ( 1 9 8 2 ) K e y n e s i a n income m u l t i p l i e r s with f i r s t and s e c o n d r o u n d e f f e c t s : an a p p l i c a t i o n t o tourist expenditure, Oxford B u l l e t i n of Economics and S t a t i s t i c s , 44, 4, 321-38 S u t c l i f f e , C.M.S. (1985) Measuring t h e Economic E f f e c t s of T o u r i s m on an U n d e r d e v e l o p e d Region, in G. J . Ashworth and B. Goodall (eds) The I m p a c t of T o u r i s t D e v e l o p m e n t on Disadvantaged Regions, G i r u g r e e k s No. 35, Geografisch I n s t i t u t , Rijksuniversiteit, Groningen United Nations (1973) Elements of Tourism P o l i c y i n D e v e l o p i n g C o u n t r i e s , R e p o r t by t h e S e c r e t a r i a t of the United Nations C o n f e r e n c e on Trade and Development, TD/B/C.3/89/Rev. 1 , New York

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CHAPTER 9 THE IMAGE OF DESTINATION REGIONS: EMPIRICAL ASPECTS

THEORETICAL AND

Michael J. Stabler

INTRODUCTION This chapter has arisen out of field research conducted in Languedoc-Roussillon, where resorts developed since the mid-1960s on the northern half of the coast of Golfe du Lion were studied. The fieldwork consisted of three main parts: mapping of the land-use functions; a survey of visitors covering their recreational patterns and attitudes; the study of tourist recreation promotional publications produced by official and commercial organisations. Image, the aspect of the study considered here, was investigated by analysing promotional material produced by the tourism industry in the destination region. In a limited way tourists’ images of each resort and the region were obtained in a survey of visitors. The role of image in determining consumers’ tourism choices, particularly their destination, and the influence of s u p p l i e r s ’promotional operations, has not been widely studied by either economists or geographers, since it has been seen as being more the province of social psychologists and sociologists. Lip service has been paid to its importance but usually the problems of establishing exactly what image is, and how it enters the decision-making process, is uncertain. This study a t t e m p t s to provide some insights into the phenomenon, and a method of identifying key attributes of tourist regions and resources is offered. Since it holds implications for the economic analysis of tourism, image is first examined within the context of consumer behaviour and supply theory and then related to tourism development. A review of previous studies is undertaken to establish the key attributes of tourism resources which have been identified as influencing the image of destination 133

The Image of Destination Regions regions. Next an outline of the research project in L a n g u e d o c – R o u s s i 1 1 on , and the method of investigating image, is given. Subsequently both the method and results are considered in relation to the theoretical framework and their contribution to this particular field of research assessed. Finally, possible future lines of research are indicated. IMAGE AND ITS RELEVANCE TO TOURISM

A d i c t i o n a r y d e f i n i t i o n of image i s ‘ m e n t a l This accords c o n c e p t i o n , p e r c e p t i o n or i d e a ’ . q u i t e c l o s e l y t o t h a t adopted by Murphy (1985) in h i s examination of demand for tourism in which he e q u a t e s images t o m e n t a l maps of t h e world and argues t h a t they c o n s i t u t e p e r c e p t i o n s . Lawson and Baud-Bovy ( 1 9 7 7 ) c o n s i d e r image t o b e : ‘ t h e e x p r e s s i o n of a l l o b j e c t i v e knowledge, i m p r e s s i o n s , p r e j u d i c e , i m a g i n a t i o n s , and emotional thoughts an i n d i v i d u a l or group have of a p a r t i c u l a r o b j e c t or place’. Images, therefore, form part of consumers’ decision-making processes in that they will influence the choices they make. Basic p s y c h o l o g i c a l , p h y s i c a l , c u l t u r a l , s o c i a l and economic m o t i v a t o r s govern behaviour and t h e s e a r e c o n d i t i o n e d by e x p e r i e n c e s , i n f o r m a t i o n and i n d i v i d u a l p r e f e r e n c e s t o c r e a t e images of r e a l i t y . With r e s p e c t t o r e c r e a t i o n and t o u r i s m , c e r t a i n g e n e r a l images might a r i s e s u c h a s e x p e n d i t u r e , t r a v e l , excitement, hedonism, r e l a x a t i o n and s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n . More s p e c i f i c o n e s , r e l a t e d t o p a r t i c u l a r c o u n t r i e s or r e g i o n s , might be c l i m a t e , l a n d s c a p e , c u l t u r e , a c t i v i t i e s and f a c i l i t i e s . Some r e s e a r c h e r s , Ehemann (1977), Hunt (1975) and Mayo (1973) i n d i c a t e t h a t images a r e both p o s i t i v e and n e g a t i v e but t h a t the o v e r a l l v i e w of a r e g i o n m i g h t b e f a v o u r a b l e or unfavourable. Moreover, because of c e r t a i n e v e n t s , images can change r a d i c a l l y . For example, for UK r e s i d e n t s , t h e image of S p a i n has been of an i n e x p e n s i v e , s u n n y , f r i e n d l y c o u n t r y w i t h an a t t r a c t i v e c o a s t l i n e and b e a c h e s . Publicity concerning muggings and the a c t i v i t i e s of ETA have t a r n i s h e d t h i s image somewhat though a r e c e n t survey i n d i c a t e d v i s i t o r s ’ unconcern about p o s s i b l e v i o l e n c e , so t h a t the g e n e r a l image appears t o be s t i l l favourable. I t i s n o t c l e a r , i n d e e d t h e r e i s some controversy among r e s e a r c h e r s , whether t h e c h o i c e 134

The Image of Destination Regions of tourist trip is p e r s o n - d e t e r m i n e d or destination-determined. This uncertainty reflects lack of empirical evidence on the role information plays in the creation of image. Is it via personal experiences or that of others or via the supply side communication network? Undoubtedly the image built up is influenced by all three sources of information as indicated in Fig. 9.1, based largely on Murphy (1983). From the point of view of the supply side, especially the intermediaries, it is desirable to establish the importance of media sources since it will obviously dictate marketing strategies in general and promotional material in particular. Indeed, as Mathieson and Wall (1982) suggest:‘ t h e Figure 9.1: Tourist demand and supply and the creation of image

DEMAND Needs hierarchy: self-actualisation/self-realisation

Motivations Physical, Status, Social contact. Cultural, Intellectual, Creativity, Escape routine. Relaxation ]

Perceptions or mental maps Preferences, Experience, Information T o u r i s t MarKet

IMAGE

Tourist product

Travel Agents Tour Operators Travel Services Accommodation Destination services (Facilities etc.)

Presentation of destination image

Resources / Attributes Natural features. Infrastructure, Facilities, Activities, Culture, Human resources ]

SUPPLY

135

The Image of Destination Regions l a r g e r t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n i m a g e and r e a l i t y , t h a t i s b e t w e e n e x p e c t a t i o n s and e x p e r i e n c e , t h e more l i k e l y i s a t o u r i s t t o be d i s s a t i s i f i e d ’ . In theory, it may equally be argued that tourists’ expectations were exceeded and so they were more than s a t i s f i e d . However, in p r a c t i c e , given s u p p l i e r s ’ tendency to i n d u l g e in ‘ a d v e r t i s e m e n t p u f f ’ t h e a s s e r t i o n by M a t h i e s o n and Wall i s l i k e l y t o hold t r u e . E i t h e r way t h i s o b s e r v a t i o n i s t h e f o u n d a t i o n of an i m p l i c i t h y p o t h e s i s of t h e fieldwork c a r r i e d out in Languedoc-Roussillon, n a m e l y t o t e s t t h a t t h e image p r e s e n t e d in p r o m o t i o n a l m a t e r i a l c o r r e s p o n d e d t o t h a t h e l d by visitors. Clearly the study did not consider c o m p l e t e l y t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e of s u p p l y side i n f o r m a t i o n t o t o u r i s t s and how i t i n f l u e n c e d t h e i r f o r m a t i o n of t h e i r i m a g e s , b e c a u s e i t c o v e r e d o n l y t o u r i s t s e x p e r i e n c i n g the d e s t i n a t i o n region. A more c o m p r e h e n s i v e p r o j e c t would i n c l u d e t h e i m p a c t o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n on p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s in c o u n t r i e s o f o r i g i n , p a r t i c u l a r l y how m e d i a m a t e r i a l i s t r a n s m i t t e d t o c o n s u m e r s v i a what h a s become known i n m a r k e t i n g c i r c l e s a s‘ t h e t w o - s t e p communication f l o w ’ . A n o t h e r a s p e c t of t h e i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n c o n s u m e r s and s u p p l i e r s i s t h e a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t by d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n s t h a t i n d i v i d u a l s have d i f f e r e n t i m a g e s of t o u r i s m . T h i s makes i t p o s s i b l e t o s e g m e n t m a r k e t s by a p p e a l i n g t o specific n a t i o n a l i t i e s o r g r o u p s of t o u r i s t s of d i f f e r i n g s o c i o - e c o n o m i c s t a t u s , ages or i n t e r e s t s . It is a l s o p o s s i b l e t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e t h e image a c c o r d i n g t o s e a s o n s and a c t i v i t i e s and f a c i l i t i e s o f f e r e d . What e m e r g e s from t h i s b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n of image i s t h a t , with other d e t e r m i n a n t s , it i n f l u e n c e s c o n s u m e r s ’ demand f o r c o m m o d i t i e s a n d s e r v i c e s a n d t h u s t h e l e v e l and p a t t e r n of t h e i r expenditures. C o n s e q u e n t l y , i t i s of s i g n i f i c a n c e t o economic consumer b e h a v i o u r t h e o r y t o which a t t e n t i o n i s now t u r n e d . IMAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF ECONOMIC THEORY

Demand T r a d i t i o n a l d e t e r m i n i s t i c economic t h e o r y w o u l d c o n s i d e r t h e p r i c e of t h e c o m m o d i t y , t h e p r i c e of s u b s t i t u t e s and c o m p l e m e n t s , income and t a s t e s , h a b i t s and p r e f e r e n c e s a s t h e most i m p o r t a n t d e t e r m i n a n t s of demand. O t h e r v a r i a b l e s , 136

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions for i n s t a n c e p o p u l a t i o n , age, education, o c c u p a t i o n , p a i d a n n u a l l e a v e , weekly h o u r s of work, e t c . could be i n c l u d e d . These v a r i a b l e s form t h e f o u n d a t i o n of m a t h e m a t i c a l , econometric and s t a t i s t i c a l models which a t t e m p t t o f o r e c a s t demand. When a p p l i e d t o t o u r i s m the v a r i a b l e s which emerge as s i g n i f i c a n t are p r i c e and income, though more comprehensive models have attempted t o include q u a l i t a t i v e a s p e c t s such as consumer a t t i t u d e s and t h e i n t u i t i v e i n s i g h t s of e x p e r t s . Though motivations and p r e f e r e n c e s , i n which images a r e embodied, a r e acknowledged as being important, they tend t o be ignored by‘ m a i n s t r e a m ’ e c o n o m i s t s , b e c a u s e t h e y a r e e i t h e r assumed t o be r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e and t h e r e f o r e do not i n f l u e n c e the model, or are considered too complex t o cope w i t h . However, t h e r e a r e o t h e r , more fundamental r e a s o n s why tourism i s not e a s i l y analysed within the standard conceptual framework of consumer p r i c e t h e o r y , or t r a d e t h e o r y , i n t h e case of foreign t r a v e l and t o u r i s m . Price theory is unsuitable b e c a u s e i t cannot encompass m u l t i p l e commodities, t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of new c o m m o d i t i e s , q u a l i t y c h a n g e s or g e n e r a t e d demand. Trade t h e o r y i s inadequate because i t assumes f a c t o r i m m o b i l i t y , and, in a s p a c e l e s s model, u s u a l l y omits t r a n s p o r t c o s t s which a r e a s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n of tourism travel. Economists working in r e c r e a t i o n and tourism, needing t o a s s e s s demand for non-priced r e s o u r c e s a n d e x t e r n a l i t i e s , a r e m o r e a w a r e of t h e r e s t r i c t i o n s imposed by t r a d i t i o n a l theory and the n e c e s s i t y of i n c l u d i n g more q u a l i t a t i v e determinants. L a n c a s t e r (1966) expressed d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h c l a s s i c a l t h e o r y by r e c o g n i s i n g , in a d d i t i o n t o the new commodity and q u a l i t y p r o b l e m s , t h a t commodities a r e not t h e o b j e c t of u t i l i t y by themselves. Lancaster pointed out t h a t they possess c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s or a t t r i b u t e s from which u t i l i t y i s d e r i v e d . More c o r r e c t l y , he assumed t h a t commodities combine with one another t o g e n e r a t e a c t i v i t i e s which in t u r n g e n e r a t e t h e characteristics. This allows for a p a r t i c u l a r commodity t o possess more than one c h a r a c t e r i s t i c depending on with which o t h e r s i t i s combined. In e f f e c t Lancaster saw demand emanating not so much from c o n s u m e r s ’ c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s b u t from t h e i r p e r c e p t i o n of commodities. This i s the keystone of t h e t h e o r y which a l l o w s i t t o accommodate new p r o d u c t s , q u a l i t y changes and a d v e r t i s i n g . 137

The Image of Destination Regions

I t i s apparent, t h e r e f o r e , t h a t L a n c a s t e r ' s t h e o r y i s p o t e n t i a l l y u s e f u l a s a means of a s s e s s i n g t o u r i s t demand and one of t h e e a r l i e s t a t t e m p t s t o a p p l y i t i n such a c o n t e x t was Rugg (1971). He found, however, t h a t although i t could b e a d a p t e d t o t o u r i s m , i t was d i f f i c u l t to formulate workable t r a v e l demand f u n c t i o n s d i r e c t l y b e c a u s e t h e y t e n d e d t o be in unwieldy n o n - l i n e a r form. Rosen (1974) a l s o makes t h i s p o i n t when c o n s i d e r i n g L a n c a s t e r ' s theory in r e l a t i o n to product d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n in h i g h l y c o m p e t i t i v e m a r k e t s . Rugg used s t a t i s t i c a l e q u a t i o n s , proposed by Quandt and Baumol (1966) and which approximated t o L a n c a s t e r ’ s f o r m u l a t i o n , t o i d e n t i f y the main d e t e r m i n a n t s of, and demand functions f o r , c h o i c e of f o r e i g n t r a v e l d e s t i n a t i o n and t r a n s p o r t mode. Rugg’s r e s u l t s suggested t h a t , s u b j e c t t o income, c o s t of t r a v e l a n d a c c o m m o d a t i o n and t i m e c o n s t r a i n t s , t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t traveld e s t i n a t i o n v a r i a b l e s were c l i m a t e ( t e m p e r a t u r e , r a i n f a l l and s u n s h i n e ) , p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e g e n e r a t i n g and d e s t i n a t i o n c o u n t r i e s and a t t r a c t i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y h i s t o r i c a r t i f a c t s and museums. In a d d i t i o n he r e f e r r e d t o but did not include in h i s model what he c a l l e d g e o g r a p h i c a l f e a t u r e s , such as mountains, beaches, l a k e s , r i v e r s and f o r e s t s ; c u l t u r a l phenomena l i k e t h e a t r e s , e x h i b i t i o n s and a r c h i t e c t u r e ; recreational f a c i l i t i e s and i n h a b i t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , namely language and r e l i g i o n . Thus, Rugg, in c o n s i d e r i n g destination attributes which influenced tourists’ choices, implicitly incorporated in his thesis, image as i t i s examined in t h i s c h a p t e r . In t h e middle t o l a t e 1970s, L a n c a s t e r ’ s i d e a s have been i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o economic a n a l y s i s a s ‘hedonic p r i c i n g ’ which has been used in r e c r e a t i o n r e s e a r c h , e . g . Brown e t . a l . ( 1 9 7 8 ) , b u t m o s t l y a p p l i e d i n e m p i r i c a l s t u d i e s on h o u s i n g and environmental economics, e . g . Freeman ( 1 9 7 9 ) . P e a r c e (1981) d e f i n e s h e d o n i c p r i c i n g a s : ‘ t h e i m p l i c i t or shadow p r i c e of a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of a commodity. The q u a n t i t y of a commodity may be r e s o l v e d i n t o a n u m b e r of constituent c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which determine i t s q u a l i t y . Part of the p r i c e of t h a t commodity may be a s s o c i a t e d with each c h a r a c t e r i s t i c and v a r i a t i o n s in q u a l i t y may t h u s be v a l u e d ’ . T h i s can p e r h a p s be more s u c c i n c t l y summarised a s a measure of i m p l i c i t p r i c e s not e x p l i c i t l y t r a d e d but which a r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t r a d e d goods. The wide u s e made of t h e h e d o n i c method i n 138

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions housing r e s e a r c h has been in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e impact of the a t t r i b u t e s of the dwelling i t s e l f , or t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d , on t h e p r i c e of a s p e c i f i c house. Housing i s seen as a complex m u l t i d i m e n s i o n a l demand f o r a flow of s e r v i c e s , f o r example, p o s i t i o n , s i z e of p l o t , number of rooms, e t c . w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e d w e l l i n g and p h y s i c a l environment, s o c i o - e c o n o m i c mix of the neighbourhood, a c c e s s t o t h e t r a n s p o r t n e t w o r k , employment, s c h o o l s , a m e n i t i e s , e t c . with regard t o l o c a t i o n . To paraphrase Freeman (1979) in t h e c o n t e x t of r e c r e a t i o n , r e f l e c t i n g t h e h o u s i n g market which, in terms of the a p p r o p r i a t e a n a l y s i s i t c l o s e l y r e s e m b l e s , t h e h e d o n i c method would recognise t h a t t h e r e a r e a t t r i b u t e s in a p a r t i c u l a r a c t i v i t y which d i f f e r e n t i a t e i t in the eyes of a potential participant. If such d i f f e r e n c e s matter t o the consumer ( p a r t i c i p a n t ) and they vary for a given a r r a y of a c t i v i t i e s t h e n , w i t h a s p e c i f i e d l e v e l of supply, these preferences w i l l influence the p a t t e r n of p r i c e s . To c o n s t r u c t w h a t m i g h t be t e r m e d an ‘ a t t r i b u t e demand f u n c t i o n ’ n e c e s s i t a t e s t h e estimation of t h e i m p l i c i t prices of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , using the hedonic t e c h n i q u e , and then i t i s p o s s i b l e t o d e r i v e the demand f u n c t i o n . The t e c h n i q u e , following the Lancaster t h e s i s , i s t h a t f o r a s a t i s f a c t i o n maximising consumer, the a t t r i b u t e s or c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of one o r more commodities g e n e r a t e u t i l i t y . In the e x p o s i t i o n of t h e o r y , t h e t e r m s‘ c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ’ and ‘ a t t r i b u t e s ’ a r e used as synonyms, but in a p p l i c a t i o n s i t i s a p p a r e n t t h a t some a u t h o r s c o n f u s e t h e r e a d e r by equating‘ a t t r i b u t e s ’ with ‘commodities', arguing t h a t‘ c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ’ a r e g e n e r a t e d by them from which consumers d e r i v e utility. Here, the terms a r e c o n s i d e r e d as i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e i n t h e t h e o r e t i c a l s e n s e but echoing tourism literature the word ‘attributes’ tends to be used. Where more r e c e n t developments of the hedonic approach d e p a r t from L a n c a s t e r ’ s o r i g i n a l t h e s i s i s t h a t t h e former i s a t t e m p t i n g t o e s t a b l i s h how p r i c e s , r a t h e r t h a n t h e l e v e l and p a t t e r n of demand, are influenced by c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . By the very n a t u r e of the c o n t e x t in which i t has been a p p l i e d , t h e hedonic approach has a l s o been more concerned with problems of e s t i m a t i n g p r i c e s f o r non-traded commodities in p u b l i c s e c t o r investment, a s w e l l as t h o s e of t h e a t t r i b u t e s of t r a d e d commodities. 139

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions Conceptually the L a n c a s t e r / h e d o n i c method can a s s i s t in the c o n s t r u c t i o n of t o u r i s t demand models s i n c e i t r e f l e c t s r a t h e r more r e a l i s t i c a l l y , t h a n t r a d i t i o n a l economic t h e o r y , the s t r u c t u r e of the market. I t i s , for example, marked by innovation i n t h e type of h o l i d a y s offered (new commodities) and by improvements i n t r a n s p o r t and accommodation ( q u a l i t y c h a n g e s ) . Also, as has been suggested in F i g . 9.1 and e a r l i e r , i t i s a m u l t i - d i m e n s i o n a l product. F i n a l l y , i t i s c h a r a c t e r i s e d by vigorous promotion l i k e l y t o lead t o changes in the p a t t e r n of t o u r i s m i n a d d i t i o n t o e x t e n d i n g demand (generated demand). To focus the foregoing d i s c u s s i o n on t o u r i s m , i t i s of v a l u e , f i r s t , t o i d e n t i f y those a t t r i b u t e s which are s i g n i f i c a n t , especially those appertaining to the d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n , and, second, t o r e l a t e a t t r i b u t e s t o image. ( i ) The a t t r i b u t e s of a d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n . It is p o s s i b l e , a p r i o r i , t o i d e n t i f y l i k e l y imagef o r m i n g a t t r i b u t e s , b o t h i n g e n e r a l t e r m s and applicable to a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n . To an e x t e n t t h e s e a t t r i b u t e s are equivalent to resources. A l i s t i n g , suitably categorised, is p r e s e n t e d in Table 9.1. I t i s of c o u r s e an empirical q u e s t i o n to e s t a b l i s h which a r e significant. As i n d i c a t e d e a r l i e r Rugg (1971) has i d e n t i f i e d a number f o r US t o u r i s t s and Murphy ( 1 9 8 5 ) p r e s e n t s an a m a l g a m a t i o n of t h o s e from several e a r l i e r writings. The e v i d e n c e from t h e L a n g u e d o c - R o u s s i l l o n s t u d y g i v e n below i s n e c e s s a r i l y sketchy because of t h e n a t u r e of t h e consumer survey. (ii) A t t r i b u t e s , image and a n a l y s i s . The l i n k a g e of d e s t i n a t i o n a t t r i b u t e s , image and demand theory has been broadly i n d i c a t e d in F i g . 9 . 1 . The impact of image on demand i s not s e q u e n t i a l , stemming from s i g n a l s from t h e supply s i d e only, as implied in the diagram, but s u b j e c t t o a two-way process with f e e d b a c k s from and t o s u p p l i e r s and t o and from consumers. As shown in F i g . 9 . 2 , t r a n s m i s s i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n from supply through the marketing of t o u r i s m and t h e m e d i a , p r e v i o u s e x p e r i e n c e and o p i n i o n s of o t h e r c o n s u m e r s , c o m b i n e d w i t h m o t i v a t i o n s and socio-economic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s form p e r c e p t i o n s , t h e images of t o u r i s m and t o u r i s t destinations. The s t u d y of i m a g e makes i t p o s s i b l e t o i d e n t i f y t h e a t t r i b u t e s from w h i c h , a s a f i r s t s t e p , a u t i l i t y or p r i c e s function i s derived for 140

The Image of Destination Regions Table 9.1:

Tourist destination attributes

Climate

Natural resources

Infrastructure

Sunshine Temperature Rainfall Humidity

Beaches Lakes/shoreline Rivers/waterways Forests Mountains Flora Fauna

Water supply Drainage Energy supply Telecommunications Roads Railways Ports/marinas Airports

Tourist/rec. amenities Accom. Restaurants Tourism organs Shopping Sports facs. Rec, parks Zoos Entertainment

Cultural Historic features Theatres Concert halls Art galleries Museums Architecture Exhibitions Festivals

Econ./Political/Social Indust. structure Govt, structure Planning system Language Religion Mores/customs Gastronomic Hospitality

Key elements for tourism development: climate access amenities (esp. accommodation) cultural Attributes cited from Languedoc-Roussillon regional development documents: sand sea sun wine architectural/artistic/historic features language custom hospitality 141

The Image of Destination Regions each attribute. The second step is to incorporate as many of these functions in the final demand equation as are relevant to consumers in making their d e c i s i o n s on c h o i c e of vacation and destination. It is possible that in a number of instances consumers might consider a specific attribute as synonymous with the image held of a specific destination. Indeed to spell out an earlier point, resources, attributes and images may not be separated in tourists’perception of a particular type of holiday or destination. For example, for a ‘sunlust’tourist the resources of a seaside resort – beaches, sunshine, clear blue sea, water-based facilities, etc. - may be the attributes which in turn form the image of the destination. If such notions truly reflect tourists’ perceptions then analysis should not be too Figure 9.2: Factors influencing the information of consumers’ tourist image

U

S

R

E

M

F

A

C

Perceptions

T

O

N Psychological characteristics

Motivations

O

R

S

C

Socio-economic characteristics (Income, occupation, age, etc.)

IMAGE

Hearsay

Education

Tourist marketing

S

Media (TV, newspapers, books, magazines etc.)

U P

142

Experiences

P

L

y

F

A C

R T

O

S

The Image of Destination Regions concerned to separate the three; it may well be better to adopt a pragmatic approach. In any event it is probably more important to consider the different images held by individual, or groups of, tourists of the same destination, especially if p o s s i b i l i t i e s of e x t e n d i n g a m a r k e t are contemplated. Another feature of market extension is the separation possible by the identification of tourist types; for example the ‘wilderness seeker’ and the ‘socialiser’. In essence, looking at it from the demand side, at a practical level, but within the Lancaster/hedonic framework, the identification of tourists’images constitutes the characteristics which explain demand and price. Whether then the approach can be made operational is uncertain, given the present state of the‘ a r t ’ . Inspection of the r e s e a r c h l i t e r a t u r e in w h i c h the Lancaster/hedonic technique is referred to tends to show discussion being confined to a theoretical level. As applied in the housing market the approach has been subject to much criticism. Maclennan (1982) takes a somewhat jaundiced view, considering that citations of the Lancaster theory are so much window dressing with no real effort to examine the model empirically. However, it does emerge, in his critique, that it is the structure of the housing market which makes the technique inappropriate rather than its inherent flaws. It would appear that the structure of the tourist market is very different from that for housing, and for the reasons given earlier, the Lancaster/hedonic framework is a feasible vehicle for analysis. Furthermore, if nothing else, it does help to clarify issues, offering insights into tourist behaviour in the development of a workable demand theory. Since, in this chapter, it is asserted that tourist demand in general and image formation in particular cannot be fully understood in isolation from supply, attention is now turned to considering that side of the tourist market. Supply Reference to Fig. 9.1 indicates that supply is based on the resources of the destination region and that formation of tourism capital combines with these resources to yield the tourism product. However, this product in being marketed, where the 143

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions i n t e r m e d i a r i e s play a d e c i s i v e r o l e , gives r i s e t o t h e t o u r i s t image a s p e r c e i v e d by t h e consumer. More c o r r e c t l y p e r h a p s , r e s o u r c e s , c a p i t a l and m a r k e t i n g a c t i v i t y a l l c r e a t e t h e image but t h e marketing i n t e r m e d i a r i e s g i v e i t f o c u s and i t i s t h i s a s p e c t on which d i s c u s s i o n i s c o n c e n t r a t e d . The tourism i n d u s t r y i n a p a r t i c u l a r r e g i o n can adopt one or both of two main s t r a t e g i e s . It can d i f f e r e n t i a t e i t s e l f from o t h e r d e s t i n a t i o n s in t e r m s of r e s o u r c e s ( n a t u r a l , c a p i t a l and human) and/or i t can a p p e a l t o s p e c i f i c o r i g i n s a n d / o r t y p e s of t o u r i s t s , perhaps a c c e n t u a t i n g c l i m a t i c , seasonal and a c c e s s i b i l i t y d i f f e r e n c e s as p a r t of the s t r a t e g y , i . e . i t can segment i t s market. Thus having a s s e s s e d i t s own r e s o u r c e s and i d e n t i f i e d i t s market, the i n d u s t r y then should, on the b a s i s of meaningful a t t r i b u t e s , c o n c e n t r a t e p r o m o t i o n , supply and p r i c e on e x p l o i t i n g t h a t market. S o p h i s t i c a t e d marketing approaches, for example, psychographic segmentation which a t t e m p t s t o i d e n t i f y l i n k a g e s or homogeneity of t o u r i s t s not obviously belonging t o t h e same market, cut a c r o s s t r a d i t i o n a l views r o o t e d in s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s - age, sex, income, education and occupation. Mcintosh (1972) r e f e r s t o t o u r i s t market o r i e n t a t i o n s b a s e d on i n t e r e s t s such a s a g r i c u l t u r e , b u s i n e s s , s p o r t , s c i e n c e and education. Recent developments in a c t i v i t y h o l i d a y s , ranging over w i l d l i f e s p e c i a l i s m s , s p o r t , h i s t o r i c b u i l d i n g s , language, geology, e t c . a r e in l i n e with t h i s kind of approach. Another dimension t o segmentation, a l l u d e d t o e a r l i e r , i s of t o u r i s t t y p e s . Murphy ( 1 9 8 5 ) r e v i e w s t h e d i f f e r e n t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s adopted by r e s e a r c h e r s , b u t s u g g e s t s t h e r e a r e two main c a t e g o r i e s of t o u r i s m – ‘ i n t e r a c t i o n a l ’ and ‘cognitive-normative’. An i n t e r a c t i o n a l a p p r o a c h e m p h a s i z e s t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between v i s i t o r s and t o u r i s t r e g i o n s whereas the c o g n i t i v e - n o r m a t i v e c a t e g o r y c o n c e n t r a t e s on t r a v e l m o t i v a t i o n . Some t o u r i s t s a r e h a p p i e s t i n an o r g a n i s e d s t r u c t u r e while o t h e r s abhor such an e x p e r i e n c e . Another way of c l a s s i f y i n g t o u r i s t s i s t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e e x p l o r e r , p e r h a p s w i l d e r n e s s , type a t one end of the s c a l e t o c h a r t e r / m a s s type a t the o t h e r . Related t o such t y p o l o g i e s might be p e r c e p t i o n s of a d e s t i n a t i o n and the p o s s i b l e c o n f l i c t i n g or c o m p l e m e n t a r y n a t u r e of t o u r i s t a c t i v i t i e s . B a c k p a c k e r s and some w a l k e r s seek i s o l a t i o n i n w i l d e r n e s s r e c r e a t i o n whereas t o u r i n g caravanners t e n d t o be more s o c i a b l e , v i e w i n g a t t r a c t i v e 144

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions s c e n e r y as a b a c k d r o p t o t h e i r main o b j e c t i v e . Those wishing t o p a r t i c i p a t e in c o m p e t i t i v e s p o r t may find t h a t more p a s s i v e t o u r i s t s as s p e c t a t o r s a r e d e s i r a b l e , i f not e s s e n t i a l , for them t o afford and enjoy t h e i r a c t i v i t y . In some cases a c t i v i t i e s a r e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y c o n f l i c t i n g and complementary, for i n s t a n c e waterway boating and f i s h i n g . Spatial s e g m e n t a t i o n may a l s o be a p p r o p r i a t e for example, power b o a t i n g , s a i l i n g and swimming. Yet a n o t h e r d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n might be t e m p o r a l , f o r i n s t a n c e s k i i n g i n w i n t e r and w a l k i n g i n summer i n t h e A u s t r i a n , French and I t a l i a n Alps. T h i s b r i e f e x a m i n a t i o n of s e g m e n t a t i o n i n d i c a t e s the complex n a t u r e of t o u r i s t markets and t h a t many d i f f e r e n t d i m e n s i o n s e n t e r i n t o t h e m a r k e t i n g p r o c e s s and consequently i n f l u e n c e the way i n which t h e image of a p a r t i c u l a r t o u r i s t region i s promoted. Indeed, t h a t promotion w i l l undoubtedly be in many forms and a d o p t d i f f e r e n t methods of t r a n s m i s s i o n according t o i t s s p e c i f i c function. With regard t o both forms and methods which i n many c a s e s a r e i n s e p a r a b l e , i t may be through media such as f i l m s , v i d e o s , t e l e v i s i o n a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , r a d i o , magazines and newspapers, or v i a l e a f l e t s , b r o c h u r e s , p o s t e r s , s i g n s , or by d i f f u s e means such as education or through o f f i c i a l b o d i e s or a g e n c i e s . The d i f f e r i n g functions i n c l u d e promotion d i r e c t e d a t p o t e n t i a l foreign or d o m e s t i c t o u r i s t s , or i n f o r m a t i o n f o r v i s i t o r s a c t u a l l y in the d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n . A n a l y s i s of p r o m o t i o n from an e c o n o m i c viewpoint i s embodied in the theory of the firm and i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e impact on t h e l e v e l and s t r u c t u r e of c o s t s and r e v e n u e i n t h e u s u a l m a r g i n a l i t y a n a l y s i s in which i n c r e m e n t a l changes in t o t a l revenue are r e l a t e d to those in t o t a l c o s t s , i . e . promotion would be u n d e r t a k e n t o t h e point where marginal revenue equals marginal c o s t . An a s s o c i a t e d a r e a of t h e o r e t i c a l a n a l y s i s would be the i n f l u e n c e of promotion on the market s t r u c t u r e of the tourism i n d u s t r y . Though tourism a d v e r t i s i n g t o an e x t e n t may have an informa t o r y r o l e , t h e r e i s no doubt t h a t most of i t i s d i r e c t e d a t i n c r e a s i n g a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n ’ s and/or i n t e r m e d i a r y ’ s share of the m a r k e t . As a r e s u l t t h e r e may be a change in the s c a l e of o p e r a t i o n s and t h e c o m p e t i t i v e s t r u c t u r e of t h e f i r m s involved. Following t h i s l i n e of thought, i t might be p o s s i b l e t o c o n n e c t p r o m o t i o n t o the d i s e c o n o m i e s of tourism in terms of both p r i v a t e and s o c i a l c o s t s . 145

The Image of Destination Regions Observations on both demand and supply and image An attempt has been made to set image into both sides of economic theory. Drawing the threads of the argument together with respect to demand it has been suggested that images are conceived through the interaction of n e e d s , m o t i v a t i o n s and preferences on the one hand and experience, knowledge and personal characteristics on the other, to influence the decision process of selecting tourist activities and destinations. A crucial element in the information available to the consumer is the images as perceived and promoted by the supply side. In this, image is founded on the resources and attributes of the destination region. Successful promotion of the destination’s image results in a higher level of tourist activity with consequences for its economic socio-cultural and environmental structure. EMPIRICAL IMPLICATIONS Some reference has already been made to the evaluation of the Lancaster/hedonic technique as applied in housing, recreation and tourism. Though it is theoretically acceptable the researcher faces a formidable task empirically in securing objective measures of characteristics generated by different Almost certainly the tourist‘ c o m m o d i t i e s ’ . identification of these will involve social surveys, either through se1f-comp1eted questionnaires or interviews in both tourist origin and destination regions. It is possible that respondents will have difficulty in conceptualising the attributes of the destination in general and specific cities and towns in particular, especially if they have had limited experience of it, as illustrated in Hunt’s (1975) study of four American states. S u c h a s u r v e y , in order to be comprehensive, would need to be multiphased and be conducted over a fairly long time period to identify temporal (seasonal) differences in tourist types and perceived attributes of a region. Prima facie a supply approach would appear to be easier since it largely involves the collection and analysis of promotional material. The main problem would be to get a complete coverage over all forms of promotion. Rugg (1971) indicates the magnitude of the task, including the analysis of material and derivation of a meaningful set of 146

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n

Regions

attributes. The a n a l y s i s i s made more complex by t h e s e p a r a t i o n of m a t e r i a l t a r g e t e d a t s p e c i f i c t o u r i s t o r i g i n s ( f o r e i g n and d o m e s t i c ) a s o p p o s e d t o t h a t aimed a t t h o s e a l r e a d y i n t h e d e s t i n a t i o n region. An added c o m p l i c a t i o n i s t h a t t h e same p u b l i c a t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e of a m o r e i n f o r m a t o r y n a t u r e , a r e u s e d i n b o t h o r i g i n and destination regions. A c o m p l e t e s t u d y would c l e a r l y embrace a p p r o a c h e s from b o t h t h e demand and s u p p l y s i d e s i n order to test hypotheses, such as the c o r r e s p o n d e n c e of t o u r i s t s and t h e tourism industry’s images. Moreover, in a study c o n c e n t r a t i n g on t h e s u p p l y s i d e o n l y , f o r example t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e i m p a c t of p r o m o t i o n a l e f f o r t on r e v e n u e , i t would a l s o b e n e c e s s a r y t o s t u d y t h e demand s i d e . I t would be v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o a s s o c i a t e i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of p r o m o t i o n a l e f f o r t d i r e c t l y w i t h i n c r e a s e d r e v e n u e , even i f proxy v a r i a b l e s l i k e t h e change i n t h e number of t o u r i s t s o r occupancy were u s e d , a s o t h e r f a c t o r s a r e l i k e l y t o c o n t r i b u t e t o changes in r e v e n u e . Thus i t may be n e c e s s a r y t o r e s o r t t o more q u a l i t a t i v e m e a s u r e s – s u c h a s a s c e r t a i n i n g t h e n u m b e r of tourists s t a t i n g t h a t t h e y w e r e i n f l u e n c e d by s p e c i f i c p r o m o t i o n s - and i n a more s o p h i s t i c a t e d a n a l y s i s t h e n e g a t i v e as well as the p o s i t i v e impact. In the following section the c o n t r i b u t i o n to the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of image of a p r e l i m i n a r y s t u d y of i t in the Languedoc-Roussillon region i s o u t l i n e d . THE LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON STUDY The a r e a

The Languedoc-Roussillon regional development, incorporating five tourist units along the coast of the Golfe du Lion from Aigues Mortes in the north east to Collioure in the south west, reflected a d e s i r e by the French government to relieve pressures on the Riviera and to encourage the population to take holidays in France. The objective of the tourist resorts was to assist employment and raise incomes in the province as part of a policy of regional growth. The five units (see Fig. 9.3) comprise: (i) Le Grau du Roi, Port Camargue, La Grande Motte, Carnon, Palavas des Flots 147

The Image of Destination Regions (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

Sete, Cap d’Agde, Grau d'Agde Valras, Narbonne, Gruissan Port Leucate, Port Barcares Canet, St Cyprien, Argeles.

Of these, the resorts in the first three units were included in the fieldwork undertaken in the late spring of 1986. The fieldwork The programme consisted of three main projects undertaken by student groups located for the whole of the study period in the eleven resorts given in units (i)/ (ii) and (iii) above. Three groups were assigned to Sete, it being a much larger settlement than any of the others. The main project was concerned with mapping land use functions. The second was a survey of visitors, combined with an observational exercise of cars to assess the total number and their department (for France) or country of origin. The third element in the programme was a study of the image of the resorts as represented in official and commercial promotional publications. The visitor survey was conducted over four days to include two weekdays and a weekend. Interviewers were assigned to beaches, car parks and streets in each resort and approached visitors as they passed a given survey point. On completion of an interview the next visitor to pass was approached and so on, interviewing taking place throughout the day. The survey concentrated mainly on the origin, party size, holiday duration, trip p a t t e r n s , a c c o m m o d a t i o n , travel mode and expenditure patterns. Three questions on the interview schedule covered respectively the use of publications, and opinions of the specific resort and the Languedoc-Roussillon coast in general. The investigation of tourists’ image was not central to the programme and was somewhat tentative because of the difficulties of the students being required to interview in a foreign language and the problems of employing appropriate adjectives in translations of the questionnaire. The study of image on the supply side was p a r t i a l l y s t r u c t u r e d in the i n t e r e s t s of consistency of approach at each resort. It was confined to analysis of publications emanating from the following sources: 148

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions Figure 9.3: Languedoc - Roussillon study area

Nimes

FRANCE

O Lodève

Map location

GARD

SPAIN

MONTPELLIER O

HERAULT

1

Pezenas o

Port Camargue

Palavas BEZIERS

Carrion

Sete

Le Grau du Roi

La Grande Motte

2 Valras

NARBONNE

To Toulouse

Cap d’Agde

Narbonne Plage

0U

3 Grulssan Port La Nouvelle

L

AUDE

Port Leucate

L\ 0

N

FE

0 G

5

4

Tourist unit Motorway

Port Bacares

New resorts Existing resorts

Canet Plage PERPIGNAN PYRÉNÉES

Urban areas

st Cyprien Plage

Nature reserve

Argeles Plage

ORIENTALES!

5 0 SPAIN

20

40

kilometres

149

The Image of Destination Regions (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi)

central and local government, tourist offices, trade organisations, commercial sector, voluntary organisations, including clubs other bodies.

The a t t r a c t i o n s or a t t r i b u t e s were i d e n t i f i e d , in both i l l u s t r a t i o n s and t e x t , and the p r o p o r t i o n e a c h c o n s t i t u t e d of t h e w h o l e p u b l i c a t i o n calculated. The 13 p r e d e t e r m i n e d c a t e g o r i e s c o v e r e d accommodation, s h o p p i n g , e n t e r t a i n m e n t , c u l t u r e and a r c h i t e c t u r e , e t c . The c a l c u l a t i o n of the p r o p o r t i o n of each category of a t t r a c t i o n s for a l l p u b l i c a t i o n s would e n a b l e a r a n k i n g of a t t r a c t i o n t o be e s t a b l i s h e d and f a c i l i t a t e comparison of one r e s o r t with a n o t h e r . Also taken a c c o u n t of were any changes in p u b l i c a t i o n s , and t h e i r c o n t e n t , a t d i f f e r e n t times in the year and in d i f f e r e n t l a n g u a g e s . S u p p o r t i n g t h e more o b j e c t i v e a n a l y s i s was the c o l l e c t i o n of e v i d e n c e on changes in the p r e s e n t a t i o n of the image as the r e s o r t h a s d e v e l o p e d a n d a r e p o r t on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n image and t h e r e s o r t ' s functional s t r u c t u r e . The r e s u l t s At the time of writing only a preliminary analysis of data arising from the visitor survey and image study had been possible. Moreover, comparative analysis of the results from the individual resorts has been confined to those parts of the project relevant to v i s i t o r s ’impressions and the textual and photographic material made available at those resorts. The visitor survey There were 96 4 respondents to the survey from the eleven resorts. The smallest number was 37 at Carnon and the largest 246 at Sete. The sample sizes were sufficient to be statistically reliable for all resorts. As far as is allowed by the constraints placed on respondents by the structure of the interview schedule, it is possible to gain some insights to visitors’image of the resorts and region and the relationship between this image and that promoted by the supply side. 150

The Image of Destination Regions Table 9.2:

Use of a brochure or guide: all resorts

Publication/Source None Michelin Tourist Office Other No response

Frequency

%

793 49 19 97 6

82 5 2 10 1

964

100

Table 9.2 on the use of publications shows that over 80 per cent of visitors did not make any use of published material. Thus their impression of resorts and the region must have been formed by observation and experience. However, it is not clear whether the responses reflected consultation of literature during the visit as opposed to before it. A n o t h e r point of u n c e r t a i n t y is how respondents interpreted the words‘brochure/guide*. It is p o s s i b l e that many did not consider information booklets, leaflets and maps as guides. These factors would require clarification in any future survey. Table 9.3 shows, for the resorts and region respectively, that there is no very marked distinction between visitors’ views of the resorts and the region, most variation being explained by differences in non responses or indifference responses. However, the results do show quite significant variations in visitors’ impressions of individual resorts. What emerges is a distinction between the newly developed and traditional resorts. Cap d’Agde, Carnon, Gruissan, La Grande Motte, Port Camargue, Grau du Roi are effectively new resorts whereas Agde, Grau d'Agde, Narbonne, Palavas, Sete and Valras have largely maintained their traditional character. Statistics for an example of each type of resort are presented in Table 9.4. La Grande Motte has a distinctive style of m o d e r n architecture while Valras, which originally served local populations of towns such as Beziers and Narbonne, is very much a traditional resort. These examples were chosen because the resorts are very similar in area and the number of respondents in each sample was identical. 151

The Image of Destination Regions Table 9.3: Opinions of resort and Roussillon region: all resorts Opinion

Resort Frequency %

Languedoc-

Resort Freqency %

(i)

Beautiful Indifferent Ugly No response

768 130 53 13

80 13 6 1

793 75 36 60

82 8 4 6

(ii)

Historic Indifferent Modern No response

210 282 447 25

22 29 46 3

311 242 323 88

32 25 34 9

572 (iii ) Vulgar (Unspoilt/simple) 185 Indifferent 170 Sophisticated 37 No response

59

485

50

19 18 4

205 177 97

21 19 10

(iv)

Exciting (Lively) Indifferent Boring (Relaxing) No response

421 415 83 45

44 43 8 5

479 341 52 92

50 35 5 10

(V)

Noisy Indifferent Peaceful No response

136 143 649 36

14 15 67 4

183 183 507 91

19 19 53 9

Visitors did consider La Grande Motte to be very modern but did not necessarily find Valras historic (see the responses to Table 9.4 (ii)). It would appear that a high proportion of respondents were indifferent but it is more likely that they were undecided as to how to categorise the resort. This is to an extent also true of attitudes towards La Grande Motte in Table 9.4 (iii) and both resorts in 9.4 (iv) with regard to the characteristics of s i m p i e / s o p h i s t i c a t e d and e x c i t i n g / b o r i n g respectively. The data for other traditional sites, such as Narbonne and Sete (not given in the t a b l e ) reveal similar results. In certain questions the level of non response was higher which interviewers reported was a consequence of 152

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions Table 9 . 4 : Roussillon resort

O p i n i o n s of r e s o r t and L a n g u e d o c r e g i o n a t a modern and t r a d i t i o n a l

Opinion

La Grand Motte Resort Region (%)

(i)

(ii)

Beautiful Indifferent Ugly No response

74 7 19

Historic Indifferent Modern No response

5

-

95 -

(iii) Vulgar Indifferent Sophisticated No response

29 26 45

(iv)

Exciting Indifferent Boring No response

58 31 11

Noisy Indifferent Peaceful No response

15 10 75

(V)

-

-

—

(%)

Val ras Resort Region (%)

(%)

81 4 13 2

71 23 4 2

80 5 4 11

23 24 52 1

6 59 31 4

32 32 20 16

45 20 31 4

77 10 9 4

50 25 9 16

71 16 9 4

29 58 9 4

38 44 4 14

19 14 64 4

10 14 74 2

15 18 52 15

two f a c t o r s : the c r i t i c a l tone of q u e s t i o n s a t one end of the s c a l e and the change in the n a t u r e of the q u e s t i o n in t r a n s l a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t o French. For example,‘ v u l g a r ’ in English has been t r a n s l a t e d a s‘ s i m p l e ’ i n F r e n c h , i m p l y i n g t h e r e s o r t i s u n s p o i l t , and‘ b o r i n g ’ was t r a n s l a t e d as ‘relaxing'. G i v e n t h a t a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n of r e s p o n d e n t s were F r e n c h , t h e t r a n s l a t i o n h a s c l e a r l y changed the c h a r a c t e r of the q u e s t i o n . In g e n e r a l , r e s e r v a t i o n s concerning the survey method and s t r u c t u r e of t h e q u e s t i o n s n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g , v i s i t o r s found t h e Languedoc Region and i t s r e s o r t s b e a u t i f u l , l a r g e l y u n s p o i l t and p e a c e f u l . 153

The Image of Destination Regions Table 9.5: Respondents’use of specific facilities: all resorts and La Grande Motte and Valras Facility

All resorts %

Beach Food Shops Restaurants Souvenir Shops Sports Facilities Other Facilities

37 70 60 28 23 21

La Grande Motte

Valras

%

%

86 61 55 19 20 32

94 75 55 34 20 12

In some respects data presented in Table 9.5 on what visitors did at the resorts gave more information about their reactions, which could be related to the image promoted by suppliers, than any of the attitudinal questions. With the exception of the use of souvenir shops and other facilities at La Grande Motte, there is a good correspondence between all resorts and the two examples for the proportion of visitors using the facilities about which they were questioned. Of some significance is the very large proportion of visitors undertaking beach activities and the r e l a t i v e l y low proportion using the sports facilities which does not match suppliers’views of the resorts, examined below. Over two-thirds of visitors used food shops, ranked second in the table which is almost certainly a reflection of the importance of self-catering holidays in the area. The image study Results were obtained for nine of the eleven resorts at which fieldwork was conducted. It was found that there was insufficient information on Grau d’Agde and Narbonne for a study to be of value. Because they are in close proximity to each other, almost all the promotional literature for Port Camargue and Grau du Roi has been jointly produced, no attempt was made to distinguish them in the analysis. An additional image study was done of Agde, which is a short distance inland from Cap d’Agde and Grau d’Agde. As its character is very different from Cap d’Agde, the analysis for 154

The Image of Destination Regions Agde is presented separately. The photographs and text in each publication were analysed separately, under the 13 categories to which reference has been made above. Photographs were analysed for each category by the proportion of the publication they occupied. Text was considered by the number of lines as a percentage of the total number of lines in the publication, for the same 13 categories. The results for the eight resorts for which it was possible to complete the analysis, plus Agde, are given in Table 9.6 for text and Table 9.7 for photographs. Average percentages for all resorts are shown in the last column of each of the tables. The predetermined categories do not appear to have put an undue constraint on the analysis. The proportion of text and photographs in the‘other’ categories can be explained by specific facilities at certain resorts, which were identified but have not been presented in the table. For instance, the large proportion of this category for Cap d’Agde is explained by the conference centre and the naturist facilities. What is striking is the ranking of the images presented by the resorts. Sport is given two and a half times the exposure of the next category of promotion, historic architecture, the ranking of which has been boosted by the results for Agde. The beach and natural history came equal third but as relatively small proportions of the total image promotion. S u r p r i s i n g l y , given the very distinctive style of resorts such as Cap d’Agde, Gruissan and La Grange Motte, modern architecture is barely acknowledged. Also of interest is the lov7 ranking of accommodation, especially as selfcatering is an important feature of the resorts. Overall the ranking of texts and photographs is quite closely related. One difficulty affecting the reliability of the a n a l y s i s was the number and s i z e of publications available at each resort. In some cases, particularly for resorts still being developed or which are smaller, the number of publications was five or less, whereas in the established and larger ones there were a dozen or more. It is also not at all certain whether a complete set of publications was obtained. Some general observations There

is an interesting

contrast between the 155

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions Table 9 . 6 : Content a n a l y s i s of Category

A

Sport 8 Hist. Arch. 56 Beach 6 Nat. History 22 Art/Culture 3 Environment 3 0 Gastronomic Accomm. 0 Communics. 0 Nightlife 0 Modern Arch. 0 Shopping 0 Other 3

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

T

52 0 2 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0 26

27 7 13 13 0 20 0 0 7 13 0 0 0

30 3 2 8 5 2 14 12 2 11 2 2 7

30 0 6 5 16 1 9 6 5 10 1 4 9

20 4 5 1 9 20 7 5 6 3 2 1 17

16 8 14 14 4 0 13 18 0 0 0 0 13

15 5 9 7 25 10 2 4 12 0 2 0 11

27 10 14 0 1 5 10 6 21 0 2 1 5

25 10 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 4 1 1 10

of

publications:

22 15 13 0 5 16 19 3 4 0 0 0 3

9 25 12 5 12 9 0 16 0 0 0 0 12

Table 9 . 7 : Content photographs (%) Sport 20 Beach 4 Hist. Arch. 55 Accomm. 0 Nat. History 13 Art/Culture 0 Environment 9 Gastronomic 0 Modern Arch. 0 Communics. 0 Nightlife 0 Shopping 0 Other 0

publications:text(%)

49 4 0 0 0 3 2 3 4 0 2 2 33

analysis

31 26 0 0 22 0 13 0 0 4 4 0 0

41 3 12 7 9 10 2 3 7 3 2 0 2

24 7 0 10 7 6 8 3 13 3 5 2 12

20 4 7 4 2 20 11 7 0 11 0 0 13

36 10 4 16 0 2 13 10 0 0 1 1 7

28 11 11 8 8 7 7 5 3 2 2 1 9

Key: A B C D E

-

Agde Cap d’Agde Carnon Gruissan La Grande Motte

Note: P e r c e n t a g e s rounding 156

F G H I T

– -

Palavas des Flots Port Camargue/Grau du Roi Sete Valras All r e s o r t s

may n o t

add

to

100

due

to

The Image of Destination Regions impression of the Languedoc-Roussillon resorts given by suppliers and the use made of them by visitors. It is evident that the promotional literature tends to‘ p l a y d o w n ’the traditional resort activities and attempts to promote diverse facilities. This may be part of marketing strategies to move away from reliance on sun and sea as attractions, perhaps to lengthen the season and make use of spare capacity in accommodation, entertainment and sports facilities. As the tables indicate, visitors’ranking of the beach, shops and restaurants is much higher than that given to them by suppliers. Whether indeed, as a result of the study, the images of tourists and suppliers do not coincide has certainly not been fully demonstrated. The researchers involved in the project were painfully aware of shortcomings in the study which precluded the drawing of any firm conclusions. However, the value of the exercise lay in the exploration of likely methods of establishing image and that future research requirements and directions were revealed. Some indication of these is given below. THEORY AND THE LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON STUDY An attempt has been made to relate image to consumer and supply theory and to sketch the empirical requirements. It is clear from the preceding section that the study in LanguedocRoussillon is very much a preliminary stage in the investigation of image and its role in tourism development. The survey of visitors did very little more than indicate their s o u r c e s of information used and give the broad impressions they had of the eleven resorts in the survey. Certainly no claims would be made that tourists* images have been established to assist in the development of‘characteristics’ – based consumer theory, or the evaluation of promotion by the resorts, as suggested by Nolan (1976), reflecting the objective of establishing the correspondence between tourists’and suppliers’perception of the resorts, i.e. what he terms the‘ c r e d i b i l i t y ’of information. The supply side part of the project represents a first step in a more comprehensive evaluation of the promotion of image. The scope and relevance of what has been done can be ascertained by reference to the discussion of supply in the section on the 157

The Image of Destination Regions theoretical context. The study confined itself to printed material only in the destination region. Moreover, as indicated, some constraints were imposed on the classification of image in the interests of consistency, since one objective was to relate it to the land-use functions of the resorts. Extension of the study would necessitate looking at all forms of promotion with its simultaneous consideration in origin as well as destination regions. What has been accomplished is the derivation and testing of a procedure for assessing published material which appears to be largely objective in identifying and ranking the resorts’ attributes, as conceived by suppliers in relation to visitors. Identifying image from the supply side is less difficult than from the demand side. Consequently, if it is assumed, based on whatever evidence is available of tourists’ perceptions, that there is a reasonable correspondence between tourists’ and suppliers* images of resorts, then exercises such as those conducted in Languedoc-Roussillon could contribute to the development of Lancaster/hedonic approaches to consumer behaviour. FUTURE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS The p r o g r a m m e i n i t i a t e d i n L a n g u e d o c R o u s s i l l o n could t a k e two broad d i r e c t i o n s . I t can be d e v e l o p e d i n o r d e r t o c o n t r i b u t e , f i r s t , to demand and s u p p l y m o d e l l i n g , and s e c o n d , t o p r a c t i c a l marketing s t r a t e g i e s . Modelling The s t u d y of t o u r i s t s * m o t i v a t i o n s a n d p e r c e p t i o n s has been pursued extensively, e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e USA, but most of t h i s r e s e a r c h s u f f e r s from t h r e e main shortcomings because i t : ( i ) r e l a t e s t o t h e p e r i o d b e f o r e t h e 1970s f u e l c r i s i s and e c o n o m i c stagnation experienced by many i n d u s t r i a l n a t i o n s , ( i i ) i s l a r g e l y in t h e c o n t e x t of t h e American s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e and mores, ( i i i ) t e n d s t o i g n o r e economic f a c t o r s . Thus, t h e r e is a case for re-examining consumer behaviour with s p e c i f i c e m p h a s i s on t h e 158

The Image of Destination Regions formation of images in a European context. In doing so research should be extended to cover both potential as well as actual tourists. With respect to supply, a similar extension, as already alluded to, needs to be considered again emphasizing promotion within the economic theory of the firm. The Languedoc-Roussillon region is a suitable study area because it not only appears to typify a major form of ‘ s u n l u s t ’ tourism, but also is a good example of a specific attempt to generate and divert tourist activity. Empirical considerations

There a r e a number of o b j e c t i v e s , which might i n c l u d e t h e t e s t i n g of h y p o t h e s e s , of m o r e e m p i r i c a l l y based r e s e a r c h . Some r e f e r e n c e t o the n a t u r e of such s t u d i e s has been made throughout the c h a p t e r , b u t i t i s w o r t h s u m m a r i s i n g , and s u g g e s t i n g o t h e r l i n e s of e n q u i r y h e r e , w i t h p a r t i c u l a r r e g a r d to the Languedoc-Roussillon region: (i) The a n a l y s i s of t h e images h e l d by consumers of t h e r e g i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e images: (a) h e l d by d i f f e r e n t people depending on t h e i r r e g i o n / c o u n t r y of o r i g i n and socio-economic group; (b) of d i f f e r e n t r e s o r t s of a g i v e n group of people. (ii) The r a t i o n a l e f o r d i f f e r e n c e s in the images promoted by t h e r e g i o n which m i g h t relate to: (a) t h e a t t r i b u t e s or f a c i l i t i e s of specific resorts; (b) the t a r g e t group or o r i g i n country or r e g i o n ; (c) seasonal v a r i a t i o n s . (iii) Analysis of the correspondence of (i) and (ii) and the reasons why some resorts have favourable and others unfavourable images; (iv) The nature of promotional material in both origin and destination regions; (v) The use made of promotional material by both potential and actual tourists and their evaluation and ranking of it; (vi) The effectiveness of promotional m a t e r i a l in forming/changing tourists’ destinations and activities. 159

The Image of Destination Regions The r e s u l t s of s u c h r e s e a r c h c a n hold i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e p r o m o t i o n of t h e Languedoc-Roussillon region, p a r t i c u l a r l y if it i n d i c a t e s w i d e v a r i a t i o n s i n t h e images h e l d of i t by d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s of p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s and actual visitors. I n c o n c l u s i o n i t o u g h t t o be emphasized t h a t image, a l t h o u g h i t i s a s i g n i f i c a n t variable, i s o n l y o n e of many f a c t o r s in d e t e r m i n i n g t h e s u c c e s s of t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t . It must be s e t a l o n g s i d e o t h e r v a r i a b l e s such as n a t u r a l and m a n u f a c t u r e d r e s o u r c e s , access, infrastructure, a c c o m m o d a t i o n and i n d i g e n o u s population a t t i t u d e s . REFERENCES

Brown, G.M., C h a r b o n n e a u , J . J . & Hay, M.J. (1978) The v a l u e of W i l d l i f e E s t i m a t e d by t h e Hedonic A p p r o a c h , US D e p a r t m e n t of t h e I n t e r i o r , F i s h and W i l d l i f e S e r v i c e Working P a p e r No. 6 Ehemann, (1977) What k i n d of p l a c e i s I r e l a n d ? , J . of T r a v e l R e s e a r c h , 16,–28–30 F r e e m a n , M.R. (1979) The h e d o n i c p r i c e a p p r o a c h t o measuring demand for neighbourhood characteristics i n D. S e g a l , (ed.) The E c o n o m i c s of N e i g h b o u r h o o d , Academic P r e s s , New York Hunt, J . D . (1975) Image as f a c t o r in tourism d e v e l o p m e n t . J . of T r a v e l R e s e a r c h , 13 ( 3 ) , 1– 7 L a n c a s t e r , K . J . (1966) A new a p p r o a c h t o consumer t h e o r y , J . of P o l i t i c a l Economy, 8 4 , 132-57 L a w s o n , F . & B a u d - B o v y , M. ( 1 9 7 7 ) T o u r i s m and R e c r e a t i o n a l Development, A r c h i t e c t u r a l P r e s s , London M a c l e n n a n , D. (1982) Housing E c o n o m i c s ; an a p p l i e d a p p r o a c h , Longman, London M a t h i e s o n , A. & W a l l , G. (1982) T o u r i s m ; Economic, P h y s i c a l and S o c i a l I m p a c t s , Longman, London Mayo, E . J . ( 1 9 7 3 ) R e g i o n a l I m a g e s and R e g i o n a l T r a v e l B e h a v i o u r , P r o c e e d i n g s of t h e T r a v e l Research Association, Fourth Annual C o n f e r e n c e , Sun V a l l e y , I d a h o , USA, 211-17 M c i n t o s h , R.W. (1972) T o u r i s m , Principles, Practices, Philosophies, G r i d , Columbus, Ohio Murphy, P . E . (1983) P e r c e p t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s of decision-making groups in t o u r i s t c e n t r e s , J . of T r a v e l R e s e a r c h , 21 ( 3 ) , 8-12 Murphy, P . E . (1985) T o u r i s m ; A Community A p p r o a c h , Methuen, London 160

The Image of D e s t i n a t i o n Regions Nolan, S.D. (1976) T o u r i s t s ’ use and e v a l u a t i o n of t r a v e l information sources; Summary and c o n c l u s i o n s , J . of Travel Research, 14 ( 3 ) , 68 Pearce, D.W, (1981) Macmillan D i c t i o n a r y of Modern Economics, Macmillan, London Quandt, R.E. & Baumol, W.J. (1966) The Demand for a b s t r a c t t r a v e l modes, J . of Regional Science, 6 ( 2 ) , 13–26 R o s e n , S. ( 1 9 7 4 ) H e d o n i c p r i c e s and i m p l i c i t markets: product d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n in pure c o m p e t i t i o n , J . of P o l i t i c a l Economy, 82, 34– 55 Rugg, D.D. (1971) ‘The Demand for Foreign T r a v e l ’ , PhD t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles

161

Chapter 10 MARKETING THE HISTORIC CITY FOR TOURISM Gregory Ashworth

‘Celebrating the past was implicit to a sense of nationhood, statehood and locality. It was educational as a means of orientation to one’s cultural h e r i t a g e , but a b o v e all v i s i t i n g historical attractions could be entertaining and relaxing. Historical sites offered a sense of permanence in an ever changing world of new, highly standardized landscapes. Historical flavours served as a counterpart to m o d e r n i t y ’(Jakle, 1985). INTRODUCTION

H i s t o r i c a l a r t e f a c t s and a s s o c i a t i o n s have l o n g been one of t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y ' s m o s t m a r k e t a b l e commodities. I t can be argued t h a t the ‘ g r a n d t o u r ’ a r o u n d s i t e s of historical s i g n i f i c a n c e in search of e d u c a t i o n a l or c u l t u r a l p r o f i t , a l o n g w i t h t h e p i l g r i m a g e i n s e a r c h of s p i r i t u a l p r o f i t , i s one of the o l d e s t motives for t r a v e l (Burkart & Medlik, 1974). The i m p o r t a n c e of h i s t o r y a s a p r i m a r y o r supplementary motive for r e c r e a t i o n a l t r a v e l can be demonstrated a t a number of s p a t i a l s c a l e s . I t i s t h e p r i n c i p a l motive for i n t e r c o n t i n e n t a l t o u r i s m g e n e r a t i n g in p a r t i c u l a r what might be termed the ‘ c o l o n i a l ’ t o u r i s t flows from t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , Canada, A u s t r a l i a and L a t i n America t o the European ‘ m o t h e r l a n d s ’such as B r i t a i n , F r a n c e , I t a l y and S p a i n . I t i s t h i s f o r m of long-distance ‘ w a n d e r l u s t ’t h a t a c c o u n t s f o r t h e dominance of c i t i e s such a s London, P a r i s or Rome as t o u r i s t r e s o r t s . I t i s a major motive for i n t r a c o n t i n e n t a l and domestic tourism, in most c o u n t r i e s being t h e second most important a f t e r beach tourism ( K o s t e r s , 1981). In addition it can provide useful ‘back-up’ facilities for holidays whose primary motive is q u i t e d i f f e r e n t , by, for example, p r o v i d i n g 162

Marketing the Historic City excursion possibilities in the course of beach holidays. It is an important objective for day recreation trips. A recent French study revealed that 60 per cent of the entire adult population had made at least one such trip in the year surveyed (Garay, 1980) while more than 20 million trips are made to the English medieval cathedrals each year. A l t h o u g h not all sites and objects of historical interest are to be found in urban areas, cities play a disproportionately important role as the collection and display centres for the artistic productivity and historical associations of a nation or region. The importance of the ensemble of historical relics and buildings in creating an overall atmosphere of antiquity, that can rarely be achieved by an individual site, allows cities (or parts of cities) as a whole to become tourist attractions. This discussion will therefore be confined to cities as both containers of objects of interest as well as such objects in themselves. Given the importance of marketable history to the tourism industry, it is necessary to be more precise about its definition and to introduce two related concepts to aid this analysis. The historic city as a conceptualisation of a particular sort of urban phenomenon is derived from far more than just the antiquity of the buildings gathered together in particular towns. It is c o m p o s e d of t h r e e e l e m e n t s , v i z . t h e characteristics of the urban form; the valuation placed on aspects of that form expressed through the p r e s e r v a t i o n of a s e l e c t i o n of the morphological elements and more broadly through a conservational philosophy of urban management; and the functioning of the city for both residents and non residents in such a way that the historical attributes are consciously exploited. Such a concept with its accent on planning intervention and use can be directly related to particular consumer markets through the concept of heritage. This is the notion that there exists a demand for the preserved or reconstructed urban historical artefacts. This heritage demand, which may be‘ a c t u a l ’or‘ o p t i o n a l ’may be justified by educational, national-cultural, aesthetic or commercial motives, or more usually an inseparable mixture of many of these. Although the question ‘whose heritage?’may rarely be posed, there is an inviolable link between the concepts of the historical city and of heritage - between the conservation of the urban fabric and a consumer. 163

Marketing the Historic City The logical step is to regard heritage as a specific aspect of tourism supply to be marketed to an identified tourist demand. We arrive at what to many is the more or less self-evident proposition that antiquity converted into heritage provides a resource for a commercial activity, which in turn through its land demands and economic product/ provides a justification, land use and financial contribution to the conserved urban form. It is at this point however that a number of inherent contradictions and potential conflicts arise to mar a happy symbiosis that has been more often assumed than demonstrated. Although there are few tourism industries in the world that do not attempt some marketing of heritage, it has been most successfully achieved in Europe, and this paper will draw prinicipally upon the research experience of the Geographical Institute of the University of Groningen in Britain, The Netherlands and France. The research effort has been concentrated on the development of the concept of the historic city, its spatial delimitation, and its development modelling in the wider functional context of the city as a whole, as well as upon the problem of the development of appropriate planning and management strategies for urban tourism in the medium-sized cities. This research will be drawn upon in order to raise a series of questions about the problem of marketing the historic city for tourism. CONFLICTS AND CONTRADICTIONS Institutional H i s t o r i c c i t i e s , a s was e m p h a s i z e d i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n a b o v e , a r e c r e a t e d by t h e a c t i v e i n t e r v e n t i o n of i n s t i t u t i o n s whether in t h e p u b l i c o r p r i v a t e s e c t o r s , w h i c h make a c o n s c i o u s s e l e c t i o n from t h e a v a i l a b l e s t o c k of a n t i q u i t i e s , and u s i n g t h e a v a i l a b l e l e g a l i n s t r u m e n t s and planning p r a c t i c e s , a t t e m p t to conserve a p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e p a s t . The development of t h e urban c o n s e r v a t i o n movement in Western Europe has been d e s c r i b e d elsewhere (Dobby, 1978; Burtenshaw, e t . a l . , 1981) and i t only needs t o be s t r e s s e d h e r e t h a t t h e e v o l u t i o n of t h e c o n s e r v a t i o n e t h i c i n l o c a l p l a n n i n g and i t s expression in n a t i o n a l l e g i s l a t i o n (such as t h e F r e n c h Loi Malraux 1961, Dutch Monumentenwet 1960 164

Marketing the Historic City or British Civic Amenities Act 1967) gave rise to a particular set of institutions, principally but not exclusively at the local authority level, staffed by conservation specialists whose expertise was focused primarily on building preservation. Urban tourism, far from being a creation of active public intervention, has long been regarded as mainly the concern of the private commercial sector. Policy was therefore a matter of the business decisions of firms and public intervention at the national level was late (beginning perhaps in Britain with the Development of Tourism Act 1969 which led to the creation of a network of national and regional tourist boards) and was generally c o n f i n e d to p u b l i c i t y e x e r c i s e s and the distribution of some national subsidies. Policy-making bodies for tourism at the urban scale are rare and most local authorities have been content to react to the results of the influx of visitors, seeing tourism as a planning or traffic problem, rather than a real or potential major urban function in need of policy guidance and positive management. Some local authorities, especially those with a major tourism industry, have publicity or information departments and a few have attempted to co-ordinate departmental policies towards tourism through i n t e r d e p a r t m e n t a l committees (Berkers, et.al., 1986). Very few cities however have a tourism department charged with shaping policy for the attraction of visitors, their management in the city and the development of an appropriate supply infrastructure. The end result, for whatever reason, is that in most Western European cities the institutions concerned with the creation and maintenance of the historic city, and those concerned with the marketing of heritage to tourists, are not the same. They were established at different times, for different purposes under different legislative frameworks, operate at different spatial scales, have a different mix of public and private interests and are staffed by quite different groups of specialists with differing expertise. One set of institutions is attempting to market a product created and maintained by another with whom it has generally weak formal links. Goals

It

is

self-evident

t h a t the o s t e n s i b l e

goals 165

Marketing the Historic City of tourism as a commercial activity and urban conservation as a public service are different. This need not in itself lead to conflict. There are however a number of reasons why this is likely to be the case. The effective spatial scale of operation of urban conservation varies in different parts of Europe. Countries such as Britain and to a lesser extent The Netherlands have tended towards a high degree of local responsibility for the selection and maintenance of historic buildings, while France and the countries of Eastern Europe have tended towards a more centralised system with national governments playing a more active role (Dobby, 1978). This has significant implications for the criteria used and thus for the choice of what is to be conserved, or which historic city is created from the alternatives available. The use of national criteria implies a concentration on a r t e f a c t s of n a t i o n a l or international significance, as well as the projection of the chosen national image, while regional and local criteria can select a different, or more usually supplementary, set of artefacts in accordance with a local or regional self-image that may be quite different. For example the stress on nineteenthcentury social and labour history in a number of British cities is in contrast to the grander imperial themes projected at a national level. It has been argued that there is a tendency to move from the national towards the local scale over time, both because local offical involvement in some countries, such as Belgium and France, lagged behind national legislation, and also because success in urban conservation inevitably leads to an extension of the effort from the spectacular monuments of national importance, which are protected in the‘ f i r s t w a v e ’towards more modest domestic buildings whose significance is inevitably local (Ashworth, 1984). Tourists have, in general, a more restricted knowledge of, and interest in, the art and history of a region than local inhabitants. The tendency is for tourists to associate places with a few easily recognised characteristics or landmarks of international significance (Amsterdam is the canals, Pisa a leaning tower, Edinburgh a castle, etc.) and confine their visits to a pre-selected handful of such attractions, largely ignoring those of slightly lesser renown or merit. This aspect of the spatial behaviour of visitors has been 166

Marketing the H i s t o r i c City a d e q u a t e l y e x a m i n e d e l s e w h e r e and r e l a t e d t o v a r i o u s v i s i t o r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , such as d i s t a n c e t r a v e l l e d , motive, e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l , age and t h e The l i k e (Ashworth & de Haan, 1985 & 1 9 8 6 b ) . r e s u l t can be not only a c o n f l i c t between n a t i o n a l and r e g i o n a l g o a l s , b u t between t h e l o c a l o b j e c t i v e s of c o n s e r v a t i o n and t h e n e e d s of tourism. In t h e c i t y of Norwich, f o r example, t o u r i s t s c o n c e n t r a t e t h e i r a t t e n t i o n upon t h r e e s m a l l a r e a s – t h e c a t h e d r a l , the c a s t l e and Elm H i l l , (which taken t o g e t h e r account for 46 per cent of a l l t o u r i s t v i s i t s t o o b j e c t s of h i s t o r i c a l i n t e r e s t ) . Of t h e s e t h e c a s t l e i s l a r g e l y a n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e contemporary idea of a medieval keep, and Elm H i l l i s an e a r l y c o n s e r v a t i o n p r o j e c t t h a t h a s e f f e c t i v e l y r e b u i l t a l a t e medieval s t r e e t facade. The e f f o r t s of t h e c o u n c i l ’ s conservation programme o v e r t h e l a s t few y e a r s by c o n t r a s t have b e e n c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e more p e r i p h e r a l , and l e s s s p e c t a c u l a r d o m e s t i c a r c h i t e c t u r e , of t h e i n n e r c i t y ( ‘ Norwich-over-the-Wensum’, King S t r e e t , St B e n e d i c t ’ s ) w h i c h a t t r a c t v e r y few t o u r i s t s . S i m i l a r l y on a r e g i o n a l s c a l e the r e g i o n a l s e l f image of t h e French p r o v i n c e of Languedoc h a s i n c r e a s i n g l y been b o l s t e r e d by a s t r e s s upon the r e g i o n ' s independence of s p i r i t and r e s i s t a n c e t o C a p e t i a n i m p e r i a l i s m and n a t i o n a l c e n t r a l i s a t i o n from the t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y . Local c o n s e r v a t i o n p o l i c y t h e r e f o r e emphasizes the‘ C a t h a r ’ c a s t l e s and the‘ h o t e l s ’ of the l o c a l M o n t p e l l i e r g e n t r y r a t h e r t h a n t h e g r a n d i o s e monuments of t h e seventeenth century t h a t symbolise the conquest of the region and which have been the focus of c e n t r a l government c o n s e r v a t i o n e f f o r t s o v e r t h e l a s t twenty y e a r s . Whereas t o u r i s m may be an o b v i o u s u s e , i n whole or in p a r t , of the l a r g e r monuments l o c a t e d in the a r e a s of t o u r i s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n , the smaller d o m e s t i c monuments and t h o s e f u r t h e r from t h e narrow‘ b e a t e n t r a c k ’ of the v i s i t o r s a r e f a r more l i k e l y t o be in use by r e s i d e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y f o r h o u s i n g . Indeed, i t can be argued, and has been demonstrated for the c i t y of Groningen (Ashworth, 1984), t h a t as c o n s e r v a t i o n p o l i c y becomes more s u c c e s s f u l and extends i t s sphere of o p e r a t i o n i n t h e c i t y beyond t h e n a t i o n a l l y recognised monuments, so the r e l a t i v e importance of tourism as a use of the conserved c i t y d e c l i n e s . There i s c o n f l i c t between the goals of tourism and conservation planning in what can be termed the 167

Marketing the Historic City ‘ b o w d l e r i s a t i o n ’ of the historic city as a c o n s e q u e n c e of its a t t e m p t s to m e e t the expectations of visitors. Visitors require a simple, easily and quickly communicated historical experience that confirms their expectations, and they have neither the time nor inclination to accept the complications and subtleties of the city’s historical development, and the generally confused mix of time periods and architectural styles that typify most city-scapes. A city such as Bath which comprises a single time period, and indeed a single facet of that period, viz. the eighteenth-century aristocratic health spa, is more readily appreciated than the more variegated morphological and functional patterning of most cities. It is therefore a short and logical step from Elm Hill, the preserved and reconstructed medieval facade of Norwich with its‘appropriate’ cobblestones and street furniture, to the creation of an historical theme park in which the visitor is placed in what is effectively a stage set. The result can be either Jamestown, Virginia, where an existing site has been embellished and decorated with the contemporary American image of‘colonial’ life, or Den Gamleby in Aarhus where a medieval town has been built in this century by assembling fragments from elsewhere. In both cases there comes a point where the goals of urban conservation have been not merely stretched but effectively abandoned. It is not that urban conservation policy is free from the necessity of choice, the exercise of value judgements and the necessity for much reconstruction of preconceived notions of antiquity. The historic city of the conservation planner is no more an accurate reflection of the city in past periods of time than is the tourists’ open-air museum, but it is likely to be different. The pursuit of history as saleable heritage can result in the selling of York. through Dick Turpin, of a region such as the Yorkshire Dales as the ‘Bronte country’ (or more recently the ‘Herriot country'), and even of a whole country such as Romania, as the home of Count Dracula. Locations A fundamental and practical objection to the automatic association of the conserved urban fabric and tourism is that the two aspects of the city may not occur in the same place. The research 168

Marketing the H i s t o r i c City undertaken for some years in a number of European c i t i e s , by t h e G e o g r a p h i c a l I n s t i t u t e of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of G r o n i n g e n , i n t o t h e l o c a t i o n , d e l i m i t a t i o n and e v o l u t i o n of t h e h i s t o r i c and t o u r i s t i c c i t i e s has revealed d i s t i n c t d i f f e r e n c e s in l o c a t i o n . The h i s t o r i c c i t y , in the sense of t h a t p a r t of the c i t y t h a t i s valued a s h i s t o r i c and d e s i g n a t e d a s such u n d e r v a r i o u s p l a n n i n g i n s t r u m e n t s , i s g e n e r a l l y much more e x t e n s i v e than t h a t p a r t of t h e c i t y e i t h e r s o l d t o v i s i t o r s t h r o u g h t h e p u b l i c i t y of t h e l o c a l t o u r i s m a g e n c i e s , or a c t u a l l y e x p e r i e n c e d by them. In a d d i t i o n the t o u r i s t c i t y , i n t h e s e n s e of t h a t p a r t of t h e c i t y t h a t c o n t a i n s t h e f a c i l i t i e s a c t u a l l y used by t o u r i s t s , i n c l u d e s many a r e a s outside the h i s t o r i c c i t y , e s p e c i a l l y those p r o v i d i n g accommodation, s h o p p i n g , c a t e r i n g and entertainment services. Although the two c i t i e s generally overlap there are l a r g e a r e a s t h a t are e x c l u s i v e t o one or o t h e r f u n c t i o n . With t h e exception of the small mono-functional ‘gem’ c i t i e s such as Elburg, Mont St Michel, Willemstad, Bergamo or Aigues Mortes, the h i s t o r i c c i t y provides o n l y one f a c e t of t h e t o t a l t o u r i s m f a c i l i t y supply, while tourism impinges i n t o only a r e l a t i v e l y small p a r t of the h i s t o r i c c i t y . P h y s i c a l and environmental damage

A l t h o u g h f r e q u e n t l y c i t e d a s a s o u r c e of c o n f l i c t between tourism and u r b a n c o n s e r v a t i o n , the p h y s i c a l and environmental impacts of v i s i t o r s are in many ways of p e r i p h e r a l importance compared w i t h t h e more fundamental i s s u e s r a i s e d a b o v e , although i t f r e q u e n t l y happens t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s of i n s t i t u t i o n and p h i l o s o p h y become focused on r e l a t i v e l y t r i v i a l c o n t r o v e r s i e s about the p h y s i c a l damage caused by v i s i t o r s . C e r t a i n l y t h e v e r y p r e s e n c e of t o u r i s t s en masse has an impact on the h i s t o r i c c i t y and i t s monuments. The Tower of London in the summer has more the atmosphere of a f a i r ground than a p r i s o n , and a v i s i t t o W e s t m i n s t e r Abbey i s h a r d l y a s p i r i t u a l e x p e r i e n c e . But e q u a l l y of course these b u i l d i n g s were not intended by t h e i r b u i l d e r s t o be monuments of beauty or a n t i q u i t y , but were in t h e i r t i m e modern f u n c t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s e r e c t e d f o r s p e c i f i c uses t h a t l a r g e l y no longer apply. T h e r e a r e w e l l p u b l i c i s e d c a s e s of t h e s u p p o s e d i n c o m p a t a b i 1 i t y of t o u r i s m and 169

Marketing the H i s t o r i c

City

c o n s e r v a t i o n a s a r e s u l t of t h e d i r e c t p h y s i c a l d a m a g e , w h e t h e r w i l f u l o r n o t , c a u s e d by v i s i t o r s such as t h e long s t a n d i n g c o n t r o v e r s y over a c c e s s to Stonehenge. Such c a s e s however a r e r a r e r t h a n m i g h t be i m a g i n e d , i f o n l y a s was a r g u e d e a r l i e r t h a t o n l y a p o r t i o n of t h e h i s t o r i c c i t y i s of i n t e r e s t t o v i s i t o r s , and a r e o f t e n t h e r e s u l t of i n a d e q u a t e m a n a g e m e n t , o r a t l e a s t can be a m e l i o r a t e d by e f f e c t i v e management. F r e q u e n t l y i t is the indirect e n v i r o n m e n t a l damage or i n c o n v e n i e n c e t h a t i s of more l a s t i n g i m p o r t a n c e and more i n t r a c t a b l e s o l u t i o n . T o u r i s t s , even t h o s e w h o s e j o u r n e y i s m o t i v a t e d by h i s t o r i c a l a t t r a c t i o n s , have t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y n e e d s , and t h e p r o v i s i o n of m o d e r n h o t e l a c c o m m o d a t i o n and t r a n s p o r t f a c i l i t i e s are d i f f i c u l t to reconcile w i t h t h e h i s t o r i c c i t y ( f o r some e x a m p l e s of c o n t r o v e r s i a l p l a n n i n g d e c i s i o n s r e s u l t i n g from tourism provision in h i s t o r i c c i t i e s (see Burtenshaw e t . a l . , 1981). CONFLICT RESOLUTION THROUGH THE INTERVENTION OF INTERMEDIARIES

The m a r k e t i n g of h e r i t a g e i s i n e s s e n c e much t h e same a s t h e m a r k e t i n g of any o t h e r p r o d u c t ( s e e At i t s s i m p l e s t t h e A s h w o r t h & Voogd, 1 9 8 6 a , b ) . p r o c e s s can be r e d u c e d t o t h r e e t a s k s : (i) t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e p r o d u c t , (ii) t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e p o t e n t i a l market, (iii) the direction of a flow of relevant information about the former to the latter. It is the intermediaries, i.e. those agencies, whether serving public institutions or private commerce, that are concerned with bringing together supply and demand, who undertake all three tasks. The c o m p l i c a t i o n s arise from the inherent characteristics of historic city tourism, some of which have been outlined above, that renders the tasks of the intermediaries particularly difficult. As far as the product itself is concerned, a major difficulty is that the marketing agencies can only select from an historic heritage that was not created by, or for, the tourism industry. The initiative in the definition of the product is therefore in practice largely in the hands of the local authorities and of the public sector. The 170

Marketing the H i s t o r i c City marketing agencies can only a t t e m p t t o a c h i e v e a degree of s e n s i t i v e l i a i s o n with those d e s i g n a t i n g and m a n a g i n g t h e c o n s e r v a t i o n of t h e b u i l t environment, which in most cases must occur a t the l o c a l r a t h e r than the n a t i o n a l s c a l e . This in t u r n involves a c l o s e permanent working r e l a t i o n s h i p not only between t o u r i s m a g e n c i e s and local a u t h o r i t i e s , but a l s o within the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s themselves. In very few c i t i e s does t h i s in fact o c c u r a l t h o u g h many l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s h a v e developed the r e q u i r e d e x p e r t i s e in s i m i l a r l i a i s o n w i t h t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r in i n d u s t r i a l development policies. The second t a s k f a l l s squarely i n t o the f i e l d of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the tourism marketing agencies who h a v e t h e t a s k of i d e n t i f y i n g the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e e x i s t i n g m a r k e t , and r e c o g n i s i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l of new m a r k e t s . In p r a c t i c e , however, very l i t t l e systematic work has been d o n e , w i t h i n t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y or elsewhere, on the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the t o u r i s t and the h i s t o r i c c i t y . The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of such v i s i t o r s , i n t e r m s of t h e i r a g e , family c i r c u m s t a n c e s , group c o m p o s i t i o n , income, c l a s s , e d u c a t i o n a l background and the l i k e in r e l a t i o n t o o t h e r s o r t s of t o u r i s t s and of the population as a whole, have been sketched in general terms in many n a t i o n a l and l o c a l s t u d i e s ( s e e Garay, 1980 and Scheppers, 1986 for a French and B e l g i a n example respectively). But i t i s e q u a l l y c l e a r t h a t i n s u f f i c i e n t d e t a i l e x i s t s upon w h i c h t o b a s e p a r t i c u l a r m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g i e s or t o p r e d i c t future markets through p r o j e c t i n g t r e n d s i n t h o s e characteristics. The behaviour of the consumer of h e r i t a g e in the h i s t o r i c c i t y i s s i m i l a r l y known only in o u t l i n e . Some comparative information has been assembled on the length of s t a y , accommodation c h o i c e , and crude e s t i m a t e s of e x p e n d i t u r e , but how the customer a c t u a l l y uses the h i s t o r i c c i t y and i t s f a c i l i t i e s , i n t e r m s of t h e s p r e a d and i n t e n s i t y of u s e , remains l a r g e l y unknown, and yet i t i s p r e c i s e l y t h e s e a s p e c t s of t o u r i s t behaviour t h a t a r e c e n t r a l t o r e s o l v i n g a number of t h e p o t e n t i a l c o n f l i c t s mentioned e a r l i e r . F i n a l l y the q u e s t i o n of v i s i t o r motivation has r a r e l y ever been posed and yet i f the market for h e r i t a g e i s t o be accurately identified, the whole s o c i o ¬ p s y c h o l o g i c a l f i e l d of the i n t e r a c t i o n of t o u r i s t s and h i s t o r i c monuments must be approached. It is n o t enough t o make broad unsupported assumptions about n o s t a l g i a , escapism or r o m a n t i c i s m , i f t h e 171

Marketing t h e H i s t o r i c City heterogeneous market for an extremely heterogeneous product i s t o be understood. A r e a c t i o n t o t h i s plea for more i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t has been f r e q u e n t l y heard, e s p e c i a l l y from the t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y i t s e l f , i s t h a t t h e means of a s s e m b l i n g s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n do n o t e x i s t i n p r a c t i c e , and in any event such a r e s e a r c h e f f o r t is unnecessary. Both p o i n t s a r e not e a s i l y d i s m i s s e d . The f a c i l i t i e s for fundamental r e s e a r c h of t h i s n a t u r e l a r g e l y do n o t e x i s t w i t h i n t h e tourism i n d u s t r y and i t i s beyond t h e s c o p e and c o m p e t e n c e of m o s t g o v e r n m e n t a l tourism organisations. The r a p i d growth i n t h e t o u r i s m m a r k e t t h r o u g h much of the 1960s and e a r l y 1970s imposed a r e a c t i v e r o l e upon t h e t o u r i s m s u p p l y industry. A s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s i n g demand had t o be m e t , and t h e i n d u s t r y d e v e l o p e d t h e h a b i t of response t o a demand t h a t they had l i t t l e p a r t in c r e a t i n g and had l i t t l e t i m e o r i n c e n t i v e t o examine too c l o s e l y . I n u n d e r t a k i n g t h e t h i r d t a s k of b r i n g i n g t o g e t h e r t h e product and the market, t h e p r i n c i p a l i n s t r u m e n t a v a i l a b l e i s the s t i m u l a t i o n of a flow of information d i r e c t e d a t the p o t e n t i a l consumer. Some of t h i s p u b l i c i t y o r i g i n a t e s from t o u r i s m marketing a g e n c i e s , but much a l s o o r g i n a t e s from q u i t e d i f f e r e n t s o u r c e s beyond t h e i n f l u e n c e of tourism p l a n n e r s . On the b a s i s of t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n , however g l e a n e d , t h e v i s i t o r makes not only the d e c i s i o n t o h o l i d a y in a p a r t i c u l a r p l a c e but a l s o the d e t a i l s of t h e l e n g t h and type of v i s i t and the a c t i v i t i e s t o be undertaken. H i s t o r i c c i t i e s in p a r t i c u l a r tend to have long established r e p u t a t i o n s which p u b l i c i t y can merely amplify and accent. P u b l i s h e d i n f o r m a t i o n under t h e d i r e c t c o n t r o l of l o c a l tourism marketing agencies can be used t o f u r t h e r such goals as a more s a t i s f a c t o r y d i s t r i b u t i o n of v i s i t o r s in time o r s p a c e . Such e v i d e n c e a s h a s b e e n o b t a i n e d from r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t s , however, t h a t i t i s an i n e f f i c i e n t medium for these purposes. A h i g h p r o p o r t i o n of such i n f o r m a t i o n i s r e c e i v e d by c u s t o m e r s who h a v e a l r e a d y made most of the c r i t i c a l d e c i s i o n s about t h e i r h o l i d a y , under t h e i n f l u e n c e of f i r s t - h a n d e x p e r i e n c e and t h a t of acquaintances r a t h e r than p u b l i s h e d l i t e r a t u r e , and r e s e a r c h i n N o r w i c h (Ashworth & de Haan, 1986a) has i n d i c a t e d t h a t only 32 per cent of v i s i t o r s used a guide-book and only 16 per cent v i s i t e d t h e l o c a l t o u r i s t information centre. Even i f s u c h p u b l i c i t y m a t e r i a l i s l e s s 172

Marketing the Historic City effective than might be assumed, some studies of its content have revealed that it is rarely used to further existing policies for urban tourism. In a number of historic cities, for example, there are policies for the wider spatial spread of visitors through the inner city in order to diminish congestion and over use in a few limited areas, and yet the marketing information for such cities is in fact more heavily concentrated than the actual behaviour of visitors. The market is being followed rather than led. Exceptions can be found such as the City of Norwich Tourist Information Centre which has produced a series of tourist trails designed to broaden the sphere of interest of the visitor to include new aspects and areas of the historic city, but even here the attempt to draw visitors into the area of‘Norwich-over-theW e n s u m ’has been unsuccessful. THE BROADER CONTEXT In order to define and delimit the tourist¬ historic city it is necessary to isolate it, and this isolation is especially unreal and misleading in the development of marketing strategies. Hardly any historic cities, however extensive or imposing their heritage, can engage the attention of visitors for more than a few days, and in the case of most medium-sized cities a few hours. As any individual city can only provide a part of the total holiday experience, a collection of such cities may be packaged together by the consumer. The position of any one city within such a network in terms of accessibilty and complementarity is therefore critical and has obvious implications for marketing. There are notable examples of the appreciation and exploitation of precisely this point, such as the joint publicity of the‘ E a s t of England Cathedrals R o u t e ’or, on an international scale, the joint promotion of Maastricht, Liege and Aachen, but the institutional structure mentioned earlier inhibits such initiatives. Second, historic city tourism is only one type of holiday which may be located within reach of quite different tourist regions p o s s e s s i n g different holiday supply packages. This could present problems of competition for resources, or equally opportunities for complementary promotion. There are many examples of the tourist-historic city offering its historic attractions or its urban 173

Marketing the H i s t o r i c City e n t e r t a i n m e n t , c a t e r i n g and shopping f a c i l i t i e s , as day excursion o b j e c t i v e s for holiday-makers s t a y i n g i n n e i g h b o u r i n g beach o r i n l a n d r u r a l h o l i d a y regions. In t h e c a s e of Norwich, t h e c i t y i s w i t h i n easy reach of both the Broads w a t e r - b a s e d t o u r i s t region and the Norfolk c o a s t beach t o u r i s m , and o f f e r s some f a c i l i t i e s for both, although t h e complementarity i s not f u l l y r e c i p r o c a t e d (Ashworth & Bergsma, 1982) a t l e a s t in p a r t because the t h r e e d i s t i n c t h o l i d a y r e g i o n s a r e managed and promoted by q u i t e d i s t i n c t i n t e r m e d i a r y o r g a n i s a t i o n s . The t o u r i s t - h i s t o r i c function i s one of many urban f u n c t i o n s , which compete or c o - o p e r a t e w i t h i n the c i t y , and planning for tourism without a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the broader goals and problems of t h e c i t y i s f u t i l e . I t c a n n o t always be assumed t h a t the marketing of the t o u r i s t - h i s t o r i c function w i l l accord with the o t h e r l e g i t i m a t e o b j e c t i v e s of t h e urban managers. Indeed the promotion of t h e c o n s e r v e d h i s t o r i c c i t y may not p r e s e n t an image t h a t i s a t t r a c t i v e t o v e n t u r e c a p i t a l i n new e n t e r p r i s e s , and c a n t h u s be d e t r i m e n t a l t o economic development g o a l s , while naive claims t h a t t h e i m p a c t of t o u r i s m on t h e l o c a l economy i s u n q u a l i f i e d g a i n i s q u i c k l y d i s p r o v e d by experience. S i m i l a r l y urban c o n s e r v a t i o n p o l i c y may have i m p a c t s upon t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s of c o n s e r v e d a r e a s t h a t a r e c o n t r a r y t o the s o c i a l p o l i c i e s of t h e l o c a l a u t h o r i t y . Although such a r g u m e n t s can be found i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e ( e . g . Burtenshaw e t . a l . , 1981; Mathieson & W a l l , 1982) and more s i g n i f i c a n t l y can f r e q u e n t l y be heard in t h e c o u n c i l c h a m b e r , t h e y a r e more o f t e n a r e f l e c t i o n of a f a i l u r e of those r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e t o u r i s t - h i s t o r i c c i t y t o a p p r e c i a t e t h e broader c o n t e x t i n which t h e y must o p e r a t e , r a t h e r than d e m o n s t r a t i n g i r r e c o n c i l a b l e d i f f e r e n c e s of principle. The marketing t o v i s i t o r s of the h e r i t a g e of t h e t o u r i s t - h i s t o r i c c i t y o f f e r s r e a l economic p o s s i b i l i t i e s t o a wide r a n g e of c i t i e s . The s u c c e s s f u l e x p l o i t a t i o n of t h e s e o p p o r t u n i t i e s d e p e n d s t o a l a r g e e x t e n t on t h e s k i l l and s e n s i t i v i t y of t h e i n t e r m e d i a r i e s , who m u s t , a s t h e i r name i m p l i e s , come between and thereby b r i n g t o g e t h e r not merely the d i f f e r e n t institutions involved but a l s o the range of i n t e r e s t s and goals t h a t comprise t h a t c i t y .

174

Marketing the H i s t o r i c City REFERENCES

Ashworth, G.J. & Bergsma, J . (1982) Impacts of the Boat H i r e I n d u s t r y i n t h e N o r f o l k B r o a d s ; problems and p o l i c i e s , GIRUG, Groningen Ashworth, G . J . (1984) The Management of c h a n g e . C o n s e r v a t i o n p o l i c y i n G r o n i n g e n , The N e t h e r l a n d s , C i t i e s , 605-16 Ashworth, G.J. & de Haan, T.Z. (1985) The T o u r i s t H i s t o r i c C i t y : a model and i n i t i a l a p p l i c a t i o n i n Norwich, UK, F i e l d S t u d i e s S e r i e s , No. 8, GIRUG, Groningen Ashworth, G . J . & de Haan, T . Z . (1986a) Uses and u s e r s of t h e t o u r i s t - h i s t o r i c c i t y , F i e l d Studies S e r i e s , No. 10, GIRUG, Groningen Ashworth, G.J. & de Haan, T.Z. (1986b) De s t a d a l s v r i j e t i j d s c e n t r u m - het v r i j e t i j d c e n t r u m a l s s t a d , V r i j e t i j d en Samenleving Ashworth, G . J . & Voogd, H. (1986a) De E u r o p e e s E r f g o e d : een s t i m u l u s voor stedelijk economisch ontwikkeling. Plan Ashworth, G.J. & Voogd, H. (1986b) City-Marketing: a new p a r a d i g m f o r u r b a n p l a n n i n g and research. Paper t o Symposium on P l a n n i n g S t u d i e s and P r a c t i c e , London S c h o o l of Economics, Sept 1986 B e r k e r s , M. , e t . a l . (1986) The P l a n n i n g and Management of the B r i t i s h H i s t o r i c C i t y , F i e l d Studies s e r i e s , No. 9, GIRUG, Groningen B u r k a r t , A . S . & S. Medlik (1974) Tourism: p a s t , p r e s e n t and f u t u r e , Heinemann, London Burtenshaw, D., Bateman, M. & Ashworth, G.J. (1981) The City in West Europe, Wiley, Chichester Dobby, A. ( 1 9 7 8 ) C o n s e r v a t i o n and P l a n n i n g , Hutchinson, London Garay, M. (1980) Le Tourisme c u l t u r e l en France, Notes e t Etudes d o c u m e n t a i r e s . D i r e c t i o n de documentation F r a n c a i s e , P a r i s Haan, T.Z. de & Ashworth, G.J. (1986) F u n k t i e en g e b r u i k : De b e z o e k e r in de m u l t i f u n c t i o n e l e b i n n e n s t a d , Onderzoekverslagen, No.14, GIRUG, Groningen J a k l e , J . A . (1985) The T o u r i s t , U n i v e r s i t y of Nebraska P r e s s , Lincoln/London K o s t e r s , M . J . (1981) Focus op T o e r i s m e , VUGA, Amsterdam Mathieson, A. & G. Wall (1982) Tourism: Economic, Social and Physical Impacts, Longman, London S c h e p p e r s , E. ( 1 9 8 6 ) Het v a k a n t i e en r e c r e a t i e g e d r a g der Belgen in het binnenland, Geotoer 3, Leuven 175

Chapter 11 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PROMOTION OF MAJOR SEASIDE RESORTS: HOW TO EFFECT A TRANSITION BY REALLY MAKING AN EFFORT Bryan J.H. Brown

PROMOTION AND THE BEGINNING The historical development of the English seaside resorts, and their close and early relatives the inland spas, has been the subject of considerable research (see for example Walton, 1983, who provides an extensive bibliography). Much of this research has concentrated upon the social history of the resorts, or upon the development of their urban geography, and there has been relatively little detailed investigation of the topics such as promotion and marketing in an historical context. However, both the large number of general historical works and the more limited range of detailed local investigations (for example Brown, 1985) reveals quite clearly that almost since the beginning of the modern seaside resort in Britain deliberate promotion and marketing has been undertaken, and that many resorts owe both their initial foundation and subsequent growth entirely to such activities. Early methods were of course relatively crude by modern standards, but made use of the available contemporary media. Scarborough’s early promotion in the late seventeenth century for example i n c l u d e d the publication of a medical text extolling the value of its spring and sea waters, while the famous publication by Russell in 1751 which set Brighton on the road to rapid growth was soon followed by many other works in similar vein, culminating with Granville’s famous two-volume epic on the Spas of England in 1841. The power of this type of medical text and the influence of the medical profession in general on influencing the decisions of the upper classes to visit particular spas and seaside resorts, especially during the eighteenth century, must not be underestimated. Indeed, by the latter decades of that century the use of the more popular media was developing, and 176

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts the purely medical influences upon resort growth were in decline. In addition, there were growing influences at work in society altering attitudes to leisure, from philosophy and literature (in particular the romantic poets), to the rapid spread of non-conformism and its impacts upon personal behaviour and lifestyle. The situation is particularly well illustrated by the early development of the seaside resorts of the west of England. The present author has recently documented the situation of Weston-superMare in some detail (Brown, 1985), and at this very unpromising site on the shores of the upper Bristol Channel it was newspaper advertising which was used in the initial promotion of the resort as early as 1779. A combination of advertisements for accommodation, the publication and circulation of a descriptive guide-book in the regional booksellers, a number of editorial articles in the regional newspapers and even a romantic article in a popular national journal of the early nineteenth-century, ( G e n t l e m a n s ’Magazine) undoubtedly helped to develop in the minds of Weston's early potential visitors a very positive view of the site. This perception was at considerable variance with the actual conditions at Weston in this period, where the village actually offered very few facilities for visitors and the muddy waters and high tidal range of the Bristol Channel provided far less favourable conditions than could be found at many other sites in southern England. Much later in the nineteenth century a similar situation prevailed in respect of the development of tourism in Cornwall. This relatively remote part of the country had been almost untouched by the tourism boom as a consequence of the lack of a railway link to other parts of England until the completion of the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash in 1859. Although there was some early tourism, for example to Penzance in the first two decades of the century (where much store was placed upon the exceptionally mild winter climate), the rapid development of Cornwall as a major domestic tourist destination owed a great deal to the deliberate creation of a romantic image by the Great Western Railway (GWR). The GWR’s later nineteenth- and early twentieth-century publicity campaigns for the Cornish Riviera reached a large part of the population through poster advertising, newspaper articles, and even the publication of very high quality guide-books and history books, many of 177

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts which are now valued collector's items. Walton (1983) notes, for example, how after 1904 the GWR achieved considerable success with this effort in the Birmingham area, and by 1913 even such a provincial paper as the Walsall Observer was running a regular paragraph of‘Holiday Views from Devon and Cornwall’. Careful use was made of literary images of place, of Celtic legend, and of high quality photographs to produce a sub-regional image which persists very strongly in the mind of the British population to the present day, to the clear p o s i t i v e a d v a n t a g e of the c o u n t y ’ s contemporary tourism industry. These brief examples serve to illustrate that there is a long and frequently successful history of deliberate image-building on various spatial scales within the domestic tourism industry in Britain. In the early phase such efforts were made either by the promoters of a resort, usually large landowners, or at a later date by the main railway companies. Walton (1983) points out, however, that as the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y p r o g r e s s e d the i n c r e a s i n g l y d e m o c r a t i c local g o v e r n m e n t institutions began to undertake a much wider range of activities, and in the growing resorts the emergent councils inevitably became concerned with the welfare of the industry which supported so many of the members of the councils. Thus we find resort propaganda by the mid-nineteenth century stressing essentially municipal issues such as the levels of public health and the state of the sewers. N o t s u r p r i s i n g l y , in an i n c r e a s i n g l y competitive world, the power to levy an advertising rate was eagerly sought by many coastal local authorities towards the end of the century. Blackpool was in a leading position in this respect, and for many years an unusual one, as in 1879 an oversight on the part of the Local Government Board allowed the corporation the power to levy a two pence rate to devote ‘to the cost of maintaining at railway stations and in other public places advertisements stating the attractions and amusements of the t o w n ’(Walton, 1983). This rate initially provided £500 per annum, rising to well over £4,000 in 1914, amounts well in excess of any of the other major resorts of the period. It is of considerable historical significance that from the earliest years of being able to levy such a rate, the Blackpool Corporation Advertising Committee, which allocated the income, appears to 178

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts have been dominated by shareholders and directors of the town’s entertainment companies. This resulted in strategic decisions to concentrate the r e s o u r c e s into the extension of the town’s catchment area through the classless, and for the 1890s novel medium of the coloured picture poster. As Walton pointed out, it was only when Blackpool’s working-class catchment area had been firmly extended over a wide area of the Midlands and industrial Yorkshire that the Advertising Committee turned its attention to season extension at the turn of the century, after a building boom had greatly inflated its income and the entertainment company presence had been diluted by an admixture of high-class shopkeepers and estate agents from the Tradesman’s Association. However, Blackpool had a rather unique position among the British resorts for many years, for before 1914 the Local Government Board were most unwilling to grant similar rating powers to other towns – there is a long list of rejections in the records of the Board for the 1880s and 1890s! As late as 1912 Brighton was refused a half-penny rate for posters and placards for example, being confined to leaflet and newspaper advertising financed from deck-chair and bandstand profits. Indeed, local councils were forced to use rather underhand methods to provide at least some coordinated local publicity, a favourite method being to vote a‘ m a y o r a l s a l a r y ’for advertising. Nevertheless, the seeds of corporate municipal promotion were sown very early in the development of resorts, and much experience was gained from related fields of destination promotion. Of these the most important from our contemporary viewpoint was undoubtedly the highly professional development of international destinations by the Thomas Cook organisation from the later nineteenth century onwards, but the details of this particular story are beyond the scope of the present chapter and are related in detail by Edmund Swinglehurst (1982). NEW IMAGES FOR OLD: WHY THE NEED FOR CHANGE? Within Britain there are many historical examples of seaside resorts which following a period of successful growth and development entered phases of stability or even decline. Changes in fashion, advances in transportation, and the influence of competition were for example to be 179

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts found as much in the nineteenth as the twentieth century. A classic example has been discussed by the present author (Brown & Loosley, 1979) in respect of Weston-super-Mare in the early 1880s. Here, a severe loss of trade was apparently due to the competition being offered for the traditional middle-class clientele of the resort by Torquay. The reaction was heavy investment by the local authority to change the whole image of the resort, creating a vast new seafront promenade which radically changed the appearance and facilities of the town. It took Weston down-market, to a new and prosperous era catering for the needs of a growing working-class demand for seaside amusement, and greatly changed the whole pattern of building and development for the rest of the century. The need for a new image is thus not new, but the problems which have had to be faced by Britain’s traditional seaside resorts in the past few decades have been far greater than in the past, and to be overcome have required altogether more sophisticated solutions. The most favoured approach has been that of destination marketing, especially as applied by local authorities, and the general background and approach of this has been well described by Alan Clark (1985). The concept of a tourist destination area is one of some debate, since the drawing of boundaries is always a difficult task when dealing with socio-economic and behavioural as well as purely physical resources. However the set of criteria devised by Balmer and Crapo (Province of Ontario, 1980), including the natural resource base, population, transport, attractions and events, image and cohesiveness plus services and facilities, appears acceptable as a marker of their content in the present context. Administrative divisions, which are frequently highly arbitrary, are naturally less satisfactory as a tool on which to base marketing policy, but certainly within the United Kingdom context where tourism is frequently perceived as a vital part of local economic regenerative policy, such divisions frequently delimit many important destination regions in marketing terms. This is most clearly seen in relation to the many very instructive examples of recent attempts to create new destinations for United Kingdom tourism. The majority of these are linked to the needs for inner city regeneration, and form part of major i n i t i a t i v e s d e v e l o p e d by s u c c e s s i v e governments following the‘ d i s c o v e r y ’of the inner 180

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts city as a political issue during the 1970s. Given the often large scale of public investment in the creation of facilities for recreation and tourism it is not surprising that considerable attention has been focused upon these both in the media and the academic arena. Peter Buckley and Stephen Witt (1985) provide an analysis of some important e x a m p l e s of such developments in what they described as ‘difficult’ areas, including Bradford, Bristol, Glasgow, and the London Docklands; the Merseyside area and Tyneside are additional examples where publicly and privately funded developments are currently taking place. They conclude that the development of tourism in such areas is a feasible strategy to increase employment and prosperity, but that it is not a panacea and can only be one part of an economic and social programme. They also point out the necessity of a concerted, targeted marketing effort, the need for public-private sector co-operation and that the investment of considerable resources is essential. This high level of interest in new destinations in the domestic market has h o w e v e r tended to overshadow the problems being faced by the old established coastal resorts, and we must now turn to a detailed examination of two important case studies in which considerable effort is being made to r e v i v e t h e f o r t u n e s of older holiday destinations. The Torbay example Torbay is an administrative area which includes three major towns (Torquay, Paignton and Brixham) and several smaller population centres, grouped around the shore of Torbay in South Devon. The current (1985) resident population is nearly 118,000, and this has in fact increased by some 4.2 per cent since 1981. Population increase is largely the result of the in-migration of a retired population, however, and does not offer a true reflection of Torbay’s economic position over the recent past. From a peak in the middle 1970s there has been a 22 per cent drop in tourist nights spent in the resort and a significant reduction in the length of the tourist season, hotels being 70 per cent full for 14 weeks in 1977 but only four weeks in 1982. Although this subsequently increased to seven weeks in 1984 this is still a significant decline. 181

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts Torbay grew rapidly during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries primarily as a resort area, and there is relatively little local employment which is not connected with the tourism industry. In consequence there has been a major increase in the local rate of unemployment, which has in any case been consistently above both the n a t i o n a l and r e g i o n a l l e v e l s . Industrial diversification is not easy as a response to this g r o w i n g problem. The area has little land available which may be considered for industrial uses and the surrounding countryside is mostly classified as of very high landscape value (and The local itself is a major tourism resource). authority has therefore developed during the 1980s a comprehensive marketing and development strategy, beginning with the creation of a Torbay Tourist Board in 1982 in order to spearhead a co-ordinated approach. The current strategy (Torbay Borough Council, 1985) builds upon the recommendations of a research study conducted by the English Tourist Board in 1982. It involves c o n s i d e r a b l y i n c r e a s e d investment by the public sector in new facilities (some of which are listed in Table 11.1), and the vigorous promotion of a new image for the three resorts is centred under the collective umbrella of the English Riviera. The latter has seen the development of a unified logo and a range of coordinated advertising materials and promotional activities, conspicuously avoiding use of the relatively new (1969) local authority name of Torbay, which had appeared to cause some degree of confusion among potential domestic customers. The new overall title makes it quite clear that three separate centres are involved. It is too early in the campaign to expect concrete results from such a broad range of development activity, but the effort involved has been considerable and there can be little doubt that a much changed product image has been created - certainly among the trade itself - and that the Torbay approach demonstrates the potential for linking public and private investment to achieve sector growth. The degree of involvement is amply demonstrated by the extent of investment being generated (currently around £55 million), and it is forecast that this will bring about the creation of over 1,000 jobs and some 373,000 additional visitor nights in the resort area by the end of the century. 182

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts Table 1 1 . 1 : Examples investment in Torbay (a)

of

new f a c i l i t i e s

and

Development of new facilities: English Riviera Conference Centre (for up to 1,500 delegates plus leisure pool, etc. (£3.1 million European Regional Development Fund grant approved) for completion Spring 1987. 460 berth marina, completion 1987. All-weather beach resort, themed leisure c o m p l e x and a p a r t m e n t s , G o o d r i n g t o n , commenced 1986. New championship golf course, in planning application phase.

(b)

Environmental improvements: Enhancement of Torquay Harbour Conservation Area, completion 1988. I m p r o v e m e n t s c h e m e in Old Paignton Conservation Area. Babbacombe Downs Conservation Area improvement scheme.

(c)

New countryside schemes: Cockington Country Park, completion 1988. Cockington Court, development of rural museum and crafts/horticulture centre. Improved visitor interpretation centres and facilities including signposting.

Defence of the Realm project A s e c o n d m a j o r e x a m p l e of t h e u s e of d e s t i n a t i o n m a r k e t i n g t o c r e a t e new t o u r i s t b u s i n e s s i s provided by the Hampshire and I s l e of Wight D e f e n c e H e r i t a g e P r o j e c t . This major p r o j e c t , which began i n i t s p r e s e n t form d u r i n g 1984, aims t o provide c o - o r d i n a t e d marketing for a wide r a n g e of m i l i t a r y h e r i t a g e s i t e s , some of m a j o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e such as HMS V i c t o r y , the Mary Rose p r o j e c t and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. The c a s t l e s , ships and museums linked by t h i s p r o j e c t a t p r e s e n t r e c e i v e over two m i l l i o n v i s i t o r s per y e a r . 183

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts Previously the various heritage sites in this region had been developed and marketed with little regard for their historical relatedness, and indeed in a relatively prosperous part of the United Kingdom little consideration had been given to the potential of tourism. This situation changed during the later 1970s, however, especially in the City of Portsmouth, where the combination of a major closure programme for the Royal Naval Dockyard and the decline of the resort trade of Southsea (an integral part of the City) led to a rapid reassessment of the local economic scene. The City has been a particularly vigorous convert to the use of tourism as a tool for economic regeneration, and with a focus on the island city the Hampshire and Isle of Wight project is currently aiming to create a new awareness of the military heritage as a tourism resource. As in Torbay, a relatively low-cost marketing and promotion unit has been established, in this case as a co-operative effort between a number of local authorities, providing a linkage between the largely independent attractions and a wide variety of funding and investment bodies. It is rather like taking the view that the whole area is a gigantic military theme park, and ensuring that visitors and potential visitors make the link as well. The project is now further supported by the designation of the Portsmouth area as an English Tourist Board Tourism Development Action Area. Again, this project is in too early a stage for conclusions on its success, but for Portsmouth alone it is estimated that the present phase of development will produce a one-third increase in tourism-related activity over the period 1986/9. LARGE INDUSTRY – SMALL BUSINESSES It is quite feasible to create new impressions of traditional resorts by a concerted marketing effort, arranging suitable publicity, putting together attractive new packages of accommodation and services for s e l e c t e d m a r k e t s and c o ordinating the patterns of public and private investment on a large scale - Torbay, Portsmouth and many other examples are available to show what is possible, even on quite limited budgets. However, for many of our major seaside resorts the problems are more than just that of image or the lack of certain major public facilities. A recent 184

Promotion of Major Seaside Resorts study of the Bournemouth area (Brown & Hankinson, 1986) illustrates this very clearly. Bournemouth, in common with the other major r e s o r t s , has a m a j o r i t y of its a v a i l a b l e accommodation in the smaller hotels and guest houses. Each of these is an independent small business unit with its own operating aims and structure which for the long-term planning of structural change in resorts must be taken into account. There are considerable problems in encouraging such businesses to invest in a higher standard of facilities (and for many this may actually be uneconomic), while substantial numbers do not wish to extend their operations above the level at which they would begin to pay Value Added Tax. Many are in any case run for family rather than strictly business reasons. Changing the mix of accommodation, widening the availability of central computerized booking, (in which Bournemouth is probably further advanced than any other UK resort) and encouraging the participation of these smaller businesses in larger marketing exercises is very difficult indeed. In fact the main conclusions of the recent Bournemouth and SE Dorset Tourism Study (BTA/ETB, 1986) pay little attention to this problem, preferring instead to concentrate on the more traditional marketing and promotion areas. It may well be that in order to ensure the effective survival of our resorts into the next century far more effort is going to be required than has a l r e a d y b e e n e x p e n d e d , for it is in the accommodation sector that the battle for survival is likely to be won or lost in the long term. The smaller hotels and guest houses appear at present to have low levels of marketing ability, a lack of strategic planning, poor pricing structures and low profitability. Such a situation perpetuates an excess of accommodation types relatively unsuited to the long-term development needs of the British resorts, and far more consideration needs to be given in future to the ways in which the legitimate needs and aspirations of the owners and managers of this sector can be matched with the requirement to provide our resorts with the accommodation they require. In this respect, the task facing the resorts has only just begun, and there can be little doubt that new techniques need to be developed by the public sector management bodies for the encouragement of change in the small business sector of tourism. 185

P r o m o t i o n of Major S e a s i d e R e s o r t s REFERENCES

BTA/ETB (1986) Bournemouth and South E a s t D o r s e t Tourism S t u d y , BTA/ETB Research S e r v i c e s , London Brown, B . J . H . (1985) P e r s o n a l p e r c e p t i o n and community s p e c u l a t i o n , a B r i t i s h r e s o r t i n t h e 19th Century, A n n a l s of Tourism R e s e a r c h , 1 2 , 355–69 Brown, B . J . H . & H a n k i n s o n , A. (1986) Final Report of t h e N a t i o n a l S m a l l H o t e l S t u d y , P h a s e I , Economic & S o c i a l R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l , S e p t e m b e r B r o w n , B . J . H . & L o o s l e y , J . (1979) The Book of W e s t o n – s u p e r – M a r e , B a r r a c u d a Books, Buckingham Buckley, P . J . & Witt, S.F. (1985), Tourism in d i f f i c u l t a r e a s , case s t u d i e s in Bradford, Bristol, G l a s g o w a n d Hamm, Tourism Management, 6 ( 3 ) , 205–13 C l a r k , A. ( 1 9 8 5 ) D e s t i n a t i o n m a r k e t i n g – Gwent c o u n t y a p p r o a c h , T o u r i s m Management, 6 ( 4 ) , 297–300 P r o v i n c e of O n t a r i o ( 1 9 8 0 ) , Tourism Development i n O n t a r i o : A Framework for Opportunity, P r o v i n c i a l G o v e r n m e n t of O n t a r i o , T o r o n t o , Canada S w i n g l e h u r s t , E. (1982) Cook’s T o u r s , The S t o r y of Popular Travel, Blandford P r e s s , Poole, Dorset Torbay Borough C o u n c i l ( 1 9 8 5 ) , The E n g l i s h R i v i e r a 2 0 0 0 . An I n t e g r a t e d T o u r i s m S t r a t e g y f o r T o r q u a y , P a i g n t o n , B r i x h a m , The C o u n c i l , Torguay W a l t o n , J . K . (1983) The E n g l i s h S e a s i d e R e s o r t , A S o c i a l H i s t o r y 1750–1914, L e i c e s t e r U n i v e r s i t y Press, Leicester

186

C h a p t e r 12 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PLANNING MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

Gregory Ashworth and M i c h a e l J .

IN LANGUEDOC:

LE

Stabler

INTRODUCTION

T h i s c h a p t e r i n v e s t i g a t e s t h e r o l e of a particular tourism agency in stimulating d e v e l o p m e n t i n a s p e c i f i c r e g i o n , and i s t h u s i n t e n d e d t o a c t a s a c a s e s t u d y i l l u s t r a t i n g some of t h e more g e n e r a l themes d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r . It examines t h e o b j e c t i v e s and methods of t h e o f f i c i a l t o u r i s t o r g a n i s a t i o n i n t h e r e g i o n and a t t e m p t s an a s s e s s m e n t of i t s e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n t e r m s of b o t h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e r e g i o n a s a whole and t h e e v o l u t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l r e s o r t c o m p l e x e s . The u l t i m a t e aim i s n o t t o a r r i v e a t specific c r i t i c i s m s or s u g g e s t i o n s r e l e v a n t to the case under c o n s i d e r a t i o n but to use the specific regional experience to develop a comparative methodology f o r t h e s t u d y of t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t i n such r e g i o n s . The j o i n t G r o n i n g e n – R e a d i n g r e s e a r c h programme h a s c o n c e n t r a t e d u p o n t h e g e n e r a l t o p i c of t h e i m p a c t s of t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t i n d i s a d v a n t a g e d regions. The c h o i c e of t h e c o a s t of L a n g u e d o c – R o u s s i l l o n a s one of t h e r e g i o n a l i l l u s t r a t i o n s of t h i s t h e m e was made d e s p i t e t h e e x i s t e n c e of a c o n s i d e r a b l e b o d y o f o f f i c i a l and u n o f f i c i a l l i t e r a t u r e from b o t h F r e n c h and f o r e i g n s o u r c e s , which has m o n i t o r e d p r o g r e s s i n t h e r e g i o n o v e r t h e l a s t 20 y e a r s . I n p a r t i c u l a r t h e U n i v e r s i t y of M o n t p e l l i e r Department of Economics and t h e C e n t r e R e g i o n a l e d e P r o d u c t i v i t é e t E t u d e s Economiques conducted a l a r g e – s c a l e m o n i t o r i n g s t u d y i n t h e l a t e 1 9 7 0 s (CRPEE 1 9 7 6 ) , a n d a m o n g f o r e i g n o b s e r v e r s n o t a b l y b o t h P e a r c e ( 1 9 8 1 ) and Murphy (1985) have r e p o r t e d on d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e r e g i o n , . The 1986 G r o n i n g e n - R e a d i n g f i e l d p r o g r a m m e c o n s i s t e d of t h r e e main d a t a c o l l e c t i o n p r o j e c t s u n d e r t a k e n by s t u d e n t s , who w e r e l o c a t e d f o r t h e whole of t h e s t u d y p e r i o d i n e l e v e n r e s o r t s between P o r t Camargue and G r u i s s a n i n c l u d i n g t h e town of 187

Tourism Development Planning Sete.

These p r o j e c t s c o n s i s t e d

of:

(i) The mapping of r e l e v a n t land-use f u n c t i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y v i s i t o r a c c o m m o d a t i o n and t o u r i s m services. (ii) A q u e s t i o n n a i r e s t u d y of visitor c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and b e h a v i o u r combined w i t h an o b s e r v a t i o n a l e x e r c i s e of t h e o r i g i n s of motor cars. The survey of v i s i t o r s c o n c e n t r a t e d mainly on the place of o r i g i n , group s i z e , length of s t a y , t r i p p a t t e r n s , accommodation c h o i c e , t r a v e l mode and e x p e n d i t u r e p a t t e r n s . Other q u e s t i o n s on the i n t e r v i e w schedule covered t h e use of p u b l i c a t i o n s and o p i n i o n s of t h e s p e c i f i c r e s o r t and t h e Languedoc-Roussillon c o a s t in g e n e r a l . This a s p e c t i s d e a l t with more f u l l y elsewhere in t h i s volume (see Chp. 9 ) . (iii) A s t u d y of t h e image of t h e r e s o r t s a s p r e s e n t e d in o f f i c i a l and commercial p r o m o t i o n a l material. (iv) An a n a l y s i s of t h e a d d r e s s e s of a l l second¬ home owners with accommodation in t h e r e s o r t s . The m e t h o d s of d a t a c o l l e c t i o n had been developed over a number of y e a r s in o t h e r c o a s t a l r e s o r t s (Haan & Ashworth, 1985). The s u b s t a n t i v e information g a i n e d from t h e s e f i e l d p r o j e c t s i s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g p r o c e s s e d and w i l l be published later. The R e g i o n a l Context

The Languedoc-Roussillon region of South West France has a Mediterranean c o a s t l i n e s t r e t c h i n g 200 km from the Rhone t o the Pyrenees. I t c o n s i s t s of the f i v e departments of Aude, Gard, H e r a u l t , Lozere and P y r e n e e s - O r i e n t a l e s and c o v e r s 27,500 km2 (about 5 per cent of the area of F r a n c e ) , w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n of n e a r l y two m i l l i o n (4 per cent of the national t o t a l ) . The t e r r a i n c o n s i s t s of sandy b e a c h e s , backed by é t a n g s and a h i n t e r l a n d r i s i n g t o n e a r l y 2,000 m ( F e r r a s , P i c h e r a l & V i e l z e u f , 1979). The economy of t h e r e g i o n p r i o r t o t h e i n i t i a t i o n of t h e d e v e l o p m e n t programme was p r e d o m i n a n t l y a g r i c u l t u r a l ( e s p e c i a l l y wine p r o d u c t i o n ) , w i t h some m i n e r a l e x t r a c t i o n ( i r o n o r e ) and l o c a l i s e d i n d u s t r i e s (textiles). Depopulation was o c c u r r i n g a t an a c c e l e r a t i n g r a t e as the labour demands of t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s d e c l i n e d . 188

Tourism Development Planning A l t h o u g h t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n c o a s t of F r a n c e was one of t h e f i r s t r e g i o n s t o e x p l o i t t h e c l i m a t i c and s c e n i c a d v a n t a g e s f o r t o u r i s m , s u c h d e v e l o p m e n t was c o n c e n t r a t e d on t h e m o r e a c c e s s i b l e c o a s t of P r o v e n c e , which was n o t o n l y more s c e n i c a l l y a t t r a c t i v e b u t a l s o d i d n o t s u f f e r from t h e d i s a d v a n t a g e s of m a l a r i a l m a r s h e s . Tourism in L a n g u e d o c - R o u s s i l l o n was w e a k l y d e v e l o p e d , a n d largely local, a t t r a c t i n g about 300,000 v i s i t o r s p e r annum d u r i n g t h e 1 9 5 0 s , of which fewer t h a n h a l f came from o u t s i d e t h e r e g i o n ( P e a r c e , 1 9 8 1 ) . THE MISSION In t h e immediate p o s t - w a r p e r i o d French p l a n n i n g was c h a r a c t e r i s e d by t h e i n i t i a t i o n of imaginative grandiose projects designed to modernise t h e F r e n c h economy ( A r d a g h , 1 9 8 2 ) . C e n t r a l i s e d s t a t e d i r e c t i o n and l a r g e p u b l i c investments in i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t y p i f i e d such schemes. The l a g g i n g e c o n o m y of L a n g u e d o c ¬ R o u s s i l l o n was an o b v i o u s t a r g e t f o r such p l a n n i n g , a n d g i v e n t h e n a t u r a l f e a t u r e s of t h e a r e a , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t o u r i s m a p p e a r e d t o b e t h e m o s t f e a s i b l e i n s t r u m e n t for s t i m u l a t i n g growth. The main s p e c i f i e d o b j e c t i v e s of t h e p r o j e c t w e r e : (i) t o d i v e r s i f y t h e economy, t h u s p r o v i d i n g new employment e s p e c i a l l y f o r young p e o p l e and thereby reverse the depopulation trend, (ii) t o r a i s e t h e l e v e l of r e g i o n a l i n c o m e s , ( i i i ) t o meet t h e r i s i n g demands f o r t o u r i s m f a c i l i t i e s from b o t h F r e n c h and f o r e i g n visitors. T h i s would r e l i e v e p r e s s u r e on t h e Cote D ’ A z u r , w h i c h i t s e l f was r e l u c t a n t t o a d a p t t o t h e new m a s s t o u r i s m d e m a n d s , and help to correct France’s growing adverse i n t e r n a t i o n a l b a l a n c e of t o u r i s m p a y m e n t s . A l t h o u g h t h e d o m e s t i c demand f o r t o u r i s m was r i s i n g , t h e r e c e i p t s from t o u r i s m i n F r a n c e had been d e c l i n i n g i n r e a l t e r m s s i n c e 1960. I n a d d i t i o n t h e r e was o r i g i n a l l y an e l e m e n t of s o c i a l j u s t i c e a l o n g s i d e t h i s economic n a t i o n a l i s m , a s much of t h e new t o u r i s m p r o v i s i o n was t o be d e s i g n e d f o r v i s i t o r s on a v e r a g e i n c o m e s . An i n t e r - m i n i s t e r i a l commission (Le M i s s i o n ) was e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 6 3 . This c e n t r a l government body had two r o l e s : t h e c o - o r d i n a t i o n of t h e f i v e c o n c e r n e d g o v e r n m e n t d e p a r t m e n t s and the 189

Tourism Development Planning maintenance of the unity of the project and its implementation. It had its own budget to facilitate development and promote the region. The state took responsibility for the irnfrastructure including roads, harbours, water supply, drainage, and environmental aspects such as afforestation, as well as financial planning and technical surveys and studies. Mixed development boards, comprising bodies at provincial and local level, were formed and were responsible for preparing the land and erecting administrative buildings within the framework of the development plan. In effect the boards constituted the link between the state and the communes. The boards sold the prepared land to the private sector developers and social groups, such as trade unions, sporting organisations, pension funds and the like. Five resort units, i.e. clusters of new and existing resorts separated by open conserved landscapes, were proposed stretching from Port Camargue in the north-east to Perpignan in the s o u t h - w e s t (see F i g . 9 . 4 ) . The plan for development was to maintain harmony of urbanisation and the natural environment. Each of the five units was to have a similar tourist capacity, including 9,000 boat moorings in ports less than a day’s sailing apart, a space standard of not more than 800 people to the hectare, 45,000–50,000 new tourist beds and at least 25 per cent low cost accommodation in each resort. The five units are: (i) Le Grau du Roi/Port Camargue/La Grande Motte/Carnon/Palavas des Flots, (ii) Sete/Cap d’Agde/Grau d’Agde, (iii) Valras/Narbonne Plage/Gruissan, (iv) Port Leucate/Port Barcares, (v) Canet/St Cyprien/Argeles. Of these, the resorts in the first three units were included in the fieldwork undertaken in the late spring of 1986. Construction of hotels, apartments, campsites, sports and entertainment facilities was assigned to the private sector under the urbanisation plan supervised by the architects and engineers employed by the commission. Progress in the implementation of this grand design is described by the commission’s chairman in a book with the grandiloquent title of Le Mission Impossible (Racine, 1980). The principal elements 190

Tourism Development Planning in the plan had been created by the mid 1970s although not all the individual resorts have yet reached their capacity targets. ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Given the objectives of the project, its s u c c e s s should be m e a s u r e d from two main standpoints, namely, regional economic development in general and the development of tourism in particular. The secondary goals, such as nature conservation and the various social aims, can be set aside because of difficulties in establishing objective measures. The study of the Languedoc¬ Roussillon development has tended to be piecemeal and descriptive and there is some discrepancy in the statistics collected. Consequently it is very difficult to give a detailed evaluation and the estimates of increased employment given below certainly cannot be confirmed. Some indication of changes in the region can be obtained from official statistics, such as Les Collections de L’INSEE (Statistiques et Indicateurs des Régions Françaises) and Eurostat. With respect to tourism, evidence can be gained from research on individual aspects of the resorts, for example as published in the Bulletin de la Société Géographie Languedocienne (1983) and the Revue de Geographie de Lyon (1984) . Regional development in general In r e g i o n a l a n a l y s i s the most common indicators used to ascertain the effectiveness of policy measures are population (structure and migration), unemployment (level and by sector), income (in total and per head), investment (total level and by s e c t o r ) , and output (volume and value). Clearly a more useful approach would be to consider the rate of change in these indicators and to compare this with other regions. Moreover as shown earlier in stating the specific objectives in Languedoc-Roussillon, policy may be selective, such as concern for the employment of those under 25 years of age.

191

Tourism Development Planning Tourism development F o l l o w i n g w h a t has now b e c o m e a well established technique, tourist multiplier analysis would embrace the indirect and induced effects of tourism development as well as the direct impact, in an economic approach. (See Escudier and Miossec, 1983, for an application of this approach in the study region.) This would necessitate, as a basis for estimating revenue, costs, etc. the straight counting undertaken by tourism agencies and others in terms of bed-nights. In a full impact analysis, which might embody environmental and ecological factors, social costs and benefits would be included. Such an approach is inhibited by the absence of adequate regional accounting, as well as by the difficulty of drawing areal boundaries around the areas to be considered. The kinds of tourism statistics normally to be found are, both purely physical counts, such as number of visitors, number of bed-nights, occupancy rates of accommodation units, numbers employed in tourism and tourism-related activities, and also f i n a n c i a l e s t i m a t e s , of for e x a m p l e , the expenditure of visitors, foreign currency earnings from tourism, incomes from tourism, property values/rent levels, and investment in tourism facilities and services. As with the more general regional indicators, rates of change in the variables and comparative analysis are essential, perhaps internationally in addition to consideration at a national level. While reasonably accurate estimates of the first three can be obtained, as can some indication of employment and expenditure, the last two are in practice very different to determine. Results Some of these indicators have been used in the appraisal of regional development in Languedoc¬ Roussillon (see the special edition of the Bulletin Société Géographique Languedocienne, 1 9 8 3 ) , together with more qualitative indicators such as raising the standards of wine produced, greater diversification of agricultural and manufacturing output and infrastructural improvements, perhaps most notably in transport. With regard to tourism the development can be counted a success in terms of the sheer size of the 192

Tourism Development Planning

b u i l d i n g programme implemented and from what Pearce (1981) d e s c r i b e s as a ‘ t e c h n i c a l point of v i e w ’ . However, growth has not been as r a p i d as a n t i c i p a t e d and t h e n a t u r e of t h e accommodation p r o v i d e d , w i t h t h e a c c e n t on p r i v a t e l y - o w n e d a p a r t m e n t s of a g r e a t v a r i e t y of t y p e s , and the lack of f a c i l i t i e s f o r more a c t i v e p u r s u i t s has tended to narrow the market. Also the i n t e r m e d i a r i e s i n v o l v e d in p r o m o t i n g t h e r e g i o n have been r a t h e r slow in e x p l o i t i n g c e r t a i n segments in t h e market, e s p e c i a l l y the o f f - s e a s o n use of the r e s o r t s . The s t a t i s t i c s t h a t a r e a v a i l a b l e show a g r o w t h i n b e d - n i g h t s , n u m b e r of visitors ( e s p e c i a l l y v i s i t o r s from o u t s i d e the region and from o u t s i d e F r a n c e ) , and a l e n g t h e n i n g of t h e season. The programme has not a p p r e c i a b l y reduced unemployment i n t h e r e g i o n a s a w h o l e , w h i c h c o n t i n u e s t o have one of the h i g h e s t unemployment r a t e s in France, in t h e face of higher than average i n c r e a s e s i n p o p u l a t i o n . R e g i o n a l incomes a l s o remain s u b s t a n t i a l l y below t h e n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e (L’INSEE, a n n u a l l y ) . Most of the d a t a c o l l e c t e d i s s t i l l concerned with‘ h e a d counting’ so t h a t t h e r e i s a need f o r f u r t h e r and more d e t a i l e d r e s e a r c h i n o r d e r t o relate supply more closely to tourists’ requirements and preferences. By 1980 it was estimated t h a t investment by t h e commission, t h e mixed development b o a r d s , l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s and t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r was i n e x c e s s of 6,100 m i l l i o n francs. The e s t i m a t e d employment generated by the development in 1980 was 30,000 permanent and 20,000 s e a s o n a l j o b s i n t h e s e c t o r s of d i r e c t t o u r i s m services, tertiary/quaternary services linked to t o u r i s m and c o n s t r u c t i o n / p u b l i c w o r k s . Future development i s l i k e l y t o be a t a s l o w e r pace a s d e m a n d l e v e l s o f f a n d b a s e d m o s t l y on t h e development of the e x i s t i n g r e s o r t s i n t h e u n i t s south-west of G r u i s s a n . ASSESSMENT OF RESORT DEVELOPMENT

A review of t h e r e s e a r c h l i t e r a t u r e on t h e r e g i o n s u g g e s t s , as i n d i c a t e d e a r l i e r in t h i s c h a p t e r , t h a t t h e r e a r e gaps in the a n a l y s i s of the tourism development. In p a r t i c u l a r no attempt has been made t o c o n s i d e r t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t a t i o n s or t h e f i v e u n i t s of t h e c o a s t a l development w i t h i n r e s o r t s t r u c t u r e and e v o l u t i o n models as derived a t 193

Tourism Development Planning Groningen (Haan & Ashworth, 1985). Also more sophisticated approaches to the investigation of the patterns of tourist demand have not been applied. Yet these kinds of study may be more appropriate than ‘blanket’ methods to assess the success of the regional policy for tourism because they allow for much more heterogeneity on both the supply and demand sides. The comparison of the existing resorts with the developmental models derived from experience from other coastal tourism regions was a major objective of the field programme. The data collected will allow potential surfaces to be constructed from elements of tourism supply, and this together with the behavioural information and the image analysis will permit such a comparison to be made. Two main questions are raised: (i) Does resort development sponsored by centralised intervention differ in essentials from that resulting from the spatial economic processes of the free market that have been used to power development models? A positive answer would necessitate modifying such models when they are applied to the many cases where intervention is an important element in development, while a negative answer casts doubt on the efficacy of such schemes in regulating the pre-existing processes. In either event the result is an assessment of an important aspect of the Mission. (ii) To what extent does differentiation exist both between and within the tourist units at the level of the individual resort? Variations in the type of tourism infrastructure, the image appeal and thus characteristics of visitors and of their holiday behaviour would be revealed by such modelling techniques. Although much of the definitive analysis is not yet completed, it is becoming clear that not only is there considerable variation between the resorts, but that the influence of the Mission has been substantially overestimated. Given the extensive and powerful propagandising resources of the central government agency, and the inevitably somewhat superficial reporting of many outsiders, this is in itself not surprising. An examination of development at the resort level reveals four important aspects that have been either ignored or underplayed in most of the literature. 194

Tourism Development Planning First, considerable tourism development had already occurred on the coast of Languedoc¬ Roussillon before it captured the attention of the Mission. Considerable that is by the standards of the early 1960s, before the subsequent boom in mass tourism to the Mediterranean, and by comparison with stretches of coast other than the Cote D’Azur which can be regarded as exceptional. A number of the more accessible points between the étangs have a history of serving the holiday demands of the inland urban regions which stretches back into the nineteenth century, and which was reinforced by railway connections as at Grau du Roi, Palavas, and Narbonne Plage. The Mission was thus not operating upon a tabula rasa but was including in the schema resorts whose character and clientele were already clearly established. Second, the Mission had no monopoly of commercial initiative nor was it able to regulate comprehensively the initiatives that originated from the lower local authorities. Narbonne Plage, being administratively a part of the commune of Narbonne, is an obvious example where development was initiated, planned and implemented at this scale. Equally there exists a long tradition of local investment and local development initiatives that have been important in shaping Palavas, Valras, Sete, Grau d’Agde and Grau du Roi both before and during the operation of the Mission. Third, an investigation of the tempo of growth in the individual resorts reveals the existence of a momentum of development before 1963. Although considerable growth occurred after 1963, this was not at a noticeably faster tempo than in other western Mediterranean coastal regions where tourism was developing, which in turn poses the question of whether spontaneous growth would have occurred in any event, leaving the Mission with the function of channelling development between resorts, conserving green space between the units and in particular sponsoring the new developments at previously neglected sites, such as Port Camargue, Grande Motte, Cap d’Agde and to a large extent Gruissan. Fourth, all three of the aspects raised above will tend to increase the degree of differentiation between resorts, as will accessibility both at the scale of distance from the main French market, determined in practice by spacing along the ‘Languedocienne’/ ’ C a t a l a n e ’motorways, and more locally accessibility from the coast to the main road system which runs well inland and not between 195

Tourism Development Planning the resorts along the coast. Such differentiation will be both reflected and furthered by the projection of distinctive images. CONCLUSIONS Despite the more than 20 years’ experience of operating the Languedoc coast tourism development programme, and the copious literature that has been produced during that period, it is clear that a number of important questions remain unanswered. In particular the question of central importance to the Groningen-Reading programme, concerning the efficacy of such large-scale, centrally conceived development p l a n s , is d i f f i c u l t to a n s w e r definitively. The plan, even after such a time has elapsed, is not complete; the target capacities of a number of the stations have not yet been achieved, let alone the necessary maturity of the resorts. The statistics referred to earlier give some indication of the regional economic consequences of the developments and thus its success in achieving its primary goal. The extent to which such changes would have occurred without the stimulation of the plan is impossible to estimate, as is the influence of external economic circumstances beyond the control of the regional planners, not least changes in tourism demand. In addition the extent to which tourists have been diverted from other destinations rather than‘ n e w ’ tourists generated is unknown. Although diversion was one of the goals of the Mission, it is likely, given the rapid growth in holiday-making during the period of the project, that most of the demand is‘ n e w ’ . An assessment of the consequences at the resort level cannot fail to take note of the distinctive design and stylistic features of the ‘green field’ resorts. The effects upon land-use patterning, however, are expected to be much less radical. In particular the stress in the plan on the idea of ‘tourist units’, that is clusters of resorts separated by conserved landscapes, has little relevance to the resorts in terms of functional links, as they have evolved. There are however a number of functional relationships between resorts and the existing inland settlements which provide historical attractions, such as Aigues Mortes, and shopping and other services such as Montpellier, Narbonne, Bezier and Perpignan. 196

Tourism Development Planning It is hoped that the results of the 1986 fieldwork will allow further investigation of both topics and thus permit the Languedoc-Roussillon experience of centralised planning for tourism to be effectively evaluated and its practical value as an example to other areas appreciated. REFERENCES Ardagh, J. (1982) France in the 1980’s, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middx Bulletin de la Société Géographie Languedocienne (1983) Vol. 106 No.3/4, Montpellier Centre Regionale Productivite et Etudes Economiques (1976) Tourisme et croissance Urbaine, 5 vols., Montpellier Escudier, J.L. & Miossec, J.M. (1983) Aspects m e t h o d o l o g i q u e de l ’ é c o n o m i e spatiale touristique Bull. Soc. Lang. Geog., 106 (3/4), 539–69 Eurostat (annual) Yearbook of Regional Statistics Ferras, R., Picheral, H. & Vielzeuf, B. (1979) Languedoc et Roussillon, Atlas et géographie de la France moderne, Flammarion, Paris Haan, de T.Z. & Ashworth, G.J. (1985) Modelling the Seaside resort: Great Yarmouth UK, Field Studies series No. 9, Geographical Institute, University of Groningen Les Collections de L’INSEE (1985) Statistiques et Indicateurs des Regions Francaises, Annex au projet de loi de France, Institut National de la Statistique et des etudes économiques, Paris Murphy, P.E. (1985) Tourism: a community approach, Methuen, London Pearce, D. (1981) Tourist Development, Longman, London Racine, P. (1980) Le Mission Impossible, Midi Libre, Montpellier Revue de Geographie de Lyon (1984) Panorama du Tourisme en France Vol. 59 (1/2)

197

Chapter 13 CHANGING TOURISM REQUIRES A DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT APPROACH Martinus J. Kosters

The modern tourist has rejected organised temptations in a large way. Notwithstanding professional research and marketing studies, which suggested the opposite, the holiday-maker has gone his own way. The majority of the travel trade has resigned itself to this situation and tries to supply more or less partial tourism products instead of complete (or final) products. National, regional and local governments are also involved in tourism, even more heavily than they may realise. Usually, they consider it is sufficient to subsidise the promotional activities of the respective tourism organisations. Yet there are so many changes currently taking place in tourism that such a passive attitude is inadequate. This causes problems for those governments that have to deal with tourism, without having a basic knowledge of the management of this increasing, economic activity. No government can ignore its innovative role, and thus the management role, it has to play in tourism. When a customer is tired of a product, he looks for a new one. So, when a tourist is no longer satisfied with a given destination, he will look elsewhere and the original destination has lost a client. The suppliers of tourism products are not always capable of adapting to a new market situation and need a strong, guiding hand to respond. Will the government respond and provide the guidance needed? The changing economic tide makes it more difficult to intervene because of a general lack of investment capital in both public and private sectors. As a result plans for tourism projects and facilities are shelved or cancelled. It is difficult to predict to what extent this policy will‘ q u e e r its own p i t c h ’ . Even so, many governments continue to do no more than contribute to the promotion for tourism. They overlook the 198

Tourism requires different Management fact that promotion in tourism is a part of the marketing mix: product, price, promotion and distribution. In this chapter this situation of increasing tension is monitored and new directions suggested to alleviate it. STATUS QUO Although t o u r i s m i n t h e world i s i n c r e a s i n g s l o w l y , t o u r i s m of t h e t r a d i t i o n a l , W e s t e r n i n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s , l i k e G r e a t B r i t a i n , West Germany, Belgium, The N e t h e r l a n d s , and F r a n c e i s n o t g r o w i n g s i g n i f i c a n t l y any l o n g e r . Here a s i t u a t i o n e x i s t s which i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of a saturation level. The holiday p a r t i c i p a t i o n l e v e l seems t o have s t a b i l i s e d a t 65 p e r c e n t , t h e a v e r a g e h o l i d a y d u r a t i o n remains a t two weeks and t h e r e a r e h a r d l y any new big tourism p r o j e c t s being d e v e l o p e d or under c o n s t r u c t i o n . The o n l y encouraging f a c t in t h e s e c o u n t r i e s i s an upward trend in t h e number of holidays a year per h o l i d a y maker. What h a s n o t changed during the y e a r s a f t e r the Second World War i s the self-made c h a r a c t e r of a tourism product. The majority of t h e t o u r i s t s compose t h e i r h o l i d a y s t h e m s e l v e s , i n s t e a d of buying a complete package. In the 1950s and 1960s the t r a v e l t r a d e , however, expected a t r e n d t o more ready-made tourism p r o d u c t s . S o , many new f i r m s e n t e r e d t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y e x p e c t i n g t o earn abnormal p r o f i t s in a growth market. They e x p e c t e d a s u b s t a n t i a l and r a p i d i n c r e a s e in holiday p a r t i c i p a t i o n based on a c o n s i d e r a b l e i n c r e a s e i n p e r s o n a l income a n d , t h e r e f o r e , a huge i n c r e a s e i n t h e demand f o r tourism arrangements, e s p e c i a l l y complete t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t o foreign d e s t i n a t i o n s . In t h i s g r o w i n g m a r k e t t h e r e was room f o r many newcomers as s u p p l i e r s , but now t h a t the market has s t a b i l i s e d , i t cannot support a l l these f i r m s . Only the s t r o n g e r ones and the o r g a n i s a t i o n s with a s t r o n g management w i l l be able t o s u r v i v e . ‘DO–IT–YOURSELF’

Although t o u r i s m i n t h e world mass movement, the h o l i d a y i s – and very i n d i v i d u a l product. The main each holiday-maker i s t o do something

i s seen as a remains – a o b j e c t i v e of – or not do 199

Tourism requires different Management something – in a completely different environment to their normal home and work environment and that implies – many people, many different minds. Therefore, it is very difficult to standardize a holiday as a total product. It is of course possible to provide some standards in travel to and accommodation in the popular destinations. But even then there are considerable financial benefits that attract consumers, rather than the qualitative aspects and the attraction of the product as such. The supply of ready-made holidays, when the consumer is 24 hours a day in the care of the producer, as for example during a sea cruise, is and will remain a very small share of the total tourism supply. The majority of consumers prefer an individual programme, but people do accept recommendations of professional (tourism) organisations. These consumers travel en masse and often prefer to see many f e l l o w t o u r i s t s en route and in the destination. In a way, many tourists need each other to feel comfortable and gain added enjoyment. There is an increasing demand for activity holidays: windsurfing, walking, sailing, cycling, watching animal life, fishing and so on. Again these are holidays which are frequently arranged by the individual participants. Compared to other countries Dutch holiday-makers prefer self-catering holidays. In the domestic tourism situation they use camping-sites, bungalow parks, apartments and marinas, but rarely hotels or pensions. People often want to behave like what the Dutch call,‘ G o d in France’: they do not like to accept rules, they prefer to do whatever they wish. Thus they like to break the daily rules they will accept when at home: during their holidays people go nude, men go unshaven, people frequently have sexual contacts with different partners, consume much more alcoholic drink than they would normally do, and so on. Therefore the question in more and more destinations is: how can we control the uncoordinated mass of tourists who invade a village, a town, a region, a province, a country and who behave as they like, causing many problems besides providing income and work? A further question then arises: how to balance these aspects? What is acceptable and what is not and how far should we go in promoting tourism?

200

Tourism requires different Management UNITY IN DIVERSITY Tourism is not only a complexity of millions of people on their way to, returning from or staying in places away from their normal place of residence, who as a group form the demand side of the many suppliers of all kinds of services tourists need. No, tourism is something more. Let us compare it to the car industry. At the global scale there are only a few dozen car producers who make some hundreds of models of cars. Together they control the supply side. The thousands of s u b - c o n t r a c t o r s are all d e p e n d e n t on the instructions of the few car producers. The final product is a ready-made car in a showroom. The government has hardly anything to do with such a production system: it only has to produce a good infrastructure of roads and public utilities. When a government wishes to get in contact with the car industry an invitation to a few producers is enough to reach them. In tourism the situation is completely different: there are, depending on the size of the country, thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of suppliers of tourism services. Moreover, there are hardly any suppliers of final products as in the car industry. There are all kinds of interests: the various modes of transport, the travel trade, the accommodation and lodgings industry, the sector providing all kinds of attractions (e.g. from swimming pools to safari p a r k s ) , the tourist destinations, the various groups of shopkeepers, banks, insurance companies, and the food and beverages sector. This is a complexity of suppliers who together form the tourism industry or the tourism sector. Even then the group of tourism promotional organisations, the architecture in a region or country, landscape and nature and even the language or climate have to be added. These latter aspects belong to the heritage of a nation and normally the ‘consumption’ of these aspects is free of any charge, although they are in fact the core of the final tourism product. Thus, it may be claimed that the local, regional, provincial and national governments are fellowproducers of services in tourism: the government is the manager of the common property supplied to tourists. But the government is also the supplier of the v a r i o u s public u t i l i t i e s and the infrastructure in tourism. So, in tourism the 201

Tourism r e q u i r e s d i f f e r e n t Management s i t u a t i o n i s very d i f f e r e n t from the car i n d u s t r y . Tourism i s in f a c t a d i s o r d e r l y f i e l d of many firms and o r g a n i s a t i o n s , and a l s o of t h e government who do not f e e l a s t r o n g , mutual dependency. There i s a u n i t y in d i v e r s i t y . In the b e s t case t h e r e i s some c o l l a b o r a t i o n , b u t m o s t l y t h e r e i s no collaboration at a l l . So, t h e government i s involved in t o u r i s m . It i s t h e m a n a g e r of t h e v a r i o u s t y p e s of i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , the l a n d s c a p e , n a t u r e , t h e v i l l a g e s and t h e t o w n s , t h e w a t e r w a y s , t h e b e a c h e s , t h e f o r e s t s , t h e m o u n t a i n s and many a t t r a c t i o n s l i k e museums. Therefore we might e x p e c t a v e r y c l o s e c o n t a c t between t h e government and t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r of t h e tourism i n d u s t r y , but t h a t i s not t h e case. P e r h a p s t h e main r e a s o n i s t h a t t h e a u t h o r i t i e s a r e very seldom s u p p l i e r s of a p a r t of t h e t r a d e d tourism p r o d u c t s . The policy-makers do not have t h e f e e l i n g t h a t t h e y a r e a c t i v e l y involved in tourism as a commercial a c t i v i t y . They do not r e a l i s e enough the essence of t h e t o u r i s m p r o d u c t and consider t h e p r i v a t e d i v e r s e i n d u s t r y responsible. In f a c t , t h i s i s a r i d i c u l o u s s i t u a t i o n : g o v e r n m e n t s s h o u l d be i n v o l v e d and interested, not only for p o l i t i c a l r e a s o n s , but a l s o b e c a u s e of t h e p a r t i c u l a r c h a r a c t e r of tourism. I t i s h a r d t o b e l i e v e t h a t many governments do not have any e x p e r t s in tourism on their pay-roll! Perhaps the e x c e p t i o n s a r e t o be found a t t h e l o c a l l e v e l , because of t h e s h o r t e r l i n e s of communication between government and t h e tourism i n d u s t r y a t t h a t s p a t i a l s c a l e . Missing p o l i c i e s I t i s d e p l o r a b l e t h a t g o v e r n m e n t s of many European c o u n t r i e s , a n d a l s o of many m u n i c i p a l i t i e s , ignore t h e i r involvement in t o u r i s m . This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y so now t h a t t h e r e i s c o n s i d e r a b l e unemployment in a l l European c o u n t r i e s : t h e r e i s h a r d l y any g o v e r n m e n t a t t e m p t i n g t o use tourism as a means t o g e n e r a t e employment. Governments s t i l l a c t in the t r a d i t i o n a l way and t r y t o a t t r a c t new i n d u s t r i e s , the bigger t h e b e t t e r . But in tourism t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e s u p p l i e r s are small-scale firms. It is a service industry s p r e a d throughout the v a r i o u s s e c t o r s of economic life. Where governments a r e i n v o l v e d i n t o u r i s m they mostly confine t h e i r a c t i o n s to giving 202

Tourism requires different Management financial help for the promotional activities of the tourism organisations and towards providing some facilities. The question is whether promotion is still the right answer now that tourism is changing so rapidly in character, destinations and customers. In every economic sector the suppliers have to deal with the marketing variables mentioned before: product, price, promotion and the places of distribution of the products. This marketing principle also holds good for tourism. Why then should a government restrict itself to supporting promotion? Tourism needs a higher priority considering its economic impact and, therefore, governments or special councils should concentrate efforts on tourism in all its aspects. But as long as political parties neglect tourism as a relevant aspect of society, I doubt if we will make progress. As a result, many things in tourism will neither be improved nor optimalised. As scientists we therefore have a duty to act in this respect, namely to persuade the government that things have to be improved. MANAGEMENT Every c o m p a n y of any importance has a management structure with a related organisation scheme. There is an executive team which is responsible to the board of directors. The executive team is responsible for daily management, assisted by specialists and heads of departments. As a rule, there is a technical department and a commercial department. This model should serve as an example to be used in tourism. In every country there is a cabinet and occasionally there is a special minister or undersecretary for tourism. Normally, tourism is only one of the many responsibilities a minister has: but that minister does then have some experts in tourism at his disposal. The Netherlands has been fortunate in having two active under-secretaries for tourism for the last ten years. Tourism in The Netherlands is a responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Until the end of the 1970s recreation was under the control of the Ministry of Culture, but today it is a part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Nature Conservation. At the Ministry of Economic Affairs there is a main section for 203

Tourism requires different Management tourism with a full-time staff of just six employees. Such a small staff is not a reflection of the economic importance of tourism in The Netherlands: if that were the case there would be an independent Ministry of Tourism, because tourism, recreation and leisure activities account for nearly 10 per cent of the national income. But the National Tourist Organisation (NTO) which acts as the national council for the promotion of tourism to The Netherlands and has 125 employees, is subsidised by this Ministry to the extent of over 70 per cent. This main section for tourism of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has been very successful in developing policies for tourism in The Netherlands, compared with many other governments in Western European countries and their involvement in tourism. In the past this section invited the many representatives of the various sectors in tourism to feed them ideas for those tourism policies they wished to see implemented. The result was that two reports of the Ministry of Economic Affairs were issued which outlined the official views on tourism and the priorities for tourism at the national level (Ministerie van Economische Zaken, 1979 & 1984). Many ideas of the private sector were incorporated, but others were left out. As a reaction to the first national note the twelve provinces started to produce official reports for tourism and recreation. The notes demonstrate the main views of the provincial governments concerning the further development of tourism and recreation: where there should be redevelopment, where improvements in infrastructure are necessary and where there is scope for new projects and developments. Although new projects have to be i n i t i a t e d by private industry, provincial governments are prepared to support special projects with subsidies to overcome the unprofitable slice of the operation when necessary. Finally, the municipalities have now started, at their level, to produce official notes for tourism. In so far as tourism and recreation are important or needed at the local level, priorities for tourism are now being established. The result of this process is that in The Netherlands the knowledge of tourism in government bodies has increased and m o r e e x p e r t s in tourism are participating in the work of the governments at the respective levels. The approach to tourism has therefore improved considerably in the last ten 204

Tourism r e q u i r e s d i f f e r e n t Management y e a r s . The o r g a n i s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e of tourism in The N e t h e r l a n d s i s summarised in F i g . 1 3 . 1 . And y e t we a r e not s a t i s f i e d , because tourism r e q u i r e s even more p r o f e s s i o n a l i s a t i o n . So far the r e s u l t has been t h a t t h e i n v o l v e m e n t of t h e o f f i c i a l b o d i e s in tourism has moved from the ‘ o b l i g a t o r y ’ s u b s i d y f o r p r o m o t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s t o a more fundamental approach in co-operation with the v a r i o u s commercial t o u r i s m s e c t o r s . Governments must acknowledge more r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for tourism products and be more c r i t i c a l of t h e b e n e f i t s of promotional a c t i v i t i e s in t o u r i s m . C r e a t i v e management

Developments in every market a r e dynamic. The demand i s c o n t i n u a l l y c h a n g i n g and r e q u i r e s c r e a t i v e a c t i o n on t h e p a r t of the many s u p p l i e r s . If a given d e s t i n a t i o n wants t o stay in the market, then a t l e a s t i t i s necessary that the local i n d u s t r y and l o c a l government e n l i s t a s s i s t a n c e from e x p e r t s i n t o u r i s m and m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h . Then t h e y w i l l be a b l e t o l e a r n how t o r e s h a p e t h e i r p r o d u c t s o r how t o r e a c t t o new m a r k e t opportunities. For e x a m p l e : i n a g i v e n r e s o r t t h e r e may be e x c e l l e n t accommodation but in the long run t h e r e i s a f a i r chance t h a t this d e s t i n a t i o n w i l l not s u r v i v e in the tourism market i f t h e r e i s no o r g a n i s a t i o n providing e n t e r t a i n m e n t for holiday-makers. T h i s i s now acknowledged by tourism agencies who have l e a r n e d from r e s e a r c h t h a t a t o u r i s t c o n s i d e r s h i s h o l i d a y o r h i s t r i p as a complete product and, t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h e many s u p p l i e r s should c o - o p e r a t e in t h e i r production of s e r v i c e s . D e s t i n a t i o n agencies w i l l then be able t o monitor the many changes in t h e market and the changes in consumer t a s t e s . As a r e s u l t i t w i l l then become c l e a r t h a t two r e s o r t s need not compete so s e v e r e l y i f they s p e c i a l i s e in d i f f e r e n t market s e g m e n t s , which means d i f f e r e n t s o c i a l groups. To achieve such a course of a c t i o n , p r o f e s s i o n a l e x p e r t i s e and management i s needed. The t r a d i t i o n a l t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s , s p e c i a l i s i n g in t o u r i s t information and promotion, s h o u l d be c o n v e r t e d i n t o p r o f e s s i o n a l market o r g a n i s a t i o n s w i t h a f l e x i b l e and c r e a t i v e management. Governments s h o u l d encourage t h i s , b e c a u s e o f f i c i a l b o d i e s and g o v e r n m e n t a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e n o t t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e form of 205

206

Attractions

Food & Beverages

NTO

Head Dept. of Tourism Ec. Affairs

Transport

Accommodation Shops

CUSTOMER

Travel Agency

MUNICIPALITIES

PROVINCES

Parliamentary Under-secretary Economic Affairs

CABINET COUNCIL

Banks

Insurances

Animation

Mun. Infra & Super structure,

Societies & organisations]

Figure 13.1: Organisational structure of the tourism industry in The Netherlands

Tourism r e q u i r e s d i f f e r e n t

Management

c e n t r a l t o u r i s m management. A private tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n i s b e t t e r e q u i p p e d and can t a k e on s u c h a new r o l e i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e o l d o n e , a l t h o u g h ‘ f r e s h ’ and s k i l l e d managers i n t o u r i s m w o u l d n e e d t o be e m p l o y e d by e v e n these organisations. MARKETING It is encouraging that marketing techniques are increasingly common in parts of the tourism industry, particularly in the transport and hotel sectors. In resorts there is now much more attention paid to factors like product and price, besides promotion. The distribution of information is also being considered more carefully than ever b e f o r e . Y e t , the real key to s u c c e s s is professional management that uses the right marketing techniques and stipulates the policies to be adhered to. Unfortunately, too few suppliers of tourism services are aware of their place within the total product and this mitigates against effective marketing on their part. A client does not come to Bournemouth, Scheveningen, or any similar resort just because of the excellent hotel room, he comes for the nice atmosphere in the town, the clean beaches, the competitive prices as well as for the good bed. Permanent marketing activities on a professional scale will teach the many suppliers how important it is to collaborate with each other. It will then be possible to finance adequately management and marketing activities. It is important that the respective governments join these activities, but on the understanding that the private trade does not expect the government to pay the bill. All resorts should develop strategies for the special target groups they want to reach. The clearer each tourist destination is, in this respect, the better the consumers will understand the promotion messages. To obtain such results is a matter of professional management. When the management knows which goals have to be attained, it can work well towards them and it is also much easier to keep in close contact with the market. In fact, promotion for tourism will then become a different and more effective way of marketing than it is today in the majority of cases. Currently promotion is often too general and destinations do not promote themselves in distinctive ways. There 207

Tourism requires different Management is too little differentiation because there is a lack of market information. This implies, in fact, that today much promotion is a waste of both money and effort: a professional approach would achieve better results, and cost, most likely, less money. In order to improve the tourism performance in many places the remedy is therefore very simple: co-operation between the many suppliers, the adoption of professional management in a reorganised tourism organisation with the backing of the respective governments and the use of the right marketing techniques. It sounds very easy, but it is very difficult in practice. Yet, there are excellent examples: for instance, the rural village of Norddeich in northern Germany. This village has a small harbour from which the ferries sail to the German Kurort and island of Noderney. In Norddeich the residents saw the many holiday-makers passing through, but they did not make money out of these tourists. Then a manager was appointed to develop the ideas described above. With the help of the local government he saw to it that everybody who could make some money out of a tourist would pay a small percentage of his turnover to the tourism organisation, whether he was a grocer, a hotelier or a doctor. A sound financial basis for tourism marketing was therefore established. Within ten years the whole economy of Norddeich changed. The manager stimulated farmers to provide camping facilities for tourists and encouraged other inhabitants to start bed and breakfast ventures. With the backing of the municipality he laid out a sandy beach on the sea side of the dike and added some catering facilities: later on he built a complete swimming pool there and another indoor, heated, ultra-modern swimming pool in the village, along with bungalow parks, camping sites, a leisure centre where children and adults can meet each other and where they can do something creative, and, finally, he introduced sports facilities for guests. People now come from all over Germany, because he has created facilities for an existing (latent) market. As a result of marketing research it was found that the German North Sea islands were rather exclusive and expensive, so, there was a lack of facilities in Germany for the less prosperous Germans who wanted to go to the coast! Further examples can be found in the Austrian Tirol.

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Tourism r e q u i r e s d i f f e r e n t Management Strength-weakness a n a l y s i s In t h e f u t u r e , more t h a n i n t h e p a s t , t h e q u a l i t y of t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s s h o u l d be b e t t e r r e l a t e d t o p r i c e s . Every s u p p l i e r should be b e t t e r informed of the s t r e n g t h s and w e a k n e s s e s of h i s p a r t i n t h e c h a i n of t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s . With a b i r d ’ s eye view every s u p p l i e r i s a b l e t o a t t u n e b e t t e r t o the t o t a l p r o d u c t . A strength-weakness a n a l y s i s i s p o s s i b l e when the s u p p l i e r s of tourism s e r v i c e s and the government a r e c o - o p e r a t i n g well and j o i n f o r c e s i n a p r o f e s s i o n a l tourism organisation. A f t e r s u c h an a n a l y s i s t h e conclusion may be t h a t c e r t a i n s u b - p r o d u c t s i n a d e s t i n a t i o n should be improved in q u a l i t y in order to maintain t h e i r a t t r a c t i o n to t h e i r t a r g e t g r o u p s ; or t h a t m a r k e t i n g a c t i v i t i e s s h o u l d be aimed a t o t h e r groups of t o u r i s t s , because a place i s l o s i n g i t s a t t r a c t i o n t o the t r a d i t i o n a l c l i e n t s and i t s h o u l d be r e b u i l t i n o r d e r t o r e a c h new t a r g e t groups with b e t t e r p r o s p e c t s . An example of such an approach i s t h e s e a s i d e r e s o r t of Scheveningen in The N e t h e r l a n d s . It is one of the very f i r s t examples of a r e s o r t where o b s o l e s c e n t accommodation was p u l l e d down and renewed on a l a r g e s c a l e as a r e s u l t of marketing s t u d i e s and a sound b e l i e f i n t h e p r o d u c t l i f e cycle of a d e s t i n a t i o n . I t should be c l e a r t h a t t h i s was a very r a d i c a l process and could only be done by the very e n t h u s i a s t i c i n v o l v e m e n t of t h e m u n i c i p a l i t y in c o - o p e r a t i o n with t h e v a r i o u s l o c a l s u p p l i e r s . The r e s u l t i s a ‘ r e b o r n ’ s e a s i d e r e s o r t with a fresh c h a r a c t e r and new s p i r i t t h a t a t t r a c t s new groups of t o u r i s t s . And what a success I But b e f o r e t h a t s t a g e i s reached, much work has t o be d o n e , of which t h e s t r e n g t h - w e a k n e s s a n a l y s i s i s t h e b a s i s , and a p r o f e s s i o n a l management t e a m , w i t h a s k i l l e d a n d m o d e r n o r g a n i s a t i o n , has t o be e s t a b l i s h e d . The tourism organisation as a wholesaler? The p r o c e s s of p r o f e s s i o n a l i s a t i o n of t h e Dutch l o c a l tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s was accomplished d i f f e r e n t l y from t h a t d e s c r i b e d above. There was a b e l i e f t h a t t o improve market r e s u l t s , l o c a l and regional tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s should offer f a c i l i t i e s f o r c e n t r a l bookings and for complete holiday arrangements. Some tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s o b t a i n e d e x c e l l e n t r e s u l t s w i t h c e n t r a l booking 209

Tourism r e q u i r e s d i f f e r e n t Management systems for accommodation. I n t h a t way t h e y competed w i t h t r a v e l a g e n c i e s , who t r a d i t i o n a l l y were very p a s s i v e in the domestic market. When d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s a l s o s t a r t e d t o o r g a n i s e t h e arrangements for t r i p s and h o l i d a y s t o t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n s and t o s e l l these products d i r e c t l y to the consumers, the t r a v e l a g e n t s were f u r i o u s . They f o r c e d t h e tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s t o d e a l with them, a c c u s i n g t h e m of u n f a i r c o m p e t i t i o n . The t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e s u b s i d i s e d by t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e m u n i c i p a l / p r o v i n c i a l governments and, in f a c t , a c t as p r i v a t e companies. Although t h i s i s t r u e , i t was s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e t r a v e l t r a d e – b o t h agencies and t o u r o p e r a t o r s – who h a r d l y p r o d u c e any s e r v i c e s for domestic t o u r i s m , complained when the tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s f i l l e d a gap i n t h e market. The q u e s t i o n r e m a i n s : i s i t c o r r e c t f o r a tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n t o produce tourism p r o d u c t s ? T r a d i t i o n a l l y , t h e tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e p l a c e s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t o u r i s t s and t h e y a r e t h e p r o d u c e r s of t o u r i s m p r o m o t i o n . Because many t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s w e r e t o o weak t o be r e o r g a n i s e d i n t h e way o u t l i n e d in t h i s c h a p t e r , they took t h e i r chance a t an e a s i e r l e v e l i n t h e h o p e of i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r g r i p on t h e t o u r i s m industry. Although i t was a s u c c e s s i n a more p r a c t i c a l sense in the s h o r t r u n , in t h e long run i t may not be so c e r t a i n , because t h e r e a c t i o n t o t h e developments was not fundamental enough. With some new f a c i l i t i e s f o r b o o k i n g s and o f f e r s of organised h o l i d a y s d i f f e r e n t groups w i l l be a t t r a c t e d t o t h e d e s t i n a t i o n . The q u e s t i o n i s whether t h e s e new groups of c l i e n t s a r e accepted by the host p o p u l a t i o n , or n o t . I t cannot be denied t h a t f o r some t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s t h e s e new s e r v i c e s h e l p e d them r a i s e f u n d s i n o r d e r t o survive. To t h a t l i m i t e d e x t e n t they were, and are, successful. But t o be s u c c e s s f u l in t h e long run the e x p e r t s b e l i e v e t h a t tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s s h o u l d be f u r t h e r r e o r g a n i s e d i n t o central marketing o r g a n i s a t i o n s with a s t r o n g p r o f e s s i o n a l management and e x p e r t i s e . T h i s i s a p r o c e s s of b l o o d , sweat and t e a r s and w i l l t a k e y e a r s and years. However, i t i s r e c o g n i s e d a s t h e o n l y , modern way t o approach tourism promotion. Success w i l l d e p e n d on t h e l o c a l s i t u a t i o n . Where s u c c e s s f u l , i t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e that tourism organisations will offer services for c e n t r a l bookings and w i l l a l s o s e l l h o l i d a y packages. But 210

Tourism requires different Management then it is a result of a marketing-research process and a conscious choice and not a form of defence to survive. CHANGING ORGANISATIONS

I t has been s t r e s s e d i n t h i s c h a p t e r t h a t s u c c e s s in tourism is a s s o c i a t e d with p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m i n t o u r i s m m a n a g e m e n t and expertise. These two f u n c t i o n s c a n be s e l f f i n a n c i n g o n l y when t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n has been improved. In The N e t h e r l a n d s t h i s p r o c e s s has begun because the n a t i o n a l government has l a i d down in two r e p o r t s ( M i n i s t e r i e van Economische Zaken, 1979 & 1984) what the n a t i o n a l p o l i c i e s a r e . Then followed the p r o v i n c i a l government and a f t e r them t h e m u n i c i p a l i t i e s w i t h t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e views. These views provided a much-needed c l a r i f i c a t i o n . To d a t e t h e r e s u l t h a s b e e n an i n c r e a s e i n employment i n t o u r i s m . Moreover, government investment in tourism i s a r e l a t i v e l y cheap investment t o d e c r e a s e unemployment, because of the b i g s h a r e of l a b o u r , compared with c a p i t a l , in a tourism p r o d u c t . So, t o decrease unemployment in a c o u n t r y , tourism i s a good investment (depending on c o u n t r y , r e g i o n , or p l a c e ) and when t o u r i s m i s improved, the economic s t r u c t u r e of t h e country i s a l s o improved. Of c o u r s e , t h e r e a r e l i m i t s , you cannot continue i n v e s t i n g in tourism i n d e f i n i t e l y . But for the 1980s, and perhaps for t h e 1 9 9 0 s , i t appears a good p o l i c y . I t i s a l s o important t o ask in what ways w i l l tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s i n o t h e r Western European c o u n t r i e s r e o r g a n i s e themselves. They a r e able t o do s o o n l y , when a n d i f t h e i r respective governments g i v e s u p p o r t and even then they a r e s t i l l dependent on t h e c o - o p e r a t i o n of t h e many s u p p l i e r s in the p r i v a t e s e c t o r . But t h e r e i s a tendency elsewhere to adopt the d i r e c t i o n s d e s c r i b e d h e r e and s i m i l a r s c h e m e s t o t h o s e presented here. The t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n i n a d e s t i n a t i o n r e m a i n s t h e c e n t r a l i n s t i t u t i o n for priming the market and monitoring both the q u a l i t y of the product and the competitiveness of p r i c e s in r e l a t i o n t o the products in i t s own d e s t i n a t i o n and in r e l a t i o n t o developments elsewhere. The tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n i s a l s o r e s p o n s i b l e for the j o i n t promotion of the d e s t i n a t i o n , but only a f t e r a very i n t e n s i v e process of marketing development. This process i n d i c a t e s which type of promotion for which 211

Tourism requires different Management groups, to what extent and in which places needed for a resort, a region or a country.

is

REFERENCES Ministerie van Economische Zaken (Ministry of Economic Affairs) (1979) Nota Toeristisch Beleid, Staatsuitgeverij, Den Haag Ministerie van Economische Zaken (Ministry of Economic Affairs) (1984) Nota Toeristisch Beleid, Staatsuitgeverij, Den Haag

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Chapter 14 TOURIST IMAGES: MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS G r e g o r y Ashworth and B r i a n G o o d a l l

COMPETITION IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

Tourism i s a growth i n d u s t r y , and h o l i d a y t a k i n g i s an e s t a b l i s h e d h a b i t . The l o n g - t e r m t r e n d i s f o r t h e n u m b e r of d o m e s t i c a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t s t o i n c r e a s e and t h e p r o s p e c t f o r t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s , whether c o u n t r i e s , r e g i o n s or r e s o r t s , seems s e t f a i r . However, the competition t o e n t i c e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s t o take a p a r t i c u l a r type of holiday or v i s i t a p a r t i c u l a r destination is intense. The c a p a c i t y t o produce tourism products and s e r v i c e s , t h a t i s t h e h o l i d a y p a c k a g e , must be e s t a b l i s h e d ahead of t h e time t h e holiday-maker a r r i v e s a t t h e d e s t i n a t i o n . Having i n v e s t e d in t h e n e c e s s a r y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e and f a c i l i t i e s i t i s e s s e n t i a l from t h e v i e w p o i n t of t h e t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s in the d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n , both p u b l i c and p r i v a t e s e c t o r , t h a t a s t e a d y flow of t o u r i s t s is received. However, the marketing of t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s d i f f e r s i n some i m p o r t a n t r e s p e c t s from t h e m a r k e t i n g of o t h e r goods and s e r v i c e s , and an awareness of t h e s e d i f f e r e n c e s i s important in a successful promotion of t h e images of t o u r i s t p l a c e s . I t can be a r g u e d t h a t t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y of s t o r i n g , t r a n s p o r t i n g and t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e t o u r i s m p r o d u c t , which must be consumed a t the moment and p o i n t of production or be w a s t e d , and c o n s e q u e n t l y t h e s h o r t - t e r m i n f l e x i b i l i t y of tourism production in terms of the n a t u r e , q u a n t i t y , and place of p r o d u c t i o n , r e n d e r s a matching of supply and demand more c r i t i c a l , and t h u s m a r k e t i n g t o a c h i e v e s u c h a m a t c h more important. Although t h i s s i m p l e p o i n t i s w e l l taken and j u s t i f i e s r e l a t i v e l y h i g h p r o m o t i o n a l e x p e n d i t u r e by t o u r i s m p r o d u c e r s , t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y s h a r e s t h e s e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w i t h many o t h e r p l a c e - b o u n d s e r v i c e s i n t h e p u b l i c and private sectors. 213

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s Tourism p r o d u c t s , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h i n a g i v e n h o l i d a y type such as‘ s u n , sea and sand’ or w i n t e r skiing, are r e l a t i v e l y s u b s t i t u t a b l e . Destination a r e a s must t h e r e f o r e compete in t h e market p l a c e for customers: b r o a d c a s t i n g t h e i r a b i l i t y t o s a t i s f y t h e h o l i d a y r e q u i r e m e n t s of p o t e n t i a l tourists. T h i s i s d o n e by g e n e r a t i n g a n d t r a n s m i t t i n g a‘ f a v o u r a b l e 1 image t o which t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t i s exposed i n h i s or h e r home region. However, in terms of image promotion t h e most troublesome c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of tourism i s t h e d i f f i c u l t y of d e f i n i n g both product and customer, and c l e a r l y the s u c c e s s f u l promotion of d e s t i n a t i o n images presupposes a knowledge of what p r e c i s e l y i s t o be promoted and t o whom. The f a c t t h a t many p r o m o t i o n campaigns in t h i s f i e l d have n e g l e c t e d t h e s e q u e s t i o n s , perhaps because they a r e d i f f i c u l t t o a n s w e r , e x p l a i n s t h e a b u n d a n c e of v a g u e , g e n e r a l i s e d , and t h u s i n e f f e c t i v e g e o g r a p h i c a l m a r k e t i n g of which t h e r e a r e t o o many examples, e . g . the n o r t h e r n Netherlands (Veen & Voogd, 1987). This search for d e f i n i t i o n on both the supply and demand s i d e s s h o u l d n o t be d i s m i s s e d a s a n o b s e s s i v e a c a d e m i c p u r s u i t of u n n e c e s s a r y a b s t r a c t i o n s , even though too much r e s e a r c h e f f o r t in tourism has sought taxonomic c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s for t h e i r own sake r a t h e r than for t h e i r e x p l a n a t o r y value. Ashworth and de Haan (1986a) have argued e x p l i c i t l y a g a i n s t t h e s e a p p r o a c h e s , and more b r o a d l y t h e theme of t h i s book i s an i m p l i c i t c r i t i c i s m of a t t e m p t s t o i s o l a t e and d e f i n e e i t h e r t h e t o u r i s m f a c i l i t y or the t o u r i s t except in r e l a t i o n t o each o t h e r . The d e s t i n a t i o n i m a g e s may be c o n v e y e d d i r e c t l y t o the p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s 1 home r e g i o n s by a d v e r t i s i n g and by e s t a b l i s h i n g tourism information offices. T h i s o f t e n o c c u r s where a government o r g a n i s a t i o n r e p r e s e n t s the tourism i n t e r e s t s of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a ; for example, t h e work of t h e B r i t i s h T o u r i s t A u t h o r i t y a b r o a d which i s e s s e n t i a l l y a‘ c o m e t o B r i t a i n ’ campaign e x t o l l i n g t h e v i r t u e s of a wide r a n g e of p l a c e s and of holiday a c t i v i t i e s throughout t h e c o u n t r y . Whilst such a c t i v i t y c o n t r i b u t e s t o the information a v a i l a b l e t o p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s i t i s not u s u a l l y p r e s e n t e d i n t h e form of a p u r c h a s a b l e h o l i d a y package. The d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a ’ s v i e w p o i n t t h e r e f o r e does not hold c e n t r e s t a g e in the t o u r i s t - g e n e r a t i n g r e g i o n and t h e image i t p r o j e c t s i s n o t t h e c r i t i c a l one in t h e t o u r i s t ’ s h o l i d a y choice. I t i s the holiday t h a t i s marketed, not 214

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing Considerations t h e image of the d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a . The s i g n i f i c a n t element underpinning e f f e c t i v e m a r k e t i n g of h o l i d a y s i s t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e commercial t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y . Marketing i s via a d i s t r i b u t i o n system whose functions a r e ( i ) t o make i n f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e t o the r i g h t people a t the r i g h t t i m e and i n t h e r i g h t p l a c e t o a l l o w a holiday purchase d e c i s i o n t o be made, and ( i i ) t o provide a means whereby the consumer can book and pay for the holiday (Mill & Morrison, 1985). Thus i t is d i s t r i b u t i o n , primarily a private sector a c t i v i t y in the case of tourism, which b r i d g e s the gap between the supply of and demand for h o l i d a y s . To do t h i s the tourism i n d u s t r y depends, much more than in o t h e r i n d u s t r i e s , on s a l e s i n t e r m e d i a r i e s , t o u r o p e r a t o r s i n p a r t i c u l a r , who p a c k a g e complementary t o u r i s m s e r v i c e s (travel, accommodation, e x c u r s i o n s , e t c . ) i n t o i n c l u s i v e t o u r s designed t o s a t i s f y the t o u r i s t ’ s need for a holiday e x p e r i e n c e . These h o l i d a y s a r e promoted in a brochure and sold through r e t a i l t r a v e l a g e n t s . C o m p e t i t i o n between t o u r o p e r a t o r s , not between d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s , i s the most s i g n i f i c a n t a s p e c t of t h e market in t o u r i s t - g e n e r a t i n g r e g i o n s . Any competition between d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s i s subsumed i n t o the competition between t o u r o p e r a t o r s . Tour o p e r a t o r s a r e t h e front-line o r g a n i s a t i o n s , the r i s k - t a k e r s , but competition between them i s n o t j u s t on t h e b a s i s of what d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s have t o o f f e r . Since many tour o p e r a t o r s o f f e r h o l i d a y s t o t h e same d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s , competition r e f l e c t s o t h e r a s p e c t s of t h e i r s e r v i c e as w e l l , such as p r i c e . Moreover, w h i l s t t o u r o p e r a t o r s do compete in r e s p e c t of the range of holiday d e s t i n a t i o n s t h e y each o f f e r , a t o u r o p e r a t o r ’ s a l l e g i a n c e t o any p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n i s t e n u o u s – i t h o l d s o n l y so l o n g a s i t i s sufficiently profitable! Thus t h e r e e x i s t s a dichotomy i n t o u r i s m marketing. On the one hand t h e r e i s the promotion of d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s by i n d i g e n o u s t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s , emphasizing the a t t r a c t i o n s of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a r a t h e r t h a n p a r t i c u l a r holiday p a c k a g e s per s e . On the o t h e r hand t h e r e i s the p r o m o t i o n of h o l i d a y o p p o r t u n i t i e s by t o u r o p e r a t o r s who a d v e r t i s e widely the holiday packages they offer. The l a t t e r have a c l e a r l y d e f i n e d market – the f i n a l consumers – but q u e s t i o n s must be r a i s e d a s t o t h e a p p r o p r i a t e market t o w a r d s which t h e promotional a c t i v i t e s of d e s t i n a t i o n area t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s should be d i r e c t e d in the 215

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s tourist-generating regions. Is i t the general p u b l i c in such r e g i o n s a t whom t h e promotion should be t a r g e t e d ? Or i s i t more important t o convince t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r s and o t h e r t o u r i s m s a l e s i n t e r m e d i a r i e s t h a t a given d e s t i n a t i o n area i s a d e s i r a b l e l o c a t i o n for a h o l i d a y package t o be sold by t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r ? IMAGES AND MARKETING

The c e n t r a l i m p o r t a n c e of i m a g e s i n t h e b r i n g i n g t o g e t h e r of t h e t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n and t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t has been mentioned a number of times i n t h e preceding c h a p t e r s . S t a b l e r (Chp. 9) has t r i e d t o i n t r o d u c e h e d o n i c p r i c i n g i n t o economic demand models, both Ashworth (Chp. 10) and Brown (Chp. 11) a r e concerned with t h e t r a n s l a t i o n of t h e f a c i l i t i e s of t h e t o u r i s t r e s o r t , of one s o r t or a n o t h e r , i n t o a marketable p r o d u c t , while Buck (Chp. 4 ) , Bowes (Chp. 5) and Kosters (Chp. 13) i n v e s t i g a t e d e t a i l s of t h e o p e r a t i o n of such markets. All these are p a r t i a l a n a l y s e s in t h a t a s p e c t s of a much more c o m p r e h e n s i v e model a r e being a p p l i e d t o p a r t of t h e tourism system. The theme of t h i s book as a whole i s anchored firmly i n t h e idea of the promotion of d e s t i n a t i o n r e g i o n s , and t h u s t h e t h r e e r e l a t e d , b u t n o t synonymous, p r o c e s s e s of p l a c e image c r e a t i o n , p l a c e promotion and p l a c e marketing a r e seen as t h e e s s e n t i a l l i n k s matching t h e t o u r i s m p r o d u c t and t h e t o u r i s t e x p e r i e n c e – t h e h o l i d a y and t h e individual. The importance of t h i s s y n t h e s i s i n p r o v i d i n g c o h e r e n c e i n an o t h e r w i s e h i g h l y disparate topic deserves closer attention. P r e v i o u s a t t e m p t s t o find a workable i n t e g r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t o u r i s m have b o r r o w e d e x p l a n a t o r y frameworks from economic a n a l y s i s (Lundberg, 1976), the psychology of needs ( S m i t h , 1977) and even t h e s o c i o l o g y of g r o u p behaviour (Cohen, 1979). The i n t e g r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e of t h i s book i s s i m i l a r l y borrowed, in t h i s case from marketing s c i e n c e , in which a s e t of concepts a r e combined in a philosophy t h a t i n c l u d e s , but i s more t h a n , a p r o c e d u r a l technique of o r g a n i s a t i o n and p l a n n i n g . In the same way t h a t the s u c c e s s , or o t h e r w i s e , of previous approaches has depended t o a l a r g e e x t e n t upon an understanding of t h e i r b a s i c c o n c e p t s as a n e c e s s a r y p r e l i m i n a r y t o an a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e procedures they g e n e r a t e t o a new s i t u a t i o n , so a l s o d o e s a s u c c e s s f u l u s e of 216

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations marketing techniques in tourism presuppose a redefinition of some of its basic elements in the light of this new approach. If marketing is the‘continuous and permanent orientation of the production process to the needs of c o n s u m e r s as e x p r e s s e d through m a r k e t transactions’ (Kotler, 1986), then tourism supply, broadly interpreted to include the entire packet of facilities, whether ostensibly produced for tourism or not, becomes the product, and the tourist, the customer. The translation of such ideas from the selling of physical products by commercial firms for short-term profit, to the tourism market where the product is frequently a service, or even less tangibly an experience, and the firm often a public enterprise with long-term and welfare objectives, was made possible by the development of four concepts in the course of the 1970s, viz.‘ s o c i a l marketing’, where the objective is to influence behaviour other than purely consumer behaviour; ‘socially responsible marketing’, where the longer term interests of the customers, or society as a whole, are built into the notion of profit;‘ n o n business marketing’, for organisations with public responsibilities; and‘ i m a g e marketing’, where images are sold without direct reference to particular physical products. The four concepts combined make possible the idea of‘ p l a c e ’or ‘geographical m a r k e t i n g ’(Ashworth & Voogd, 1986) and thus u n d e r p i n the c o n c e p t of t o u r i s t destination images and the process of tourism destination promotion. The content of the tourist destination image is necessarily diffuse but need be neither vague nor contradictory. In Chapter 10 the historic city was considered as a marketable product where buildings, solid physical objects created for many different p u r p o s e s , were t r a n s f o r m e d into ‘ h e r i t a g e ’an idea compounded of many different emotions, including nostalgia, romanticism, aesthetic pleasure, and a sense of belonging in time and space. There is no contradiction here implicit in the promotion of ideas through physical objects (any motor car salesman does the same) but unlike many products the city is multi-sold. The same city is sold to many different customers for different uses, by means of different images. Nor is the problem solvable, as has been pointed out in Norwich, by market segmentation in a physical sense, as the historic city is principally a way of viewing the urban experience as a whole, not a 217

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations

p h y s i c a l l y d e l i m i t e d d i s t r i c t t h a t c a n be s e p a r a t e l y packaged. The same d i f f i c u l t i e s apply i n a l l t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s t h a t a r e n o t monofunctional, including seaside resorts, rural t o u r i s t a r e a s , and l a r g e m e t r o p o l i t a n c i t i e s . The m u l t i - f u n c t i o n a l n a t u r e of t h e t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n i s p a r a l l e l e d on the demand s i d e by the m u l t i - m o t i v a t e d consumer. I t j u s t i s not p o s s i b l e t o segment p o t e n t i a l c u s t o m e r s i n t o large homogeneous groups t o which l a b e l s such as ‘tourist’,‘ r e s i d e n t ’ , ‘ b u s i n e s s visitor’, ‘ e x c u r s i o n i s t ’ and the l i k e can be a t t a c h e d . The p u r s u i t of t h i s c h i m e r a , which h a s o c c u p i e d t h e a t t e n t i o n s of many r e s e a r c h e r s , c o n t r i b u t e s no u s e f u l d e f i n i t i o n of t a r g e t g r o u p s t o m a r k e t i n g . The u s e r s of the d e s t i n a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s a r e v a r i e d and r e c r e a t i o n o r t o u r i s m a r e m o t i v e s of t h e moment, d e f i n i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l customer a t t h a t p o i n t i n time a l o n e . This phenomenon of the m u l t i ¬ motivated u s e r may be more or l e s s s e l f - e v i d e n t i n t h e m u l t i - f u n c t i o n a l c i t y , b u t even i n a s e t of t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s s p e c i f i c a l l y d e v e l o p e d for r e c r e a t i o n such as the Languedoc c o a s t r e s o r t s , i t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e u s e r i s f a r more heterogeneous than the simple d e s i g n a t i o n ‘ t o u r i s t ’ i m p l i e s (Ashworth & de Haan, 1987). To whom then should t h e i m a g e be p r o m o t e d , o r , u s i n g m a r k e t i n g terminology: c a n t a r g e t g r o u p s of p o t e n t i a l customers be i d e n t i f i e d and which image should be promoted t o which segment of t h e market? THE MARKETING DIMENSION

T o u r i s t s need information about d e s t i n a t i o n s s o t h e y c a n make a c h o i c e . Herein l i e the o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p r o m o t i o n by t h e t o u r i s m industry. Marketing seeks t o i d e n t i f y p o t e n t i a l c u s t o m e r s ’ d e s i r e s ; t o meet t h o s e d e s i r e s from e x i s t i n g or newly-developed r e s o u r c e s ; to communicate t o t h e c u s t o m e r s , d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y , t h e a t t r a c t i o n of t h e p r o d u c t ; t o f a c i l i t a t e p u r c h a s e ; and t o secure s a t i s f a c t i o n for t h e consumer ( O ’ D r i s c o l l , 1 9 8 5 ) . Successful marketing r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e product i s t a i l o r e d t o a c c u r a t e l y i d e n t i f i e d p a t t e r n s of d e m a n d . M a r k e t i n g i s t h e r e f o r e a process of communication between buyer and s e l l e r : i t s goal in t h e case of t o u r i s m p r o m o t i o n b e i n g t h e m o d i f i c a t i o n of t o u r i s t s ’ b e h a v i o u r – namely, t o p e r s u a d e t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t t o make a h o l i d a y purchase where 218

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing Considerations none was made b e f o r e ; t o induce a change in holiday b e h a v i o u r by g e t t i n g t h e t o u r i s t t o p u r c h a s e a d i f f e r e n t d e s t i n a t i o n or t y p e of h o l i d a y ; or t o r e i n f o r c e t h e t o u r i s t ’ s e x i s t i n g b e h a v i o u r by maintaining the purchase of a given holiday ‘brand’ (Mill & Morrison, 1985). How does t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y s e t about changing t h e images p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s hold of a d e s t i n a t i o n in order t o i n c r e a s e t h e l i k e l i h o o d of t h o s e p e r s o n s v i s i t i n g t h a t destination? Marketing a c t i v i t y i n the tourism industry The t o u r i s m p r o d u c t – t h e h o l i d a y – i s an amalgam of s e v e r a l p r o d u c t s and s e r v i c e s , t h e i n d i v i d u a l components of which a r e u s u a l l y supplied by d i f f e r e n t f i r m s . P o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s may be vague about the d e s t i n a t i o n for t h e i r coming y e a r ’ s h o l i d a y and from t h e m a r k e t i n g v i e w p o i n t t h e p r o b l e m i s one of e s t a b l i s h i n g a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n as a unique place o f f e r i n g p a r t i c u l a r b e n e f i t s t o s a t i s f y the t o u r i s t ’ s needs. Various o r g a n i s a t i o n s w i t h i n the tourism i n d u s t r y w i l l be i n v o l v e d i n t h a t p a r t of t h e m a r k e t i n g p r o c e s s which i s designed t o make a v a i l a b l e information on d e s t i n a t i o n s and h o l i d a y s , t h a t i s , t o c r e a t e t h e p r o d u c e r or‘ s u p p l y image’. Indeed the o r g a n i s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e of t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y i n t r o d u c e s c e r t a i n p e c u l i a r i t i e s in the promotion of t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n images a s compared t o t h e u s u a l m a r k e t i n g model t h a t was developed for the s e l l i n g of goods and s e r v i c e s by p r o f i t – m a k i n g p r i v a t e companies i n which t h e e n t i r e marketing procedure was under the o r g a n i s a t i o n a l c o n t r o l of the firm. The m a r k e t i n g of t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n images i n v o l v e s n o t o n l y t h e p r o m o t e r s of t h e p r o d u c t s of a l a r g e number of q u i t e d i f f e r e n t p r o d u c e r s , whose i n d i v i d u a l s h a r e i n t h e t o t a l package may be small (as Brown has s t r e s s e d in Chp. 11) but f r e q u e n t l y a l s o an i n s t i t u t i o n a l h i a t u s between t h o s e r e s p o n s i b l e for production and for promotion. Most p r o d u c t i o n of t o u r i s t accommodation and c a t e r i n g i s performed by p r i v a t e companies, or i n t h e c a s e of much t o u r i s t t r a v e l , e s p e c i a l l y i n c l u s i v e t o u r s , by p u b l i c l y - o w n e d companies o r t h e i r s u b s i d i a r i e s t h a t a c t in much the same way as private concerns. Promotion, especially g e n e r a l i s e d p l a c e promotion, however, i s u s u a l l y the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , or p u b l i c 219

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s and semi-public bodies such as r e g i o n a l or n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t boards. In t h i s r e s p e c t tourism i s almost unique. Those promoting t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s a r e not r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e management of t h e s e r v i c e s they a r e marketing, and only i n d i r e c t l y p r o f i t from t h e s u c c e s s of t h e p r o m o t i o n . Conversely those engaged in t h e commercial p r o v i s i o n of t h e tourism p r o d u c t in the d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a a r e g e n e r a l l y too small and too d i s t a n t t o a p p r e c i a b l y i n f l u e n c e t h e n a t u r e of t h e promotion of t h a t p r o d u c t , which i s l i k e l y t o be h i g h l y g e n e r a l i s e d . T o u r i s t b o a r d s and s i m i l a r d e s t i n a t i o n o r g a n i s a t i o n s aim t h e i r promotional a c t i v i t i e s a t b o t h t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t and t h e t r a v e l t r a d e . I n t h e t o u r i s t ’ s home c o u n t r y t h e i r m e d i a a d v e r t i s i n g h i g h l i g h t s a t t r a c t i o n s of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n area and i n d i c a t e s t h e e x i s t e n c e of a n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t o f f i c e or agency. Such o f f i c e s provide information and advice t o p e r s o n a l c a l l e r s and i n answer t o p o s t a l e n q u i r i e s , a s w e l l a s offering i l l u s t r a t e d talks to voluntary s o c i e t i e s and c l u b s . Most i m p o r t a n t , h o w e v e r , i s t h e approach t o u r i s t boards make t o t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r travel trade. T h i s i n v o l v e s v a r i o u s promotional a c t i v i t i e s , f o r e x a m p l e , t o u r i s m workshops and f a m i l i a r i s a t i o n v i s i t s designed t o a c q u a i n t t o u r o p e r a t o r s and t r a v e l a g e n t s with t h e d e s t i n a t i o n ’ s tourism p r o d u c t s . If s u c c e s s f u l t h e outcome i s t h e i n c l u s i o n of h o l i d a y s t o t h a t d e s t i n a t i o n in a t o u r operator’s brochure. Destination area tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s a l s o play an‘ a t - h o m e ’ p r o m o t i o n a l r o l e o n c e t o u r i s t s h a v e a r r i v e d by p r o v i d i n g information on forthcoming e v e n t s and p e r s u a d i n g v i s i t o r s t o p a r t i c i p a t e in a d d i t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s . H o w e v e r , few d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s d i r e c t l y market h o l i d a y s i n t o u r i s t generating countries. The l a t t e r i s n o r m a l l y undertaken by t o u r o p e r a t o r s whose b a s e , more often than n o t , i s in t h e g e n e r a t i n g country and who use a v a r i e t y of a d v e r t i s i n g media. Their a d v e r t i s i n g message c o n c e n t r a t e s on t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y of t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r s ’ b r o c h u r e s and may i n d i c a t e any ‘ s p e c i a l o f f e r s ’ a v a i l a b l e but (other than for d i r e c t - s e l l tour operators) t r a v e l agents are involved in the d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e b r o c h u r e s . The t r a v e l agent f r e q u e n t l y p r o v i d e s t h e i n i t i a l p o i n t of c o n t a c t between t h e t r a d e and t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t and where t h e l a t t e r i s u n s u r e of t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s ( i . e . t h e o p p o r t u n i t y s e t ) t h e agent may be i n s t r u m e n t a l in c o n d i t i o n i n g t h e t o u r i s t ’ s images of d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s . 220

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s The c o n t r a s t has been drawn between market¬ o r i e n t a t e d management p h i l o s o p h i e s and p r a c t i c e s , and t h o s e which a r e b e s t d e s c r i b e d in a Weberian s e n s e a s b u r e a u c r a t i c , i . e . g o v e r n e d by norms i n t r i n s i c t o the o r g a n i s a t i o n i t s e l f , by Ashworth (Chp. 10) from e m p i r i c a l s t u d i e s of t h e o p e r a t i o n of p u b l i c s e c t o r t o u r i s m m a n a g e m e n t , and i s i m p l i c i t i n t h e c o n t r a s t i n g a p p r o a c h e s of Buck ( C h p . 4) and Bowes (Chp. 5 ) . The p o i n t b e i n g s t r e s s e d here i s not t h a t one or o t h e r of t h e s e two approaches i s more s u i t a b l e for tourism management but t h a t the marketing of t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s has t h e i n t r i n s i c d i f f i c u l t y of accommodating b o t h . In m a r k e t i n g as a p l a n n i n g p r o c e d u r e , p r o m o t i o n i s of c o u r s e o n l y a s i n g l e s t a g e , dependent upon the adequate completion of preceding s t a g e s , i n c l u d i n g the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e product and i t s ‘ p o s i t i o n i n g ’ i n r e l a t i o n t o competing p r o d u c t s ( D i e t v o r s t , 1981 w r i t e s of ‘ g e o g r a p h i c a l p o s i t i o n i n g ’ ) , t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e t a r g e t consumer groups and the r e s u l t i n g ‘ s e g m e n t a t i o n ’ of t h e market, and t h e‘ a u d i t i n g ’ t h a t r e l a t e s t h e m a r k e t s i t u a t i o n as r e v e a l e d t o t h e p r o d u c i n g o r g a n i s a t i o n (Ashworth & Voogd, 1987). Promotion can t h e n be seen as one a s p e c t of the ‘ m a r k e t i n g mix’, instigated at t h i s point in the ‘ m a r k e t i n g p l a n ’ . If promotion i s defined as t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p r o d u c t t o p o t e n t i a l consumers, in such a way t h a t a c t u a l consumption i s achieved, then the image of t h e p r o d u c t , i n t h i s case the t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n , or more p r e c i s e l y the d e s t i n a t i o n as a l o c a t i o n of t h e p a r t i c u l a r t o u r i s t e x p e r i e n c e d e s i r e d by c u s t o m e r s , i s o b v i o u s l y important. I t i s useful t h e r e f o r e t o d i s t i n g u i s h between t h e t h r e e d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s of t h e u s e of such images in p r o m o t i o n , v i z . t h e i r c r e a t i o n or p r o j e c t i o n , t h e i r t r a n s m i s s i o n and t h e i r r e c e p t i o n , each of w h i c h , d e s p i t e t h e i r o b v i o u s f u n c t i o n a l l i n k s , i s c o n t r o l l e d by a s e p a r a t e s e t of v a r i a b l e s and thus needs a s e p a r a t e a n a l y s i s . IMAGE PROJECTION

T o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n i m a g e s c r e a t e d and p r o j e c t e d by tourism a g e n c i e s , a t v a r i o u s s p a t i a l s c a l e s , have been i n v e s t i g a t e d by a number of r e s e a r c h e r s (such as Dann 1976; Crompton 1979) and form a p a r t of a l i n e of geographical i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o place p e r c e p t i o n which has a 20-year p e d i g r e e . 221

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations Three main problem areas emerge from such research. The most important is that the images projected by the destination agencies, what can be termed the ‘ o f f i c i a l ’ image, are not the most important source of ideas about the tourist destinations held by the potential visitor, indeed in quantitative terms it may be r e l a t i v e l y insignificant. The images shaped by the news media, by the personal experience of the visitor on p r e v i o u s h o l i d a y s and by the s e c o n d - h a n d experiences of personal contacts of the potential visitors, have emerged in many studies as far more important than the publicity emanating from the tourist destination itself. This need be no disadvantage as long as there is no serious conflict between sources, but in practice much official (destination-area) tourism promotion is ‘defensive’, that is endeavouring to correct or counterbalance images obtained elsewhere. A second difficulty concerns the selection of elements in the image and its relationship to the more fundamental goals of the marketing exercise. The effectiveness of a destination image is dependent upon the ease of its recognition and its conformity to the predisposition of the recipient. Clarity, simplicity and a minimum of dissonance with pre-existing prejudices are the essence of success. The objectives of the marketing exercise, however, may determine that image promotion be used as an instrument for encouraging the tourism industry in new directions, rather than merely reinforcing existing patterns. The place images needed for‘selective demarketing’,‘remarketing’, ‘ stimulational marketing’and many other forms of marketing will be far less immediately acceptable. The Norwich dilemma, to refer to one example of many (Berkers, et.al., 1986), is whether to project the simple recognisable and expected image based on the three most well-known symbols of the historic city, or to project the less acceptable and more complex image of a spatially and functionally more varied tourist destination and thus further the deconcentration and diversification aims of the city’s planning policies. A third general problem is that of conflict, or at best a lack of complementarity, between images projected by different destinations in the same region, and even on occasion between images for the same destinations projected by different agencies. One variant of this problem is that of spatial scale, when, as is usual in tourism 222

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing Considerations marketing, d i f f e r e n t a u t h o r i t i e s a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e t o u r i s t images a t n a t i o n a l , r e g i o n a l and local levels. F i n a l l y t h o s e c r e a t i n g a l l product marketing images must make a choice between t h e s p e c i f i c and the general. The former runs the r i s k of c r e a t i n g a gap between the promise and the r e a l i t y , quickly discovered when the t o u r i s t s ’ e x p e c t a t i o n s a r e not met. Although i t has never been q u a n t i f i e d , t h e i d e a t h a t tourism s e r v i c e s g e n e r a t e a higher than a v e r a g e l e v e l of c o m p l a i n t and t h u s c u s t o m e r d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n can be a t t r i b u t e d in p a r t t o t h i s . The a l t e r n a t i v e , and s a f e r option i s t o p r o j e c t an image so g e n e r a l i s e d as t o f a i l t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e t h e d e s t i n a t i o n b e i n g promoted from many o t h e r s o f f e r i n g the same broad package of e x p e r i e n c e s . IMAGE TRANSMISSION

Once an image of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n region has been c r e a t e d by t h e r e l e v a n t tourism a u t h o r i t i e s i t m u s t be s u c c e s s f u l l y t r a n s m i t t e d t o p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s through whatever media a r e a p p r o p r i a t e . I t i s c u r i o u s t h a t far l e s s a t t e n t i o n i s g e n e r a l l y paid t o t h i s s t a g e i n t h e p r o c e s s compared w i t h i m a g e c r e a t i o n , a n d t h e m o n i t o r i n g of t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t r a n s m i s s i o n i s f r e q u e n t l y neglected. Yet i t i s p r e c i s e l y during t h i s stage t h a t the ‘ o f f i c i a l ’ d e s i r e d images have t o compete for the a t t e n t i o n of r e c i p i e n t s with the s o - c a l l e d ‘ n o i s e ’ o r message i n t e r f e r e n c e from t h e o t h e r sources of information and i d e a s . O b v i o u s l y t o u r i s t s need i n f o r m a t i o n b e f o r e t h e y c a n c h o o s e a h o l i d a y and t h e y o b t a i n information, by e x t e r n a l s e a r c h , from both formal and i n f o r m a l s o u r c e s , i . e . commercial and s o c i a l environments, and which go beyond t h e m a r k e t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d by t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y itself. The i n d u s t r y w i l l always have t o contend w i t h t h e f a c t t h a t t o u r i s t s 1 images, p a r t i c u l a r l y naive images of d e s t i n a t i o n s , a r e a l s o conditioned by o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n and e x p e r i e n c e s . Even for information d i r e c t l y a s s o c i a t e d with holiday o p p o r t u n i t i e s , t h e i n d u s t r y ’ s m a r k e t i n g message w i l l be in competition with i n f o r m a t i o n t o u r i s t s r e c e i v e from t h e i r s o c i a l e n v i r o n m e n t , e . g . opinions and a c t i o n s of f r i e n d s , r e l a t i v e s and peer r e f e r e n c e g r o u p s . Tourism o r g a n i s a t i o n s t h e r e f o r e need t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e i r m a r k e t i n g m e s s a g e , t a r g e t e d a t p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s , c o n t a i n s the type 223

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s and q u a l i t y of information the t o u r i s t can r e a d i l y absorb (Mill & Morrison, 1985). The promotional message must be d i s t i n c t i v e , y e t e a s i l y u n d e r s t o o d and b e l i e v a b l e , w h e t h e r conveyed t o t h e t a r g e t a u d i e n c e by a d v e r t i s i n g , p u b l i c i t y , s a l e s promotion or p e r s o n a l s e l l i n g . To reach t h e t r a v e l t r a d e d e s t i n a t i o n - b a s e d t o u r i s m o r g a n i s a t i o n s use a d v e r t i s i n g in the t r a d e p r e s s , distribute publicity materials (newsletters, i n f o r m a t i o n m a n u a l s ) , promote s a l e s via p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t r a d e shows and p e r s o n a l s e l l i n g v i a f a m i l i a r i s a t i o n v i s i t s . To reach t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s both d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a o r g a n i s a t i o n s and t o u r o p e r a t o r s u s e g e n e r a l media a d v e r t i s i n g (newspapers, t e l e v i s i o n , e t c . ) a s w e l l a s t r a v e l p o s t e r s , d i s t r i b u t e publicity material largely in t h e f o r m of b r o c h u r e s , p r o m o t e s a l e s b y c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t r a v e l e x h i b i t i o n s open t o t h e p u b l i c , and emphasize p e r s o n a l s e l l i n g v i a enquiry and i n f o r m a t i o n s e r v i c e s , i n c l u d i n g t r a v e l agencies. Advertising, e s p e c i a l l y in newspapers and m a g a z i n e s , a c c o u n t s f o r o v e r h a l f of t h e i n d u s t r y ’ s promotional e x p e n d i t u r e and most of t h e ‘consumer l i t e r a t u r e ’ ( i . e . t h e brochures) which provide t h e b a s i s of s a l e s support i s published by t o u r o p e r a t o r s (Schmoll, 1977). The m a r k e t i n g m e s s a g e s e e k s t o c o n v i n c e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s of t h e d e s i r a b i l i t y of a p a r t i c u l a r t o u r i s m p r o d u c t o r d e s t i n a t i o n by c r e a t i n g a supply image which i s p o s i t i v e in terms of q u a l i t y , p r i c e , d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s and a v a i l a b i l i t y . These elements a r e b u i l d i n g blocks or i n p u t s , termed s i g n i f i c a t i v e s t i m u l i ( M i l l & Morrison, 1985), of t h e marketing message. Various ‘ t e c h n i c a l ’ p l o y s a r e used t o c o m m u n i c a t e t h e message e f f e c t i v e l y . For example, in a d v e r t i s i n g h o l i d a y s l a r g e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s give an impression of q u a l i t y (because s i z e i s often equated with q u a l i t y and t h e l a r g e r t h e t o u r o p e r a t o r , h o t e l or c r u i s e l i n e r t h e b e t t e r the s e r v i c e i s perceived t o b e ) . S i m i l a r l y t h e u s e of c o l o u r i n a d v e r t i s e m e n t s a t t r a c t s more a t t e n t i o n t h a n b l a c k and w h i t e . I n t e n s i t y , m o v e m e n t , p o s i t i o n , c o n t r a s t and i s o l a t i o n are further factors contributing to e f f e c t i v e a d v e r t i s i n g (Mill & Morrison, 1985). The image t r a n s m i t t e d for any d e s t i n a t i o n area a l s o r e l a t e s t o t h e d i s t a n c e ( s ) s e p a r a t i n g i t from tourist-generating areas. The d o m e s t i c t o u r i s t l i v i n g in s o u t h - e a s t England may p e r c e i v e c l e a r l y t h e d i f f e r e n c e between London’s West End and t h e City but not so t h e p o t e n t i a l v i s i t o r from, s a y , 224

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations Australia. Wherever the tourism industry is able to recognise similarities and differences between tourist-generating areas the opportunity exists for collaborative marketing by destinations in some markets whilst maintaining individual promotion in others (Hunt, 1975). Thus tourist resorts and regions in Great Britain may combine to promote ‘Britain’ in the North American market but within the country individual seaside resorts market themselves independently. Furthermore the image projected of a given destination could vary between tourist-generating areas in which it is marketed, as with the marketing of Britain in Australia on the basis of kinship and historical ties but in The Netherlands on the basis of its physical and scenic diversity. Therefore different markets may be allocated different proportions of the destination area’s promotional budget. Research into the transmission of tourist destination images has stressed two particular difficulties. First, a very large proportion of the publicity effort is only accessible to tourists after most of the fundamental choices about holiday destinations have been made. It is much easier to transmit information within the originating town or region than in the place of residence of the potential visitor. Potential visitors to any one holiday destination are widely spread through their home regions which renders it all but impossible to convey more than a highly generalised national or regional image to the undifferentiated general public or even to selected target groups within that potential market. Most official publicity is only in practice available after the important decisions, such as the taking of a holiday, the choice of timing, length, accommodation type, country and probably region, have already been made. It is available on request directly or through distributing agents and thus serves principally to confirm existing expectations and influences only details of holiday behaviour within the chosen destination. Secondly the effectiveness of the transmission even to actual visitors is low. For example research in the important tourist-historic city of Norwich on the role of the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) as a means of transmitting information to existing visitors revealed that only 16 per cent of all visitors made any use of its services during their visit, despite the fact that it was located close to the main tourist attractions, and offered 225

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations a wide range of information services, largely free of charge (Ashworth & de Haan, 1 9 8 6 b ) . The effectiveness of TICs varies according to a range of visitor variables with use being positively influenced by length of stay, lack of previous visits to the city and distance travelled, but it is equally clear that only a minority of all types of visitors are being successfully reached by this medium. Similar work on the use of printed publicity information has revealed its low level of effectiveness in tourist destinations as far apart as East Anglia (Ashworth & de Haan, 1986b) and Languedoc (Chp. 9; Ashworth & de Haan, 1987). In both these cases only a minority, and generally a very small minority, of visitors of all types makes any use of p r i n t e d p u b l i c i t y information distributed through the local tourist authorities (8 per cent in N o r w i c h and 2 per cent in Languedoc). Non-official guide book information, such as that published by motoring organisations or commercial publishers, is used by a similarly small minority of visitors, either before or during the visit (9 per cent in East Anglia and 15 per cent in Languedoc). Such use as is made of the printed information s o u r c e s d e c l i n e s r a p i d l y with familiarity with the place, region and country. Thus the official tourism authorities and also independent commentators on the tourist destination are in practice rated well below the experience of the visitor himself, although the experiences of acquaintances, which as Buck (Chp. 4) has pointed out could include commercial travel specialists in the region of residence, can be influential. This in turn has implications for the use of promotion as a means of managing the market and influencing tourist behaviour within the destination region itself. The low effectiveness of transmission determines that tourist images projected by the tourism authorities can frequently do little more t h a n c o n f i r m a n d r e i n f o r c e the e x i s t i n g expectations of the existing market, and attempts to use such images as a planning instrument for managing future tourist behaviour in destination regions or develop new market segments is likely to be extremely difficult.

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T o u r i s t Images: Marketing Considerations Marketing s t r a t e g i e s S i n c e t h e p r o d u c t s o u g h t by t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t c a n be s a t i s f i e d by a n y n u m b e r of d e s t i n a t i o n s , the marketing e f f o r t of the tourism industry r e q u i r e s a g u i d i n g p h i l o s o p h y or o r i e n t a t i o n (Mill & Morrison, 1985). Several o r i e n t a t i o n s a r e p o s s i b l e but not a l l a r e e q u a l l y effective. D e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s a r e often guided by product o r i e n t a t i o n which h i g h l i g h t s t h e p r o d u c t s and services available, such as the areas’ physical, historical and cultural resources. However, where many d e s t i n a t i o n s compete for the same t o u r i s t s t h e e m p h a s i s i s on a s e l l i n g o r i e n t a t i o n : what i s a v a i l a b l e f o r s a l e i n t h e area. Both product and s e l l i n g o r i e n t a t i o n s a r e firmly rooted in supply side considerations. A f u r t h e r development a d o p t s a demand o r i e n t a t i o n where t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of the t o u r i s t s a r e given h i g h e s t p r i o r i t y and the d e s t i n a t i o n area seeks t o p r o v i d e s e r v i c e s t o meet those r e q u i r e m e n t s . But t o aim s o l e l y a t s a t i s f y i n g the needs of t o u r i s t s implies c e r t a i n r i s k s for the host community. Since tourism demand i s heterogeneous market s e g m e n t a t i o n , t h e p r o c e s s by which g r o u p s w i t h s i m i l a r requirements a r e t a r g e t e d i s an a c c e p t e d s t r a t e g y . Segmentation i s p o s s i b l e because: (i) Each group has d i s t i n c t i v e needs and preferences; (ii) Each g r o u p ’ s members have s i m i l a r socio-demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ; (iii) C e r t a i n products w i l l appeal t o some segments of t h e market more t h a n t o o t h e r segments; (iv) Tourism firms can improve the effectiveness of their marketing by developing specific products to cater for specific market segments. Market segmentation can be based on socio-economic variables, e.g. age or life-style segmentation as with the‘Golden O l d i e s ’(over-50s), the 18–30 years age group, and school parties; on productrelated variables, e.g. cruising, adventure holidays, and self-catering accommodation; and on geographic variables, e.g. concentration on a given set of destinations such as long-haul or a specific country. The product life cyle – a concept based on the development of total demand for a product over the 227

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s l i f e t i m e of t h a t p r o d u c t – c a n be a p p l i e d t o d e s t i n a t i o n m a r k e t i n g and w i l l s e r v e a s an a d d i t i o n a l guide t o t a r g e t i n g m a r k e t s . The e a r l y s t a g e s of t h e product l i f e c y c l e correspond t o t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n and adoption of a new p r o d u c t , i n t h i s case a new d e s t i n a t i o n when t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s know l i t t l e o r n o t h i n g a b o u t t h e o p p o r t u n i t y . Marketing’s primary r o l e a t t h i s s t a g e i s t o inform t o u r i s t s of the e x i s t e n c e of t h e o p p o r t u n i t y . With t h e g r o w t h p h a s e of t h e p r o d u c t l i f e c y c l e m a r k e t i n g ’ s r o l e i s t o persuade more t o u r i s t s t o p u r c h a s e a h o l i d a y in a given d e s t i n a t i o n r a t h e r than in one of an i n c r e a s i n g number of d e s t i n a t i o n s offering similar holidays. During the maturity s t a g e of t h e c y c l e , when demand h a s r e a c h e d i t s s a t u r a t i o n l e v e l , marketing needs t o remind t o u r i s t s to continue t o purchase a h o l i d a y in a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n ( r a t h e r than turn to a l t e r n a t i v e d e s t i n a t i o n s and a l t e r n a t i v e t y p e s of holidays). The responses of p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s t o marketing messages w i l l depend upon w h e t h e r t h e s u p p l y s i d e t o u r i s t image of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n and t h e holiday match up t o t h e demand s i d e t o u r i s t image(s). IMAGE RECEPTION

The f i n a l s t a g e i n t h e p r o m o t i o n of t h e d e s t i n a t i o n i m a g e s i s t h e i r r e c e p t i o n by t h e intended t a r g e t groups. Research i n t o t h e p l a c e images a c t u a l l y held by holiday-makers can i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e f o c u s upon t h e n a t u r e and c o n s i s t e n c y of t h e s e images themselves and r e l a t e v a r i a t i o n s t o p a r t i c u l a r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of visitors. The c e n t r a l i m p o r t a n c e of such image f o r m a t i o n i n t h e whole p r o c e s s of g e o g r a p h i c a l marketing n e c e s s i t a t e s s u b s e q u e n t l y t h a t such images be compared with both those p r o j e c t e d by t h e tourism a g e n c i e s , thus monitoring t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t r a n s m i s s i o n , and w i t h t h e e x i s t i n g s u p p l y packet on o f f e r in the p l a c e s concerned, as w e l l as t h e u s e made of t h e s e f a c i l i t i e s i n t h e a c t u a l a c t i v i t i e s of v i s i t o r s . M a r k e t i n g seeks t o ensure p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s a r e exposed t o i n f o r m a t i o n on d e s t i n a t i o n s and holiday o p p o r t u n i t i e s . But exposure t o and use of does not imply e f f e c t i v e n e s s of i n f o r m a t i o n . The t o u r i s t ’ s image of a d e s t i n a t i o n i s not simply a function of the promotional image conveyed b u t an amalgam of images t h a t have evolved on two l e v e l s : 228

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations an organic image, derived from n o n - t o u r i s t information, and an induced image, the result of holiday experiences and conscious promotion by the tourism industry (Gunn, 1972). Tourism marketing may well have to counteract an unfavourable organic image. Although there is some published comparative research on the images of tourist places held by visitors, e.g. the study of a range of national d e s t i n a t i o n s by Dilley ( 1 9 8 6 ) , or of The Netherlands by the National Bureau voor Toerisme (1986) and rather more on inventories of tourism supply and tourist behaviour, only very rarely is the whole interrelated process examined for any one tourist destination. A problem in comparing the projected with the received images is that the methods of measurement and description are likely to be quite different. Projected images are nearly always investigated through some form of content analysis of publicity material, while received images are obtained through attitude questionnaires or tests of the visitors themselves. In addition it is easier to investigate the images held by actual visitors, than to obtain similar information on the images held by those not consuming the tourism product. A notable although small-scale exception is Dietvorst’s (1987) investigation into the image held of the city of Nijmegen by a random sample of respondents drawn from The Netherlands as a whole. More usually only success is being monitored and not failure, while the latter is of equal importance in assessing the efficacy of the transmission and the original projected image. The tourist’s image of a destination is very much influenced by how that individual perceives the message being conveyed. Tourists vary in their sensitivity to information exposure. Much depends on how inclined tourists are to use the information r e c e i v e d , i.e. their information-receiving processes control the quality of the information taken in and the promotional message, however clear its original formulation, is likely to be distorted by perception. Thus if potential tourists have already decided not to holiday in Ireland because of the political situation, their preference to go to Ireland will be low, and hence their sensitivity to information about Ireland. The chances of information being taken in are greatest if the potential tourist already has a preference for the holiday package or destination being marketed. Tourists view the various information sources 229

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s differently. Destination-specific l i t e r a t u r e , which i s n o n - p e r s o n a l , i s g e n e r a l l y regarded as s e r v i n g an informing function whereas o p i n i o n s of f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s and t h e a d v i c e of t r a v e l c o n s u l t a n t s assumes an e v a l u a t i n g or l e g i t i m i z i n g f u n c t i o n ( G i t e l s o n & Crompton, 1 9 8 3 ) . However, where p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s a r e vague about p o s s i b l e d e s t i n a t i o n s and h o l i d a y s t h e r e i s a m a r k e t i n g problem t o e s t a b l i s h a p a r t i c u l a r d e s t i n a t i o n a s t h e unique p l a c e o f f e r i n g v a r i o u s unique b e n e f i t s to s a t i s f y the t o u r i s t s ’ needs. The f a c t t h a t t h e r e i s normally a c o n s i d e r a b l e t i m e - l a g between t h e d e c i s i o n t o book a h o l i d a y and i t s a c t u a l c o n s u m p t i o n g e n e r a t e s f u r t h e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s for misunderstanding, i f not m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . From t h e t o u r i s t ’ s v i e w p o i n t , the c r e d i b i l i t y of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n t h e m a r k e t i n g message i s open t o q u e s t i o n . Nolan (1976), using a semantic d i f f e r e n t i a l approach a c r o s s four d i m e n s i o n s of a u t h e n t i c i t y ( a c c u r a t e - i n a c c u r a t e ) , e v a l u a t i v e ( i n f o r m a t i v e - u n i n f o r m a t i v e ) , personalism ( e x c i t i n g - u n e x c i t i n g ) , and o b j e c t i v i t y ( b i a s e d u n b i a s e d ) , d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t g u i d e b o o k s and o f f i c i a l t o u r i s t board i n f o r m a t i o n s e r v i c e s are s e e n a s t h e most c r e d i b l e s o u r c e s , w i t h t r a v e l a d v e r t i s e m e n t s i n n e w s p a p e r s and m a g a z i n e s t h e least credible. The World Tourism O r g a n i s a t i o n (1985) confirms that national tourist a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s a r e viewed as a u t h o r i t a t i v e sources of i n f o r m a t i o n . Nolan concludes t h a t t o u r i s t s do r e c o g n i s e b i a s and p r o m o t i o n a l d i s t o r t i o n s i n tourism information sources yet s t i l l find the information offered by t h o s e sources u s e f u l . A s p e c t s of t h e o f f i c i a l l o c a l l y p r o j e c t e d images of s e a s i d e r e s o r t s on t h e Languedoc c o a s t have been i n v e s t i g a t e d t o g e t h e r with a t t i t u d e s of a c t u a l v i s i t o r s t o the same d e s t i n a t i o n s . Some of t h e p r o b l e m s of c o m p a r i s o n a r e e v i d e n t . The o f f i c i a l p r o j e c t e d images have been measured by a q u a n t i t a t i v e c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s of t e x t and photographs in f r e e l y d i s t r i b u t e d g e n e r a l p u b l i c i t y i n f o r m a t i o n , w h i l e t h e a t t i t u d e s of v i s i t o r s was measured by t h e i r r e a c t i o n s on a t h r e e - p o i n t s c a l e t o a s e r i e s of a d j e c t i v a l c o n s t r u c t s . Useful g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n s can be drawn about each s e t of images, i n c l u d i n g v a r i a t i o n s among t h e r e s o r t s , and among v i s i t o r s of d i f f e r e n t n a t i o n a l i t y , l e n g t h of s t a y , f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h t h e c o a s t and t h e l i k e (Ashworth & de Haan, 1987). Comparison between t h e two s e t s , e x c e p t i n t h e most g e n e r a l t e r m s , i s however c l e a r l y d i f f i c u l t . 230

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing Considerations Comparison between v a r i o u s a s p e c t s of t h e i m a g e s h e l d b y v i s i t o r s i s much e a s i e r . D i f f e r e n c e s between t h e i n d i v i d u a l r e s o r t s , and between t h e r e s o r t s and t h e r e g i o n a s a w h o l e , r e v e a l e d some i n t e r e s t i n g d i s c r e p a n c i e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r t h a t such images v a r i e d more s t r o n g l y with the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the v i s i t o r than w i t h the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the p l a c e , and t h a t a s t r o n g s i m i l a r i t y between r e s o r t and r e g i o n a l i m a g e s e x i s t e d for each group of v i s i t o r s . S i m i l a r l y comparison between t o u r i s t a t t i t u d e s and both t h e tourism f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e and the a c t u a l use made of such f a c i l i t i e s , revealed many d i s c r e p a n c i e s , which in t u r n could, and in market p l a n n i n g e x e r c i s e s s h o u l d , form t h e b a s i s of a marketing exercise. The r e l a t i o n s h i p of d e s t i n a t i o n i m a g e s t o t o u r i s m p o l i c y , and s p e c i f i c a l l y the use of the former as an instrument for executing t h e l a t t e r , which was r e f e r r e d t o e a r l i e r , a g a i n becomes e v i d e n t a t t h i s s t a g e . R e s o r t s t h a t were c o n s c i o u s l y a t t e m p t i n g t o i n f l u e n c e behaviour through t h e i r image promotion were l i k e l y t o experience the l a r g e s t d i s c r e p a n c y between p r o j e c t e d and received images, while those c o n t e n t t o p r o j e c t images conforming t o t h e e x i s t i n g p r e d i s p o s i t i o n s of the v i s i t o r s suffered fewer d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s . Thus t h e a n a l y s i s of the r e c e p t i o n of images, i l l u s t r a t e d h e r e by o n l y one b r i e f l y d e s c r i b e d e x a m p l e , p r o v i d e s not only a means of monitoring the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of p l a c e p r o m o t i o n , e s s e n t i a l though t h a t i s , but a l s o i n v i t e s an approach i n t o f a c i l i t y supply and demand behaviour and u l t i m a t e l y policy a n a l y s i s . CONSEQUENCES OF DEMAND-SUPPLY IMAGE MISMATCH

I t can be argued, from t h e d i s c u s s i o n above, t h a t p r o m o t i o n a l or s u p p l y images and t o u r i s t s ’ naive (or demand) images of d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s may not c o i n c i d e . This i s the crux. A d i s t o r t e d image – whether t h e r e s u l t of supply p r o j e c t i o n or demand p e r c e p t i o n – d e t r a c t s from a d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a ’ s a b i l i t y to r e a l i s e i t s tourism development potential. Where f a c t and perceived image d i f f e r t h e r e w i l l be a gap b e t w e e n t h e holiday e x p e c t a t i o n s and t h e h o l i d a y e x p e r i e n c e s of the t o u r i s t : t h e l a r g e r the d i f f e r e n c e between image a n d r e a l i t y , i . e . b e t w e e n e x p e c t a t i o n s and e x p e r i e n c e s , the more d i s s a t i s f i e d the t o u r i s t w i l l 231

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations be and the more likely he or she will seek alternative holidays and destinations on future occasions. The consequences of mismatch between demand and supply images is critical at two stages in the tourist’s holiday cycle – the decision stage of holiday choice and the reflective stage on return from holiday. Naive (demand) images represent tourists’ perceptions of whether destinations contain the holiday attributes that they consider necessary for a successful holiday and when these images are compared with whether or not the destination actually contains those attributes (which a factually accurate supply image would reveal), four situations can be hypothesized: (i) Positive demand and supply images, in which case the marketing message is on target and the destination(s) will be considered amongst the final group from which a holiday is chosen. A holiday booking is therefore highly probable. (ii) Positive supply image but a negative demand image, leading potential tourists to reject such destination(s) as falling below their evaluative images. The destination area therefore needs to improve both the targeting and the nature of its promotional image. (iii) Positive demand image but a negative supply one, implying any marketing message(s) have been misunderstood and the attributes perceived by the tourist are imaginary. Because the naive image of the destination may exceed the tourist’s evaluative image a holiday booking is possible. The destination area needs, most of a l l , to improve the product(s) it offers, as well as polishing the supply image presented. (iv) Negative demand and supply images meaning d e s t i n a t i o n s are p e r c e i v e d as unsuitable and do not possess the attributes tourists require. Such destinations will not be considered as holiday locations. Major improvements are needed to the product(s) available in such destinations and to the way those products are marketed. Tourists select their holiday destination on the basis that its naive image exceeded their evaluative image or aspiration level by the greatest amount. Choice is based on expectations 232

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations of holiday pleasures but experiences may or may not m e a s u r e up to e x p e c t a t i o n s so two further situations may be hypothesized at the reflection stage: (a) Positive demand image at booking stage and also on return from holiday. Since expectations were realised, or even exceeded, the tourist will consider a repeat booking for that type of holiday or that destination in a subsequent year. (b) Positive demand image at booking stage but negative image on return. The holiday was a disappointment for the tourist who is, therefore, likely to seek at least an alternative destination, if not a different type of holiday, for the following year. This situation is most likely to occur in the case of situation (iii) above but could also occur in (i) if t h e t o u r i s t suffered some unfortunate experience (such as losing money, being involved in a car accident or taken ill) whilst on holiday. Thus not only must destination areas get their marketing message right and target the appropriate market segment (s) but they must also provide tourists with quality experiences within a range of affordable prices if their long-run success in tourism is to be sustained. THE WAY FORWARD F o r the tourism i n d u s t r y , e s p e c i a l l y destination area-based organisations, marketing of holidays is beset by uncertainties. Even in those cases where the destination image is accurately and successfully marketed and the tourists who visit a particular resort in the area have an enjoyable holiday (which exceeds their expectations), those same tourists are highly likely to go elsewhere for their next holiday! Tourists demonstrate a high propensity to visit new destinations on each holiday and even where a repeat visit is made to a general destination region (country) new resorts will be selected. This reflects the ease of s u b s t i t u t i o n of tourism p r o d u c t s b e t w e e n destinations. In a growing market resorts attract new or generated business (e.g. persons taking a first holiday abroad, etc.) but in a static market 233

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations resorts are very much more dependent upon diverted business, i.e. holiday-makers attracted from other resorts. The importance of professional marketing is clear. Tour operators, based in touristgenerating regions, are better placed because they can pick and choose which destinations to include in their programmes. It is clear from many of the chapters in this book that there is a large and growing volume of work accumulating on many of the aspects of tourism investigated here, and large quantities of factual information on the characteristics of tourism as an industry, as an activity and as a legitimate field of policy have been gathered in the twenty years since it captured the attention of analysts and policy makers. It is however equally clear that yawning gaps in u n d e r s t a n d i n g r e m a i n . In particular there is an absence of an explanatory framework that incorporates the diverse separate elements discussed. The central suggestion of this book is that marketing as an approach, and specifically the promotion of destination images, can provide such a coherent framework. As early as 1973, Medlik and Middleton applied some of the conceptual ideas drawn from marketing to the tourism product, and tourism promotion in both private and public sectors has been dominantly staffed by executives with a marketing background. However, to be successful as an a n a l y t i c a l structure such marketing should offer a means of relating supply and demand, facility and use, the tourism place and the tourist. It should provide a basis for conscious management intervention, and avoiding the clear cut and in practice rather sterile distinction between the theoretical study of tourism as a social phenomenon and the tourism industry, or between the commercial goals of the private sector and the wider responsibilities of public organisations. A future research agenda t h e r e f o r e must c o n c e n t r a t e on the c a u s a l relationships between the elements. Image promotion can only be understood as a continuous process from projection to reception, and must in turn be related on the one side to the existing goals of public and commercial policy and on the other to the actual behaviour of visitors. It is easy to state in marketing terminology that promotion is part of the marketing mix that brings together product and customer, but it is far more difficult to actually trace the relationship between promotional activity and either the tourism 234

Tourist Images: Marketing Considerations product being presented or the characteristics and behaviour of the consumer being targeted. Neither product nor consumer can be isolated from the place and the society in which each is set and within which each interacts. A better understanding is required of how the naive images of potential tourists can be changed to increase the likelihood of those persons visiting particular destinations. Producers examine the reactions of consumers: namely which holiday packages and destinations are selling well, which holiday types and destinations generated most complaints. Attitudes of potential tourists are not considered by the producers but from a marketing standpoint the successful stimulation of additional business could hinge on understanding the reasons why tourists did not choose a holiday in a particular destination (and book through a particular tour operator). As long as the market is buoyant the incentive for such commerciallysponsored research is limited. Segmentation has been an important and increasingly commonplace ploy in effective tourism marketing, encouraged in Europe by new travel forms and policies, e.g. time-share accommodation and flight-only arrangements. There still exists, however, a need to o b t a i n more s y s t e m a t i c information on potential markets for tourism if segmentation is to realise its full economic potential. In that context tourist images need to be investigated not only in a spatial context but also in a t e m p o r a l dimension. To promote effectively second or off-peak holidays it is necessary to know whether the tourist’s image of a destination in the off-season differs significantly from that in the main holiday season. At least one tour operator admits to a lack of knowledge about how and why people choose holidays (Travel Trade Gazette, 1987) but in commissioning research the objective is as much reduction in use of their viewdata system to search for holiday options for clients as to understand the holiday selection process. On average seven different options are currently looked at before one of them is taken up and it is the tour operator’s view that this range of options could be reduced if the holiday selection process were better understood. Matching of demand and supply in the light of such a development can be interpreted as satisficing behaviour when viewed by the client. If holidays and clients are matched more readily the tour 235

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s o p e r a t o r b e n e f i t s from c o s t s a v i n g s w h i l s t t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t enjoys time s a v i n g s . The l a t t e r , however, i s a c h i e v e d by t h e s a c r i f i c e of c h o i c e ( u n l e s s t h e t o u r i s t has done a l o t more ‘homework’ before approaching a t r a v e l agent or t o u r operator). I n any e v e n t a r e o r i e n t a t i o n of marketing messages i s l i k e l y t o be r e q u i r e d . For d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s the problem of matching demand and s u p p l y i s more d i f f i c u l t . A p r e r e q u i s i t e r e m a i n s t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e a r e a ’ s comparative advantage in one or more tourism p r o d u c t s and t h e m a r s h a l l i n g of f a c t o r s of production t o e x p l o i t t h a t a d v a n t a g e ( G o o d a l l & Ashworth, 1985). The marketing approach adopted s h o u l d be a community o r s o c i e t a l one ( M i l l & Morrison, 1985; Murphy, 1985) which focuses on t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n of t o u r i s t needs while r e s p e c t i n g t h e l o n g - t e r m i n t e r e s t s of the d e s t i n a t i o n community. I n t h i s way t h e d e s t i n a t i o n s a f e g u a r d s the r e s o u r c e s , n a t u r a l and c u l t u r a l , which gave i t a comparative advantage in the f i r s t p l a c e : i t d o e s not attempt t o adapt i t s r e s o u r c e s t o t a l l y t o t h e needs of t o u r i s t s and t h e r e f o r e avoids j o i n i n g t h e i n c r e a s i n g number of‘ i d e n t i k i t ’ d e s t i n a t i o n s which t a k e on an i n c r e a s i n g l y s i m i l a r and f a m i l i a r appearance. The d e s t i n a t i o n w i l l then r e t a i n a d i s t i n c t i v e marketing image with which t o e n t i c e a c o n t i n u i n g stream of t o u r i s t s . For t h e r e s e a r c h e r t h e i m p o r t a n c e of image v i s - à - v i s o t h e r f a c t o r s , such a s a c c e s s i b i l i t y , i n t e r v e n i n g o p p o r t u n i t y , e c o n o m i c and f a m i l y c i r c u m s t a n c e s , in t h e p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t ’ s choice of h o l i d a y has y e t t o be c l e a r l y e s t a b l i s h e d . There are a l s o other avenues to e x p l o r e . How d o t o u r i s t s ’ p r e f e r e n t i a l , e v a l u a t i v e and naive images change as they r e c e i v e more information? Are t h e r e i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e s in t h i s c o n t e x t between t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of t o u r i s t t h a t h a v e b e e n r e c o g n i s e d ? How does information made a v a i l a b l e t o p o t e n t i a l t o u r i s t s in t h e i r o r i g i n r e g i o n s d i f f e r in c o n t e n t (and e f f e c t i v e n e s s ) from t h a t a v a i l a b l e t o them on a r r i v a l in d e s t i n a t i o n a r e a s ? I t i s t o t h e s e , and a s s o c i a t e d m a r k e t i n g q u e s t i o n s , t h a t f u t u r e emphasis w i l l be g i v e n i n t h e G r o n i n g e n Reading t o u r i s m r e s e a r c h programme. In p a r t t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s a r e t e c h n i c a l , i n v o l v i n g d e t a i l s of r e s e a r c h d e s i g n , and in p a r t they a r e more deeply embedded i n t h e d i v e r s e n a t u r e of t o u r i s m a s a s o c i a l a c t i v i t y , as an income-generating i n d u s t r y and as a function of p l a c e s . The a n s w e r s t o a t l e a s t some of t h e s e q u e s t i o n s i s the t a s k t h a t t h e 236

T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s Groningen-Reading r e s e a r c h team has s e t i t s e l f i n the b e l i e f t h a t through the a p p l i c a t i o n of such an i n t e g r a t e d framework t h i s important phenomenon can be given the prominence i t d e s e r v e s . REFERENCES

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T o u r i s t Images: Marketing C o n s i d e r a t i o n s Gunn, C.A. (1972) Vacationscape: Designing T o u r i s t R e g i o n s , B u r e a u of B u s i n e s s R e s e a r c h , U n i v e r s i t y of Texas, Austin Hunt, J . D . (1975) Image a s a f a c t o r i n t o u r i s m development, J . of Travel Research, 13 ( 3 ) , 1–7 K o t l e r (1986) P r i n c i p l e s of M a r k e t i n g , P r e n t i c e H a l l , Englewood C l i f f s , New J e r s e y Lundberg, D.E. (1976) The T o u r i s t B u s i n e s s , CBI P u b l i c a t i o n s , Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York Medlik S. & Middleton, V.T.C. (1973) The T o u r i s t p r o d u c t and i t s m a r k e t i n g i m p l i c a t i o n s , I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tourism Q u a r t e r l y , 9 M i l l , R.C. & M o r r i s o n , A.M. (1985) The Tourism System: An I n t r o d u c t o r y Text, Prentice-Hall I n t e r n a t i o n a l , Englewood C l i f f s , New J e r s e y Murphy, P.E. (1985) Tourism: A Community Approach, Methuen, London N a t i o n a a l Bureau voor Toerisme (NBT) (1986) Imago s t u d i e Nederland: Wat de n e d e r l a n d e r s van nederland als vakantieland vinden, Leidschendam Nolan, D.S. (1976) T o u r i s t s ’ use and e v a l u a t i o n of t r a v e l i n f o r m a t i o n s o u r c e s , J . of T r a v e l Research, 14, 6–8 O’Driscoll, T.J. (1985) European Travel Commission, Tourism Management, 6 ( 1 ) , 66–70 Schmoll, G.A. (1977) Tourism Promotion, Tourism I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r e s s , London Smith, V.L. (1977) The Hosts: The Anthropology of Tourism, U n i v e r s i t y of Pennsylvania P r e s s , Philadelphia T r a v e l Trade G a z e t t e (1987) Horizon commissions holiday r e s e a r c h s t u d y , 2 A p r i l Veen, W. v a n d e r & V o o g d , H. (1987) G e m e e n t e p r o m o t i e en b e d r i j f s a c g u i s i t i e , Geopers, Groningen World Tourism O r g a n i s a t i o n (1985) Identification and E v a l u a t i o n of those Components of Tourism S e r v i c e s w h i c h h a v e a b e a r i n g on T o u r i s t S a t i s f a c t i o n and which can be r e g u l a t e d , and S t a t e Measures t o ensure Adeguate Q u a l i t y of Tourism S e r v i c e s , WTO, Madrid

238

INDEX

accomodation sector 9, 312, 83–4, 118, 185 classification 76 Automobile Association 76, 84 crown 76 rose 76 guest houses 185 hotels 31, 80, 116, 123, 185 chains 59 development incentive scheme 80 see also D e v e l o p m e n t of Tourism Act franchising 31 investment promotion schemes 80 occupancy rates 24 pricing structures 185 inn–style 84 registration 75 self–catering 34, 74, 81, 84, 154, 200, 227 advertising 69, 137, 178–9, 214, 224 see also promotion, media mass media, 69 newspaper 177, 224 poster 177 rate 178 Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) 28, 72–3 attraction see attractiveness attractiveness 93–5 potential surface 94 spatial pattern 94

Automobile Association 76, 84 balance of payments 39, 75, 111–17, 129 British Tourist Authority 25, 75, 83, 84, 87–8, 214 brochures see tourism brochures carrying capacity 62 charter tour see inclusive tour cities see also urban conservation capitals 19 h i s t o r i c 15, 162–74, 217 policy-making bodies 165 tourism 162–74 c o n f l i c t resolution 170–3 management 170, 222 t o u r i s t - h i s t o r i c 169, 225 Civil Aviation Authority 28, 73 c l a s s i c a l theory (economic) 137 see a l s o trade theory commissions see t r a v e l agents computers see information technology conferences 86 consumer behaviour 133, 136, 158, 171, 218 content analysis 154–7, 229, 230 semantic d i f f e r e n t i a l s 230 core-periphery model 23 239

Index

crown classification see accommodation classification day–visitors 87 demonstration effect 60, 128 Defence of the Realm project

183–4 Development of Tourism Act 1969 75, 80, 165 Section 4 grants 79, 80, 85 direct sell 30

economic effects 111–31 see a l s o t o u r i s m impacts, t o u r i s t multipliers on balance of payments 111–17 factor payments 116 on p u b l i c and p r i v a t e revenue 117–20 taxation 118, 128, 130 English Tourist Board 76–88, 182 feedback 70 foreign ownership 63, 116– 19, 122, 124, 130 government 198, 202 see also tourism management guidelines 80 see also Development of Tourism Act gravel workings 101–10 recreational use 101, 106–9 rehabilitation fund 106 wet restoration 105–6 hedonic pricing 138–40, 216 heritage 49, 163, 201, 217 see also cities, historic military 183–4 historic cities see cities, historic holidays 219 abroad 18, 129 propensity to 20, 33, 199 activity 25, 33, 200

240

bargain break 32 habit 1, 8, 213 motivations see tourist motivations participation level 25, 199 off–season breaks 85, 235 selection 1–17, 232 analytical framework 10–16 process 2–9 shoulder–month 85 short–break 25, 34 with pay 1, 33 hotel developnnent incentive scheme 80 hotels see accommodation images 3–4, 10, 133–60, 143, 177–8, 213–37 and economic theory 136– 42 and promotional operations 133 and reality 136 and tourism choice 133 content analysis 153–58 evaluative 3, 12, 236 mis–match 231–3 naive 3, 12, 232, 235, 236 need for new 180 official 11, 222 on demand side 148, 232 on supply side 150, 219, 224, 232 preferential 3, 12, 236 projection 178, 221–3, 229, 230 promotional 15, 234 reception 228–31 relevance to tourism 134– 6 transmission 11, 223–8 inclusive tour 14, 23, 26, 27, 29, 89, 119–20, 219 by charter (ITC) 35 by excursion ticket (ITX) 35 group (GIT) 35 information technology 70

Index r e s e r v a t i o n systems 36, 7 3 , 1 8 5 , 209–10 s e e a l s o viewdata systems i n f r a s t r u c t u r e see tourism infrastructure i n t e r m e d i a r i e s see marketing, intermediaries L a n c a s t e r ’ s t h e o r y 138 Languedoc-Roussillon 15, 16, 133–60, 187–97, 218, 226, 230 land r e c l a m a t i o n s e e g r a v e l workings Le M i s s i o n (The M i s s i o n ) 147, 189–97 l e a s t developed countries (LLDCs) 12, 39–65 foreign investment 47–8, 63 foreign ownership 47, 116 o b s t a c l e s t o developrctent 47–8 tourism demand 49 tourism impacts 53–64 t o u r i s t a r r i v a l s 52 l e s s developed countries (LDCs) 39 management see tourism management market European 83 research 205 protocal 11 segnentation 33, 69, 144, 145, 205, 217–18, 221, 227, 235 marketing 162–74, 207–9, 213– 37, see also promotion and tourist boards 80 efforts of tour operators 73 historic city 162–74 intermediaries 144, 170–3 objectives 83, 217 of heritage 164 place 214, 217 process 170–1, 203 p u b l i c – p r i v a t e co–operat i o n 181

r o l e of l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s 171 s t r a t e g i e s 83–7, 136, 182, 227–8 strength–weakness a n a l y s i s 209 media 10 see a l s o a d v e r t i s ing sources 136 M i n i s t r y of Economic A f f a i r s (Netherlands) 203–4, 211 M i n i s t r y of Tourism (Spain) 111–13 multinational enterprises (MMEs) 6 3 , 118, 131 m u l t i p l i e r see tourist multiplier n a t i o n a l parks 4 5 , 52, 5 7 , 58 N e t h e r l a n d s , The 14, 8 1 , 8 3 , 89–100, 101–10, 164, 166, 203–5, 229 F r i e s l a n d 91–100 Leeuwarden 94–6 Groningen Province 91–100 Groningen C i t y 89, 91–100, 167, 237 Limburg (NL) 14, 101–10 Maas ( r i v e r ) 1 5 , 101–10 North N e t h e r l a n d s 8 9 , 214 Nijmegen 229 Scheveningen 207, 209 package tour see inclusive tour p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y 51 p r i c e t h e o r y 137 s e e a l s o hedonic p r i c i n g p r i v a t i s a t i o n 109 product l i f e c y c l e 227–8 promotion 1 1 , 12, 136, 145, 198, 203, 213–37 s e e a l s o advertising, tourism brochures complementary 174 destination 179 joint 86 j o i n t – p r i n t 86 p u b l i c i t y m a t e r i a l 173, 220 see a l s o tourism brochures 241

Index r e c r e a t i o n see a l s o water recreation development 101–10 regional development see tourism development regional economic structure 101 regional tourist boards see tourist boards regionalism 76 resorts 25, 207, 216 choice 5–7

development 193–6 models 194 e v a l u a t i o n of a l t e r n a t i v e s 8–9 i d e n t i k i t 25, 27, 236 images 147–59 medsun 24, 25 problem 78–9 purpose-built 27, 196 seaside 15, 78–9, 154–6, 176–85, 190–1 and promotion 176–85 images 179–82 search process 7–9 winter sports 24, 26 r o s e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n see accommodation classification routes see tourist routes

s c e n i c r o u t e s 84 see also t o u r i s t routes seaside r e s o r t s see r e s o r t s , seaside s e g m e n t a t i o n s e e market segmentation self-catering see accommodation semantic d i f f e r e n t i a l s see content analysis signposting 84, 91 see also t o u r i s t routes Spain 13, 14, 20, 22, 25, 27, 35, 111–31, 134 s t a t i s t i c s see tourism statistics taxation effects 242

see

economic

Thames and Chilterns Tourist Board 13, 76–88 theme park 168 t o u r o p e r a t o r s 8, 11, 12, 26–9, 35, 67, 73–4, 119, 127, 130, 215–16, 220, 224, 235–6 and t r a v e l agents 73–4 contracts 119 domestic 29 incoming 29 marketing 73 mass-market 28–9, 35 p r o f i t margins 30, 35 s p e c i a l i s t 29, 73 tourism balance of payments 23, 75 brochures 9, 12, 29–30, 31,

151–2, 215, 220,

224 see also publicity material b u s i n e s s 23 s e e a l s o conferences development 15, 16, 39, 78, 109, 126–9, 192–3 economic benefits 14, 15, 39, 54, 111–31 see also economic effects grants 79 planning 187–97

regional 191–3 stimulation 78 domestic 18 economic resources 46–9 energy 46

investment 63 l a b o u r 46 see a l s o tourism employment managerial e x p e r t i s e 46 transport 46 employment 56, 125, 193, 211

i n d i r e c t 59 women 59 energy requirements 46 growth 1, 19, 213 guides see tourism brochures

Index tourism, cntd heritage 15, 19, 49 impact 53–61, 192 commercialisation 61 economic 55, 58–60, 111–31 s e e a l s o t o u r i s t multipler employment 56 environmental p o l l u tion 45, 57, 128 erosion 57 physical 56–8, 169–70 social 60–1, 192 i n d u s t r y 1, 34–6, 111, 213

competition 37, 213–15 European 26–33 horizontal integration 28 organisation 201–2 structure 19, 71, 145, 201, 215 v e r t i c a l l i n k a g e 28 see also direct sell i n f r a s t r u c t u r e 46, 64, 94–5, 127, 194 international 18, 213 location 63 management 16, 198–212 and government r o l e 198, 202 structure 203–5 marketing see marketing mass 11, 25, 36, 189 multiplier 55, 111, 120– 4, 130, 192

Keynesian income 120 long-run GNP 121 long-run disposable income 121 n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s see physical resources physical resources 41 –6, 141

climate 44 flora and fauna 45 geographical location 43 hydrology 45 physiography 43

planning 37, 109 see also tourism development potential 11, 41–53, 89 product 10, 214 receipts 53, 115 resources 41–6, 133, 182 see a l s o physical resources s o c i o - c u l t u r a l resources 49–51, 162–74 damage 169–70 statistics 18, 19, 192 winter sports 25, 26 tourist behaviour 11, 89, 171, 218–19, 229 demand 11, 18, 138 and demographic trends 33 and incomes 25 destinations 20, 22 expectations 2 expenditure 91 flows 11, 18, 19–23, 162 historic cities see c i t i e s , tourist¬ historic images see images information 205 centres (TICs) 13, 81, 83–4, 172–3, 225–6 credibility of 158, 230 flow 172 irritation index 51 motivations 2–4, 137, 158 cultural 3 fantasy 3 physical 3 social 3

sunlust 13, 44, 159 origins 18, 20–1 perceptions see images preferences 3–4, 9, 137 r o u t e s 14, 89–100 see also scenic routes attractiveness 94–8 choice 93 circuitous 90 destination–linked 93

Green Coast Road 91– 100 243

Index

tourist, cntd iso–willingness curve 96 linear 90 satisfactions 2 search process 6 traffic 91 see also travel types 7, 11, 62–3, 143, 144, 218, 236 tourist boards 7, 11, 12, 13, 75–89, 220 as marketing agencies 80, 86 commercial membership 79, 83 future outlook 81–3 management structure 81 – 2 marketing strategies 83– 7, 220–1 non–statutory 75 regional 76–8 roles 78–80 sources of income 79, 81 statutory 75 WVs 93 tourist statistics 19–20, 23 trade theory 137 transfer of technology 124 transfer pricing 118, 129 travel agents 3, 7, 13, 29– 31, 36, 67–74, 210, 215, 220, 235 acquisition policy 71 after–sales service 70–1 and tour operators 73–4 commissions 72–3 override 72 retail price maintenance 72 stabiliser 72 independent 13, 68–70 multiple 13, 68–70 pre–sales service 69–70 reservation systems 73 role 68–9 sales situation 69 travel 28 see also tourist traffic, tourist routes airlines 29, 34

244

charter 14, 32, 43, 73 flight–only arrangements 74, 235 awareness 3 industry in UK 28, 67 patterns 89 United Kingdom 15, 20, 25, 28, 30, 35, 75–83, 165–7, 214, 225 England 76–8, 105, 176–85 Bath 168 Berkshire 86 Blackpool 78, 178–9 Bournemouth 184–5 Cornwall 177–8 East Anglia 226 Hunstanton 78–9 London 76, 80, 85–6, 169, 225 Norwich 167, 172–4, 222, 226 Oxford 87 Portsmouth 183–4 Reading 237 Scarborough 176 South–East England 225 Thames and Chilterns 75–88 Tbrbay 181–3 Weston–super–Mare 177, 180 Scotland 26, 103, 105 urban conservation 164–5, see also heritage, cities historic conflict with tourism 169–70 legislation 164–5 selection criteria 166 urban tourism see cities, tourism viewdata systems 30, 235 visitation rates 11 water–based recreation 15, see also gravel working