This work presents a characterization of the Patrimonial City Cienfuegos as a tourist destination, as well as the application of models in sustainable management in city tourist destinations.
1.1 Cultural heritage and tourism
The complementation between cultural heritage and tourism, given the intimate relationship between them, seems to be so obvious that it no longer offers any discussion.
Policies for the conservation and administration of cultural heritage tend to consider the possibilities of using elements and areas of the past with new activities according to the needs felt by the contemporary community, without this implying a devaluation of the significance of that heritage.
proposal-policy-tourist-development-heritage-cities-cuba-1This concept became clear in 1964, when in the Venice International Charter on Conservation and Restoration it stated “… The preservation of monuments always benefits from their dedication to a useful function for society: this dedication is therefore desirable but not It cannot and should not alter the layout or decorum of buildings. Within these limits, all the arrangements required by the evolution of customs and customs must be conceived and authorized… »(Venice Charter 1964).
It starts from the assumption that the heritage of archaeological, historical or artistic interest, also constitute economic resources - tourist as well as the natural wealth of the country, therefore, susceptible to be "used", to be transformed into elements of progress, representing then a potential economic value worth considering, with which the measures leading to its preservation and proper use are not only related to development plans, but are or should be part of them. (Quito Regulations 1973).
It must not be forgotten that tourists, having more experience in travel, tend to request alternative "specialized or thematic" tourism and give more and more value to heritage, both in terms of cultural resources and the environment as a general framework.
The cultural manifestations of the popular classes have also been gaining importance, such as ceramics, textiles, music of ethnic origin, customs of peasants and workers, typical gastronomy, etc. With which it can be seen that in general, the current concept of heritage tends to be more dynamic than in past times, creating opportunities for each generation to find answers to their needs.
Given the importance of cultural heritage, it will have to be considered or taken into account as tangible and intangible, that is: all those cultural manifestations such as works of art, archeology, crafts, buildings, neighborhoods, towns, cities, for the former, and customs, traditions, language, beliefs, the fundamental rights of the human being and the systems of values for the latter, both strongly united and inseparable, that are intimately sustained.
Tangible heritage helps create and maintain identity; that it is shared as a reference that strengthens memory, which is part of the intangible heritage. Likewise, memory is what projects life to tangible heritage and makes the latter be cared for and preserved. A monument or any tangible heritage, without memory, is an empty heritage, without a soul, without content and as a consequence forgotten and neglected.
Cultural heritage is closely connected with natural heritage because it is impossible to conceive of those who are detached from their environment, from their environment, to such an extent that today a new category is included such as "cultural landscapes" as complex as enriching. These include "deliberately defined landscapes" such as parks and gardens; the «essentially changing landscapes» such as the crops (of which we have excellent examples such as the harvests of peppers, rice, those of sugar cane or tobacco and the «associative landscapes» that is to say those that, having not been modified by man, have a cultural connotation like volcanoes.
In the present century, the existence of natural heritage has something or much cultural, because today, its conservation or destruction is due to a will, a human decision, a cultural act. If heritage transcends the purely cultural, to become a potential economic resource, it is no less true that for this same reason it must be jealously protected to ensure its continuity and sustainability.
Europe owes tourism, directly or indirectly, the safeguarding of a large part of its cultural heritage, otherwise condemned to its complete and irremediable destruction.
The problem arises when this use is made at the cost of the devaluation, loss or deterioration of the patrimony that is "used" or rather that is "misused". As early as 1963, at the travel and tourism conference, it was not only recommended that investment in tourism be given high priority within national plans, but it was also emphasized that “from a tourism point of view, cultural heritage, historical and natural value of nations, constitutes a substantially important value "and that consequently,…" it was urgent to adopt adequate measures aimed at ensuring the conservation and protection of this heritage… "(travel conference. 1963).
In turn, the 1964 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development recommended that funding agencies and organizations, both governmental and private, “… offer assistance, in the most appropriate form, for conservation, restoration and advantageous use of sites. archaeological, historical and natural beauty "(United Nations 1964).
Consequently, the measures leading to their proper "use" must be included and contemplated in development plans, but ethically planned and coordinated, jointly, between the institutions responsible for tourism and heritage and not as is commonly proposed today, in where the objectives are pursued in separate and even antagonistic ways. Some institutions sometimes confuse that "doing tourism" is just a matter of promotion and not planning, where the first of these is just a part and the last step of a more complex and deep work that makes the resource an important attraction.
This necessarily means contemplating and evaluating the carrying capacity and tolerance threshold of a place, its buildings, and its heritage in general, and analyzing the positive or negative impact that tourism can have. Taking these aspects into account, it will be necessary to accept with responsible resignation that there are cases in which its use must be controlled and dosed or simply denied.
For this reason, the problem of conservation must be considered, taking as a premise that if permanent and perpetual tourism is desired, a sustainable use of heritage must be ensured, that is, it must also achieve protection and conservation in perpetuity. With this, we not only contribute to conserving an important resource for tourism, but also because we also have an ethical and moral duty to hand over to future generations that heritage that we have inherited so that they can enjoy it in the same way that we do today.
This policy requires careful planning, an improvement in its instrumentation, conscious and responsible, an adaptation for more numerous visits but anticipating and taking care of the impact that it may cause; guaranteeing their safety, integrity and dignity, that is to say that we must not only take care of their conservation but also of their correct value, with respect and professionalism. Undoubtedly, the tourist influx that determines the appropriate revaluation of a monument ensures the rapid recovery of the capital invested for these purposes and the tourist activity that originates as a consequence of the adequate presentation of a monument and that otherwise would determine its extinction and leads to a profound economic transformation of the region in which it is located but, nevertheless, it is no less true that sometimes,By not making rational and balanced use of them, you also run a serious risk of being lost, deteriorated or devalued.
This is the case, for example, of archaeological sites, promoted to tourists without being endowed with the control and security conditions that mean in the short term, their destruction or total degradation, thereby losing not only the possibility of their use in the future, but also the possibility of developing serious and systematic research studies.
It is not an exaggeration to say that in some cases, the potential for wealth destroyed by irresponsible acts of the misunderstood and poorly managed "tourist exploitation" far exceeds the benefits for the regional economy derived from the facilities and improvements that are intended to be justified.
It is worth noting that the powerful sound equipment and the heat and light thrown by the lamps in the massive light and sound shows that are permanently offered, are deteriorating the stone remains by vibration, dilation and photodegradation.
In the Cairo museum, urgent measures had to be taken in the rooms where 27 mummies were exhibited, due to the change of atmosphere produced by an overload of visitors (it is estimated that the breathing of six people during an hour, raised the percentage of humidity by five points).
The paintings in the tomb of Queen Nefertari, in Egypt are affected by the breathing and perspiration of the visitors, which led to the proliferation of fungi and bacteria, and although they were recently restored by the Getty Foundation, if they were wants to conserve, they must remain closed to the public (there are two million visitors per year who go to Egypt).
The same situation has been experienced in the prehistoric caves of Lascaux, which had to be closed and choose to build an exact replica a few kilometers from the originals to make the conservation of heritage and tourism compatible. UNESCO warns of similar situations for Rome, Athens, Teotihuacan, Cuzco and Macchu Pichu.
At a closer level, heritage also faces a series of consequences caused by the recklessness of tourists or those responsible for its implementation.
Many times, putting limits on visits or restrictions on the hours of museums or sites due to problems of conservation, conditioning and cleaning, provoke negative and even aggressive reactions from some groups that are only interested in "using" them, without awareness of endurance with the meager vision only present.
No less surprising is the article in the ordinance for the preservation of the historic center, which allows hotels to exceed their height, justifying their interest in tourism. Resulting in the paradox that these hotels destroy the balance of the urban landscape that constituted the tourist attraction, which made the construction of hotels necessary. What to say about the damage caused by the exceptional ordinances under unsustainable pretexts that are permanently approved in the deliberative council for the historic center.
The risk that intangible heritage runs is not less, perhaps, due to its constitution, the most fragile of all when modifying its customs, habits, value system in relation to or due to the influence of tourism, worse still, when for the sake of tourism, they are falsified, denatures or takes this heritage out of context, or the barriers of respect for the individuality of people, privacy and fundamental rights that every human being has are crossed, in other cases the enhancement and promotion of certain areas or urban spaces have resulted in the simple and flat eviction of their natural owners because they began to feel strange in their own places or misrepresent their human behavior to become mere false shows,cold and without feelings, bringing as a consequence the vanalization of customs and the loss of their identities.
A deeper reflection on cultures has made it possible to understand that not all of them were expressed through great material achievements and that a large part of the cultural heritage of humanity is intangible because it resides in the very spirit of cultures and its loss leads to loss of those.
But, who is responsible for the deterioration of cultural heritage? Is it logical to blame the tourist? It can be said that the responsibility belongs to everyone, tourists, authorities, businessmen, technicians and professionals and the entire community. Each one from their perspective and different interests but working together and in coordination. A tourist awareness task would be useless if the interested institutions do not do a good planning job, even there may be a good planning job but it would fail if the impact that they can produce in the short, medium and long term has not been considered. analyzing it from different approaches (economic, social, landscape, psychological and heritage). Even worse,if the profiles and clear objectives have not been defined jointly with the technicians and professionals to avoid contradictions and minimize errors that threaten the conservation of heritage, well-being and satisfaction of tourists and residents without losing the quality of life. What would happen to cultural heritage if the employer, in his eagerness to achieve higher profits, made indiscriminate use of them, saturating the tolerance thresholds? What good would a good planning job be if political authorities degrade urban and even natural spaces with stickers, posters and paintings, throwing away any preservation task? Finally, the community will be the one that is not aware of the value of its heritage and the benefits that can be obtained from its tourist use.Would it be possible to speak of a sustainable tourism use? It is essential that in the first instance it is the community that develops an awareness and identity with heritage.
If there is no training, a sense and a culture of belonging, it will hardly be possible to count on them. In this sense, identity is a daily construction, where the school, the family, the context, the social mirrors participate. Heritage has to be recognized by all levels of the community and above all, valued, which is achieved through economic, cultural and environmental policies together with specific investments in certain areas. Only after that, it will be possible to be in a position to share it with tourists in a sustainable development, taking into account that the financial value is not necessarily the most important, since the social or representative value of a certain tourist resource is also of interest.This does not mean that there should be less production or not to use heritage as a tourist resource, but rather to do it in a different, reasonable and respectful way; only possibility of sustainability.
This refers to adopting better evaluation and conservation practices and making non-traditional investments, constantly investigating variables of a physical, natural and cultural nature given the change in heritage valuation patterns. The dissemination of research achievements at all levels of the community is significant so that those who participate in heritage management can come to understand what is lost in terms of environmental quality by virtue of a planned development and also what development would be being given up if the environment remained unchanged.
Sustainable development is related to economic and technical-ecological terms. The current sociological perspective also includes the social component, recognizing the determining role that social actors and their institutions have in many projects, policies and investments to carry out the development that must go along with the concept of harmony. Therefore, sustainability must be "socially constructed", among all, through social and economic mechanisms that enable public consultation and participation, but that participation must be responsible; with clear objectives and precise goals. In this way, the economic, ecological and social components will be taken into account simultaneously.
To achieve these tasks, the concepts of social action or community participation are known and handled. Therefore, human relations, the forms of organization, the attributions of the institutions or organisms that represent the community, the motivations and satisfactions of the population, the behavioral values between people and in the relationship with natural and cultural resources are important. and above all an ethics in action. Many factors contribute to depleting the reserves of cultural property, excessive exposure to light, dust, humidity, sudden changes in temperature, rain, theft, intentional damage, deterioration due to overload of visits, misuse, etc.
It must be recognized that part of the fundamental reason for the progressive and sometimes accelerated loss of this potential wealth lies in the inexistence of a coherent, continuous, reasonable and responsible official policy, capable of giving practical effectiveness to the protectionist measures in force and promoting the revaluation of cultural heritage in the public interest and for the economic benefit of the community. Furthermore, there is no well-instrumented legal body to legislate and protect heritage and its rational use, compatible with tourism, since we are convinced that tourism is not harmful; what is damaging in any case is the mismanagement of tourism.
In this sense, in these critical moments of globalization in which countries are engaged in the great progressive endeavor that implies the exhaustive exploitation of their cultural resources and the progressive transformation of their economic - social structures, problems related to defense, conservation and The use of heritage, the natural environment, acquire exceptional importance and timeliness, emerging as an absolute priority the need to reconcile the demands of tourism development with the reasonable safeguarding of heritage that is used, making it necessary a rational and ethical tourism planning, both locally and national. «It is possible - said Weiss, presented to the cultural and scientific commission of the Council of Europe in 1963 - to equip a country without disfiguring it,to prepare and serve the future without destroying the past… ». Perhaps, analyzing examples already lived in other countries, we should be aware so that sometime we do not have to repeat paraphrasing the reflection that preceded the French Revolution: Tourism, how many crimes are committed in your name!
The best way to concentrate efforts and contribute to a sustainable development of Tourist Destinations is by addressing policies, based on ethical and collective principles for the management of natural and historical-cultural resources. At the same time, provide clients with a reference for a better choice of this, demonstrate that they have quality policies or programs and the services offered, where entrepreneurs assume a management philosophy that integrates the economic component, the development dimension cultural and social community and environment, which make up a system of general objectives, which correspond to a clear and convincing statement that unifies efforts,in addition to identifying the degree to which it has been implemented and considering it as basic elements in the development policy that contributes to the management decision-making process in a tourist destination.
The tourist market needs heritage resources for the development of new products. These products increase the value of the tourist experience in a way that interests both sectors since they provide the historical-symbolic characteristics that allow the local identity to be maintained from generation to generation. Heritage and tourism are highly compatible, the interdependence between both areas is inevitable.
The objectives of the development policy of a destination define where the activity is directed, they are related to the desired results for people, groups or organizations. The objectives are configured from the global objective of the destination to the objectives by sectors, areas of production or service activity and those specific to companies and other actors in the territory. All the objectives are interconnected, so the achievement of the rest depends on one of them.
The principles that underpin a policy of development of tourist destinations with a sustainability approach are the following: ecological, cultural, economic and local. Therefore, the objectives defined for a policy for the development of sustainable tourist destinations must be: sociocultural, economy and tourism, administration and institutional, environmental, infrastructure and technological development, which consider the following aspects: 1
- They can be converted into specific actions; they facilitate direction, serve as guides for setting more detailed and concrete objectives at lower levels. In this way, all institutions and managers know how their objectives are related to those of the higher level: provincial, municipal government, MINTUR. They establish short, medium and long-term priorities for the tourist destination. They facilitate the control of the institutions they direct, they plan and control, organize the implementation and viability of the development policy and are proposed as standards for the global performance and competitiveness of the destination.
If the objectives, regardless of their number, do not receive adequate attention by the corresponding institutions, tourism planning will not be effective or efficient. It is necessary to establish a priority system for the objectives to be achieved at the different levels of the development policy of a tourist destination. The local government and MINTUR are continually faced with alternative objectives that can be evaluated and classified, so they must establish priorities if they want to distribute resources in a rational way.
The principles on which a sustainable tourism development policy is based cover a range of themes and activities that transcends the jurisdictional scope of the tourism sector and involves various sectors and branches at each spatial level. The presence of a coordinating body for the multi-institutional work that requires the implementation of said policy is essential. In it, MINTUR must play a leading role as it is the governing body of tourism policy in the country. In other countries this is covered by the local authorities creating boards or groups, for which the local authorities have sufficient convening power and must be subject to in-depth analysis and decisions at the highest level. In the case of Cienfuegos, even without being an area of high tourist significance,there is such a body.
It is not possible to achieve good results if you have not previously worked to achieve them, it forces you to establish previous objectives, define the content of the possible objectives to be established and the corresponding proposal of key issues for measuring this policy of sustainable development in tourist destinations.
2.1. The application of models in sustainable management in city tourist destinations
Learning to create models is one of the most important reasons to study the science of administrative management. In business activity, various kinds of models are associated with various kinds of activities. Business managers and their research and development team in tourism entities formulate and work with models of their own environment.
Despite the diversity of models, there is one aspect in common, and that is that they are all simplified and idealized representations of reality, that is, that a model "is a selective abstraction of reality" (Gould, 1992, p.3).
The fact that the models of interest for the decision-making center in a tourist operating unit are considered to be mostly what we call decision models. These decision models contain decision variables identified in our object of study with the evaluation of the positioning of the tourism product and the proposal of measurement criteria, so it is necessary, for the selection of a leadership product, the determination of numerical values of the variables defined in the investigation.
As a general guide, the process of formulating a quantitative model (they start with numerical values, operate with numbers and produce numbers) of decision can be divided into three fundamental stages:
- The environment is studied: Variety of factors such as conflicts within the organization, divergences between the goals and aspirations of the staff, complexity of the situation to be modeled; interpositions between the decision-making center that creates the model with the understanding of the problem being investigated with the rest, among others. A selective representation of reality is formulated: This step involves a basic conceptual analysis in which conjectures and simplifications must be made. It has been argued that the precise problem to be considered is not understood until the model has been formulated. In this sense, it often happens that without models one cannot make quantitatively rational decisions. The process requires that the investigator who identifies the problem,select from the environment those aspects of reality that are relevant within the scope of the investigated problem. The problems that interest us imply decisions and objectives to be satisfied with the study that must be identified and defined. Commenting on the formulation and construction are integrated processes, the formulation being the conceptual logical aspect and the construction the expression of the logical relationships in the symbolic language of mathematics. A symbolic representation (with mathematical expressions) of the model is formulated.the formulation being the conceptual logical aspect and the construction the expression of the logical relationships in the symbolic language of mathematics. A symbolic representation (with mathematical expressions) of the model is formulated.the formulation being the conceptual logical aspect and the construction the expression of the logical relationships in the symbolic language of mathematics. A symbolic representation (with mathematical expressions) of the model is formulated.
The interactions between the formulation and the symbolic construction of the model are always critical. A viable form of solution is the creation of heterogeneous teams of experts in various fields.
After the description of the model formulation stages, how many generalities are defined for all quantitative decision models. All of these provide a structure for consistent and logical analysis. Quantitative models are widely used mainly by:
- They oblige the decision-making center to be explicit in relation to its objectives They force the decision-making center to identify and record the types of decision (variables under investigation) that influence the objectives They force the decision-making center to identify and record the interactions and exchanges between the variables defined in the investigation.
A model can be formulated as a consistent tool to evaluate different development policies in terms of sustainability, that is, each set of decisions is evaluated for the same objective, in addition, the models can be explicitly adjusted and improved according to studies and previous experiences.
The design of a policy model for the development of city tourism destinations harmoniously integrates the principles of ecological, cultural, economic and local sustainability to evaluate, among other aspects, tourism planning and has as a background in the review of the bibliography made by the author, the works referring to:
- Calvin's National Tourism Development Plan in Spain, focuses its strategy on strengthening regional sustainable tourism development programs, using strategic planning as a tool for conducting this program, integrating regions that generate added value and synergies. theming with differentiated circuits. Supported in a local Agenda 21 with the creation of differentiated products and the diversification of existing ones, tourist information system, quality of services, urban image, recreational activities, trade, environmental conservation, signage, accessibility, infrastructure, promotion and marketing, training and culture, strengthening of product lines and market segments,the social and cultural environment are its "strategic lines" on which the plan works. It takes into account the inclusion of tourism products according to the characteristics of the destination, their positioning and the promotion of the integration of new services for tourism and its internal movement.
On the basis of the consultations carried out by the author, before beginning the description of the proposed model, consider the elements that should support a policy for the development of tourist destinations, taking as a reference the conceptual approach of sustainable tourism development:
| POLICY OBJECTIVES |
KEY ISSUES |
| Sociocultural | Culture and heritage |
| Potentialities | |
| Population and housing | |
| Human Resources | |
| Economy and Tourism | Positioning |
| Commercialization | |
| Image, promotion and advertising | |
| Markets | |
| Quality of product and services | |
| Tourist product | |
| Participation of national tourism | |
| Economy and Tourism (continued) | Economic and tourist results |
| Environmental | Environment |
| Natural resources | |
| Administrative - Institutional | Tourism investment |
| Physical planning and land use | |
| Destination management | |
| Infrastructure | Tourist accommodation |
| Extra-hotel network | |
| Technical and support | |
| Aerial accessibility | |
| Technological development | Innovation and research |
| Generalization |
Table 4. Conceptual approach to sustainable tourism development. Source: self made
Everything affects the improvement of the quality of life of the population and contemplates a positive relationship with respect to sociocultural identity. The development of sustainable tourism links clients with service providers and tourist facilities as defenders of the environment with community residents.
The principle of sustainability, plans and manages tourism development so as not to cause environmental or socio-cultural problems, environmental quality must be maintained and improved, without affecting customer satisfaction, so that the destination keeps intact and even improves its marketing.
The essential elements for tourist quality, highlights low levels of air, water, noise pollution, cleanliness of the environment, maintenance of buildings, care of the landscape, parks and open spaces, pedestrian areas in commercial areas, night lighting and above all: citizen security. With these basic elements, a good hotel offer, restaurants and leisure, an optimal tourist area is achieved.
The objectives in the development policy of a tourist destination, defines where the tourist development is directed. They facilitate a line of work and serve as guides for entities to establish their specific objectives. They can have several objectives defined, but priorities are established.
Heritage cities in the world have always been destinations chosen by millions of people. Their conservation and improvement are constant demands both by visitors and by the local community. They constitute an attraction in the tourist industry and in the present case it is the fundamental element for the development of tourism in Cienfuegos.
An adequate environmental and tourism management integrated to the city and its bay would be decisive to achieve and maintain competitive advantages in the destination.
The sustainable use of the natural resource Bahía, the evaluation of the progress and the proposed implementation of the tourism development planning, laying the foundations of sustainability, constitute the fundamental center of this study.
In the environmental objective of the national environment program there are “key issues” for tourist destinations:
- Sustainable energy New alternative energy sources Natural resources and water Protection of tourist resources Protection of the environment Protection of the working environment, cultural and natural heritage Rational management of hazardous waste, education and training
The strategies constitute the essential tool for the design and conduct of regional programs for tourism development. Programs are the specific way of carrying out an activity based on the objectives and the outlined strategy; the actions implicitly carry the program and complement its operation. The results are the gauges of development policy.
To design a development policy model, it is necessary to have a documentation of the systems of plans or programs designed for the management of tourist destinations, make a selection of data that are of interest and create a new, efficient and viable model to implement that allows the evaluation of this policy and provide feedback on its process approach.
The development policy evaluation criteria defined for this model contribute to the identified objectives and are intended to:
- Contribute to the achievement of sustainability in tourist destinations, through the categorization by means of the criteria that define the different degrees of action, and that they become, at the same time, teaching mechanisms and encouragement to achieve that purpose. evaluation criteria for development policies capable of stimulating the generation of changes aimed at the sustainability of tourist destinations, as a way to raise awareness in the rational use of natural resources and heritage, as well as, in the social, cultural, and economic.
The proposed evaluation criteria fulfill the basic principles of:
- To constitute a simple, practical system, feasible to apply and achieve in a city tourism destination To form a system capable of evolving from the simple to the complex, that goes through gradual progress in a homogeneous way and that has the peculiarity of being generalized to other destinations in the country. Establish a minimum set of criteria that are synthetic, representative, comparable between tourist destinations and preferably quantitative and qualitative.
In the proposal made by the author on the evaluation criteria of the sustainable development policy in tourist destinations, the aspects that make up the previously decided criteria are evaluated according to their importance. The parameters to measure the quality of the criterion in this case are identified as:
| CRITERION |
Description |
|
| Relevance of the criterion | It is defined who and how the development policy indicator will be used. | |
| Data availability | The ease with which the data needed for evaluations of development policy indicators can be obtained. | |
| Understandable and Reliable | Degree of simplicity and understanding of the indicator with destination management. | |
| Comparability | If it is comparable with those of other key issues of the destination | |
| Predictive capacity | Know if it serves as an advance warning for the most important problems of the main key issues of the destination. | |
Table 5. Parameters to measure quality of criteria. Source: self made
In consideration of the above, the sustainability-oriented tourism destination development policy model is an integrated system that allows interrelating the administrative approach of tourism destination management with a quantitative and qualitative approach for the decision-making process in the territory.
Two well-differentiated environments are identified, the internal and the external, the first represented by a market of products-services offered and the second, by the marketing agents, the local population and other entities that provide their services in the city. The theoretical conception that the author proposes to structure in an integral way, the problems of the development policy proposal in destinations of heritage cities are:
| PHASE I | Initial definition of methodology and content. |
| PHASE II | Resource analysis. |
| PHASE III | Diagnosis. |
| PHASE IV | Synthesis and conclusions. Programs to achieve sustainability and comprehensive quality. |
| PHASE V | Objectives of the tourism development plan. |
| PHASE VI | Definition of competitive strategies. |
| PHASE VII | Definition of actions. |
| PHASE VIII | Organization and control of tourism development |
Table 6. Proposal for a development policy in destinations of heritage cities. Source: self made
PHASE I. Initial definition of methodology and content
Resolution of problems of implementation of the plan, once its implementation is decided:
- Decide leadership (credibility, mobilization capacity, reconciliation of interests): Local scale Set initial calendar (schedule) Election of technicians or personnel linked to the plan Design of plan phases (adaptation of the chosen methodology) Create a monitoring commission of the tourism development plan Decision-making and consultation body in which the agents and actors of the local tourism sector must be represented:
- public and private agents with significant incidence participatory, decentralized, dynamic process, generator of consensus between needs and interests.
- Identify the influence groups Disseminate the planning process: objectives, scope and focus of the plan Agree on the strategy of the plan: Suggestions Achieve their participatory commitment Choice of the organizational model: Tables - Workgroups Objectives:
- The technical team plays a fundamental role in coordinating and adequately channeling the opinions of the different agents with orderly forms of participation in accordance with the purposes of planning. Obtaining concrete conclusions on different aspects must be sought, overcoming the mere presentation of suggestions and claims, as well as to achieve the approximation of contrary proposals that lead to a consensual position.
PHASE II . Resource analysis.
- Data collection phase on the planned area Organization and synthesis of basic topics that are useful and clarifying the space Identify the needs of tourists Analyze the characteristics of the services offered Recognize if there is an initial attraction. Analyze accessibility Evaluate basic services: accommodation and restaurants Study what information exists and how it is provided Know the destination according to communication and promotion.
Identification and ranking of resources.
- Inventory of elements of possible tourist attraction Hierarchy of resources Weighting of the potential for tourist use.
It is important to know the implications of potential tourist use. Analyze the tourist resource as the set of potentialities and the tourist product as the tourist heritage with the human contribution that the usable heritage would give.
Analysis of the resources and the tourist context
Access. Analysis of accessibility to the destination and resources:
- It connects a sending center with the receiver: considered in two ways:
- In terms of real physical accessibility
- Market accessibility: proximity to demand issuing centers.
- Real presence of transport infrastructure. Distance, in absolute terms. Economic or temporal cost of travel. Accessibility to destination and resources: distance / time relationship.
Some aspects to be studied in the vials:
- Category of the road (presence of expressways).Nonuosity of the road (curves and visibility). Orographic difficulties (changes in slopes).Presence of means of transport (other means other than the road).Regional distribution.Future projects. Regional interconnectivity to move around the environment. Analysis of accessibility between the different municipalities or resources in an area.
Analysis of the tourist offer. (strategic plans, field work, etc).
Number and typology of tourist establishments (distinguish and group the offer of accommodation, restaurants, intermediation, offers for reasons, etc.)
- Capacity and category of establishments. Hotels, hostels, rural houses, rental houses, pensions and inns Business structure Opening time Forecasts for the creation of new establishments.
Tourist services and equipment (evaluation of the elements of the tourist offer in the environment). Catering offers, cafes, bars and restaurants. Tourist information offices, reservation center, sports / adventure companies, cultural / natural guided service companies, recreational areas, sports courts, areas suitable for bathing in natural water courses, routes and trails enabled for sports use, routes and tours of a cultural / patrimonial nature, shops selling food products, handicrafts, pharmacies, gas stations, banking establishments, health services, sanitation and purification, collection and sanitation of waste, electricity, telephone.
Analysis of demand. (Official statistics, surveys).
- Origin of the tourist demand of the environment Approach to the quantification of demand Seasonality Main motivation of the visit and attractions Mode of transport Form of organization of the trip (individual, AAVV) Level of expenditure and structure of the same Index of loyalty, degree of satisfaction Segmentation of current demand. Evaluation of competing destinations. Trends in demand.
Issues to Investigate:
- Tourist movement (entrances and exits, choice of destination, motivation, etc.). Demand habits: (where, who informs, how they organize, who travels, transport, duration, type of activities, etc.) Sociological profile: (age, sex, marital status, studies, economic level, group composition, expenses and expense concepts).
Surveys to make the best decisions: four phases:
- Preparation (choice of the universe and of the sample, pre-test). Carrying out (representative number of surveys, periods and adequate supports). Tabulation (data cleaning and synthesis). Interpretation (report to be incorporated into the diagnosis).
The questionnaire must be simple, precise, discreet, fast, a pre-test must be carried out with the type of questions that can be: several answers to choose, open or free response, closed or dichotomous (yes-no), of classification (indicate in order of preference).
PHASE III . Planning diagnosis
Application of territorial and tourism business SWOT.
- Internal analysis: definition of strengths and weaknesses.
Oriented to the study of the territory, "the company" and the local community, it is necessary to point out which are the strengths and weaknesses of the resource in terms of the tourism system, fundamentally with respect to some of these selected strategic issues: situation, product, supply, demand, comparative and competitive advantages, etc. If they are significant, the following aspects can be addressed: climate, environmental and landscape heritage quality of the environment, quality and quantity of tourist offer, knowledge in the markets of the destination's brand image, dominant business culture in the area (business attitude entrepreneurial, or rentier or speculative approaches):
- Existence of equipment.
- Physical and social carrying capacity of the resource under development.
- Predictable land use conflicts.
- Fluidity or bottlenecks of immediate transport.
- Approval or rejection of tourism as a positive / negative fact by managers and the local population.
- Quality / price ratio compared to competing markets.
- Deficiencies or positive experiences in promotion and marketing.
- Cultural events or holidays in the resort.
- Deficiencies or successes in the management of the patrimonial resource.
- Business structure (tourist or non-tourist), for which topics such as: human resources, quantity: capacity to generate employment will be studied; quality: qualification of the employed and managerial personnel.
- Technological level reached.
- Sources of funding.
- Relationship with public administrations.
- Insertion in the local society.
- Connection with demand markets.
- Participation of outside actors in decision making.
- Analysis of the tourist environment: opportunities and threats.
It is an analysis of the environment and demand, market competition and general trends in the sector. An opportunity can be defined as an event that represents a good opportunity to achieve competitive advantages. All opportunities must be evaluated according to their attractiveness and chances of success. A threat can be defined as a challenge imposed by a trend or an event in the unfavorable environment that would produce, in the absence of action, an erosion of the current situation, some of them as:
- Trends in external tourism demand Interests of foreign investors Position of our product with respect to market trends (it is considered within an emerging, consolidated, aging typology, etc.) Existence of qualification projects for the municipal cultural offer or regional (museums, congress and convention centers, etc.).
The factors must be prioritized according to their importance and the possibilities of change and impact in the future, the final list must be reduced with the most relevant aspects that help decision-making
Tourist activity trend:
- The euro will facilitate travel in the European Union. Globalization of markets and lifestyles. Appearance of new destinations and competing products. Breakdown of holidays throughout the year, growth of "mini-vacations". Among the motivations Priorities grow: businesses, congresses, incentives, nature and great thematic attractions. Quality and complementary offer will act as fundamental competitive elements of tourist destinations. Reduction of state control. Increase in collaboration between the public-private sector. Undoubted importance of the segment of over 55 years. Increase in the internationalization of companies in a global corporate framework. Development of direct marketing channels to the final consumer. Individualization of the offer. Offer adapted to a "super-segmentation" of demand.Sustainable tourism becomes an essential benchmark Appearance of new technologies with a direct impact on tourism consumption and production Travel cheaper Tour packages will maintain their acceptance due to their cost Increasing motivational diversity of tourism demand Increasing value of tourism marketing in tourism management High development of urban tourism In certain segments, interest in authentic experiences where tourists are integrated into local society Training and retraining of staff as a guarantee of quality improvement.Increasing motivational diversity of tourism demand Increasing value of marketing in tourism management High development of urban tourism In certain segments, interest in authentic experiences where tourists are integrated into local society Training and recycling of staff as a guarantee of improvement of quality.Increasing motivational diversity of tourism demand Increasing value of marketing in tourism management High development of urban tourism In certain segments, interest in authentic experiences where tourists are integrated into local society Training and recycling of staff as a guarantee of improvement of quality.
Tourism megatrend towards 2020.
- By 2020, 1,600 million tourists in the world, 71 million in Spain. Electronic technology will become an all-powerful factor to influence the choice of destination and the distribution of products. Fast-track travel. Considerable reduction of obstacles to travel, thanks to new technological applications Appearance of unusual destinations, advent of quasi-space tourism More destinations focusing on “image” as a prerequisite for diversification and for expanding their power of attraction. Development of markets by products (especially thematic ones), oriented to one, or a combination, of the triple E: entertainment, excitement and education.
PHASE IV. Synthesis and conclusions.
Considering the above, what are the opportunities and limitations? This leads to the definition of key or strategic issues. Without trying to limit the possibilities too much, issues such as:
- Need to improve the tourist offer Improvement of communication infrastructures, etc. Protection or environmental regeneration, recovery, rehabilitation of heritage, etc. Overcoming climates of conflict in management Access to more qualified demand segments, etc.
It is important to select a small number of strategic topics to discuss about them and to obtain consensus with the agents on actions that are truly essential for the community.
- On the resource On tourist equipment On accessibility On public services
Priority areas of action must be defined in consensus with social agents and tourism demand:
- Cultural offer. Urban planning. Tourist information and signaling services. Specific commercial offer for tourism.
Define the strategic vision: a phrase that defines and synthesizes the key themes of the plan. They should be 5-6 concise lines as a summary of the proposed tourism development project. It involves taking a position in front of the environment and has two purposes:
- That the destination stands out from its competitors (reorientation and differentiation) Provide coherence to the strategic plan by facilitating the assignment of priorities.
Strategic vision: reinforce the city's external projection and service economy through a differentiated tourism development, which integrates the coastal attractions and those of the urban environment in a context of quality of life that benefits residents and tourists
- Exterior projection. Tourism activity will contribute to reinforcing the international functions that it increasingly develops. Service economy. It is not convenient to focus on a tourism monoculture, but rather to ensure the contribution of tourism to a diversified local economy. Differentiated tourism development. Differentiation is conceived as a competitive strategy based on the main tourist assets of the city: coastal attractions. Print a qualitative turn in tourist activities related to the coastline. Urban attractions. Take advantage of the good growth expectations of urban tourism to value the existing resources in the city. Quality of life. Product of privileged natural conditions, infrastructures and socio-cultural factors,it constitutes a distinctive element to be promoted. Benefit for residents and tourists. Tourism is not an end in itself but a means to achieve the well-being of city dwellers and the satisfaction of visitors.
PHASE V . Objectives of the tourism development plan
Goal setting. Taking into account the results of the previous phase (SWOT), the objectives or goals to achieve sustainable tourism development will be set. These objectives must meet four requirements:
- They must be few and clear. They must be realistic and achievable with the means available in the local community. They must be quantifiable and therefore susceptible to evaluation over time. They must be agreed upon by all the agents involved in the sector.
PHASE VI. Definition of competitive strategies
Strategy design:
- These should be understood as guidelines for action in both the public and private spheres and should allow the achievement of the proposed objectives. They should seek to prioritize strengths or opportunities and minimize threats and weaknesses of the system.
- It will be carried out taking into account: prioritizing the effects of its application (in time and space) and the resources available for it.
Product-market strategy: position of the product and its ability to compete. Situation of tourism products (potential situation of tourism products, their current situation and development prospects). Analysis of the seasonality of the markets.
Tourism resource strategy: focuses on the development of incipient areas.
- Identification of the resources Assessment and ranking of the same Proposal for action on them Proposal of suitable products
Positioning strategy:
- Positioning is the competitive position of a product, a service, a brand or a destination by the public. It is a marketing decision.
How do I want my visitors to see me? Different perception according to different market segments.
You must meet the following conditions:
- Adapt to the profile of the demand Influence the competitive advantages of the destination in the market Be consistent with the generic proposal of the destination Be integrated into the development model Be concise and clear, trying to avoid false expectations: be differentiated.
Communication strategy. At destination and origin, promotional material, social dissemination, fairs, signage, etc.
Marketing strategy. Linked to the previous one, it looks for the best marketing channels, reservation center, wholesale AAVV, business associations, etc.
Product strategy (current). It encompasses all the components of the product: quality improvement, efficiency improvement, tourist training, social awareness and infrastructure improvement.
Product creation strategy: design of new products according to demand segments:
- Product components:
- basic services or product itself.
- related services.
- Work with the symbolic and affective value that the consumer associates with the product Work with lines and ranges of associated products Work with the brand
Trend in strategies on cultural heritage:
- Quality strategy: ISO standards, tourist quality. Specialization strategy: everything for everyone (TT), everything for some (TA) and, something for some (AA). Personalization strategy: segmentation based on tourist behavior. Improving customer satisfaction. Improvements in accessibility, rest, information and design of routes, accommodation and catering appropriate to each demand segment. Relational marketing: long-term customer relationship orientation. Emotion management: emotional vision of the tourist experience. Create unique memories. Heritage interpretation can act in response to new demands, favor the understanding of heritage and therefore respect and appreciation, enable a unique experience.
PHASE VII . Definition of actions:
They are the actions necessary for the development of the strategy. The following questions must be answered: Who is responsible? How will it be implemented? Where will it materialize? How much money will it cost? How will it be financed? How long will it take to undertake it? A file with the following information would correspond to each action:
- Description of the action. Location. Agents involved. Responsible for the execution. Economic cost. Budgetary distribution Level of priority: advisable, necessary, urgent Possibilities of external financing Execution period.
EXAMPLES: communication and marketing strategy.
Subprograms:
1- Tourist awareness: aimed at the private sector, local community, public sector and tourists. In the private sector, it is understood as sectoral awareness days (hotels, apartments, restaurants, etc.) with campaigns to disseminate tourist quality to business groups, talks on quality in customer service, information on the benefits of cooperation, training of human resources, proactive attitude in tourism activity, among others.
For the public sector, talks and seminars to carriers (public transportation and taxis), importance of carriers as tourist guides, importance of customer service and satisfaction in short-term trips, treatment of the disabled, foreign tourists. In the local community for schoolchildren: training on history and culture, environmental education workshops, to improve habits (saving and cleaning urban land), outdoor activities (guided tours), video projections on the solidarity and tolerance. For housewives and the elderly with workshops to recover traditional recipes, create associations to create specialized restaurants, carry out outdoor activities.
For young people: campaigns to assess cultural heritage, photography contests. For tourists information on history, culture, visits in the vicinity of cultural resources, archeology, art, urban analysis, architectural.
2- Improvement of tourist information: Preparation of promotional material: brochures and leaflets, thematic brochures: gastronomy, nature, sports, nautical, cultural offer, brochures specialized in accessibility with information on existing accommodation, restaurants, transport, activity programs, equipment and conditioned tourist resources (beaches, natural spaces and tourist routes or circuits).
3- Signaling. Improvements in signage: signage towards and in resources, design of a homogeneous signage, design of interpretive panels, accessible signage: visual panels, panels in several languages, route and itinerary signage, zoning signage in heritage areas, signage with messages of correct habits, signage for the correct use of the facilities.
4- Control of the marketing plan:
PHASE VIII. Organization and control of tourism development:
Planning should be viewed as a continuous process. The plan must contain:
- Schedule of planned actions Budgetary planning Political and administrative structure for the execution of the plan: competences, technical structure and consultative bodies.
- Definition of indicators of achievement of objectives: environmental, quality of the offer, satisfaction. Mechanisms of evaluation and control of the process: supervision and correction.
This allows evaluating the progress of the implementation of tourism development plans and policies at the local scale of Cienfuegos, through the design of a policy for its development, identification of its phases and the actions that comprise them, evaluating the degree of compliance. of the same and complete this analysis with the evaluation of the efficiency of its compliance, Scheme 1. Proposed model of tourist destination development policy with one of its objectives broken down to the level of the management model for the sustainability and quality of the city of Cienfuegos. Source: self made
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