Tourism Research,
Planning and
Development
Learning Outcomes
Define Toursim research
Discuss the different types of research
Explain the importance of policy when preparing the tourism master
plan
Discuss how tourism planning, development and implementation is
conducted
What is Tourism research?
Research empowers you to plan using
relevant and timely information.
It also directs your attention to pertinent
data that can affect strategies and their
implementation.
It answers the question WHAT, WHERE,
WHY AND HOW.
Without it, you may be misled by biased
opinions, prejudices, and misleading
conclusions.
Date:
March 20, 2025
Some of the objectives of tourism
research are as follows
Discover tourists needs and wants
Analyze the past and present visitor behavior
Reduce subjectivity regarding observations and
data.
Measure the effectiveness of a promotional
technique
Provide insights into travel patterns
Classify tourists
Encourage in depth review of selected
alternatives
Provide a feed back mechanish
Evaluate potential sources of income for the
destination
Test recommendations
Help create and develop new tourist products
and services
Review competitors' strategies
Types of tourism research
01 Visitor Profile
This is a type of research which covers
demographics, psychographics and tourist
patterns. Data on tourist expendituresand
behaviorcan also be reviewed
01
02 Satisfaction Surveys
These measures the quality of service provided by a facility or a
destination in relation to tourist expectation
03 economic impact studies
This discuss the value off
income and expenditure result
from tourism activity
04 inquiry conversations
These monitor the level of interest versus the
actual visit to a destination
05 market shares study
These are used to monitor the percentage share
a country, destination or attraction has over the
total available market. This includes arrivals,
departures, inbound and outbound travel,
domestic and foreign visitors among others.
06 carrying capacity
This research focuses on the feasibility of undertaking a
tourism activity in a specific location. It reviews the
capacity of the host community to meet the demand of a
projected volume of tourism as well as the acceptable
levels of environmental impacts.
07 market Profiles
These refers to the studies that
pertain to current and potential
consumers and suppliers of a
product or service
08 Market Segmentation
This attempts to classify consumers into sub
categories on the basis of their preferences,
lifestyle and demographic characteristic, and
other significant data
09 Feasibility Studies
These focus on current and future demand
incorporating financial viability, environmental
impact of proposed tourism projects, as well as
the socio- economic factors
10 forecasting studies
These are used to predict the possible effect of
selected variables such as income, change of
preferences, trends, and population growth
11 Impact studies
These look into the possible effects
of tourism plans in relation to the
environment, economy as well as its
effects on the community
12 Leisure and recreation studies
These refer to research conducted for local
councils by examining levels of provision and
use of leisure facilities and services, levels of
participation in leisre activities , and views and
aspirations of the populationregarding their
own leisure preferences.
13 Position Statements
These are compilation of factual information on the current situation with regard to a
topic or issue of concern, and are designed to assist decision- makers to become
knowledgeable about the topic or issue and to take stock of matters such as
current policies, or demand.
Sources of Data
Data is a very important when it comes to tourism
research, this proves the result of the research
Example, Statistics from the Department of
Tourism Reveal the following Data
Investments: Travel and tourism
investments in 2015 amounted to the Php
79.5 billion. It is expected to reach Php
139.5 billion by 2026
Spending: Money spent by visitors
amounted to Php 294.4 billion in 2016. Thjis
is forecasted to total to php 579.8 billion in
2026.
2 types of data:
Primary. These are information
received directly from the target
respondents. The data can come from
interviews, questionnaires, surveys,
focus groups and also information
Secondary. These are data from
published documents such as books,
trade magazines, journals, research and
periodicals. These can come from online
materials such as corporate and official
government websites and other
reputable internet sources.
Tourism Policy
The creation of tourism policy is spearheaded
by the national government in coordination
with all the stakeholders from the public and
private sectors.
General policies for tourism are likely to
reflect a range of objectives:
Economic
Environment
Social
Educational
Diplomatic
These include "guidelines, principles and
programs of action within an ethical framework
that is issue focused and best represents the
intent of a community to effective planning,
development, product, services, marketing,
and sustainability goals and objectives for the
future growth of tourism.
Further, the general goal for economic policy
in tourism is likely to be the maximization of
the contributions of tourism to national
economic well- being.
According to belle (1997), additional policy
objectives include the following:
To optimize contributions to the balance of
payments.
To provide a focus for regional
development
to provide employment
To redistribute and improve incomes
To contribute to social and economic
welfare
Global Issues Affecting Tourism Policy
Safety and security, including but not limited to
epidemics, terrorism, and petty crimes
Ethical and sustainable tourism initiatives
Endangered species
Responsible use of social media
Use of online and mobile techniques
Rising cost of fuel
Changes in demographics and psychographics
Open Skies
Climate changee
Protection of indigenous tribes and their heritage
Need for workforce training appropriate and relevant
to the industry
Experiential and authentic tourist behavior,
preferences and requirements
New and emerging destinations
Change in business models
The tourism act of 2009also incorporates strong
statements on related policies which are as
follows:
ENSURE the development of the Philippine
tourism that is for and by th3e Filipino
people, conserve and promote their heritage,
national identity and sense of unity
RECOGNIZE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT as integral to the national
socio- economic development efforts to
improve the quality of life of Filipino people,
providing the appropriate attention and
support for the growth of the industry
PROMOTE a tourism industry that is
ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE, RESPONSIBLE,
PARTICIPATIVE, CULTURALLY SENSITIVE,
ECONOMICALLY VIABLE, AND ETHICALLY AND
SOCIALLY EQUITABLE for local communities
CREATE a favorable image of the Philippines
within the international community, thereby
strenghtening the country's attraction as a
tourism destination and eventually paving the way
for other benefits that may result from a positive
global viewe of the country
DEVELOP the country as a prime tourist hub in
ASIA, as well as a center of world congresses
and conventions, by promoting sustainable
tourism anchored principal pn the country's
history, cultur4e and natural endowments, and
ensuring the protection preservation and
promotion of these resources
ENCOURAGE private sector participation and
agri tourism for countryside and
development and preservation of rural life.
Tourism Planning and
Development
A plan is a road map, blueprint or playbook. It
helps map out the directions; and provide a
strategy with action programs to achieve
objectives
It is important to seriously review the ost versus the benefits of investing in a
tourism activity.
When done correctly, the plan and its action programs can withstand socio-
economic yles for the medium to long term. and this is what sustainability is all
about
Bad planning and poor projections can lead
to
Overcrowding
environmental damage
commercialization
pollution
sewerage disposal problems
loss of cultural identity
erosion of tradition and culture
inflation
Tourism planning and development must
always take into consideration the
importance of sustainability.
According to the Brundtland Report, this is
defined as "meeting present needs without
comprimising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs."
National Tourism
Development Plan (NTPD)
2017-2022
The NTPD defines key concepts for use
in tourism planning, namely, tourist
sites, tourism development clusters,
and tourism development areas
TOURISM SITES (TSs). These "specific places whih tourists come to see and
experience.
A TS may be:
An existing natural attraction
An area of natural scenic beauty
Man-made attraction
Site or area for potential development or enhancement for tourism
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CLUSTERS (TDCs). These refer to the delineated using the
following criteria:
existence of a sufficient number and range of tourism sites with capacity t
meet long term development possibilities
topographical features
contiguousness of land masses
Geographical size
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AREAS (TDAs). These consistent least one, but more
usually several tourism sites. A TDA can either have considerable existing tourism
facility or have the ptential for significant tourism development .
STRATEGI DESTINATION AREAS (SDAs). These refer to a group of priority TDAs are
adjacent to each other and are within their respective clusters. The criteria used to
identify the SDAs were:
Critiucal mass of attraction
facilities and services in the area
capaity of environment to sustain tourism development
Capability of direct accessibility from key source markets
Diversity of product off er in a way that can be promoted to different niche
market
IMPLEMENTATION
A plan without an execution may be
considered wishful thinking. But implementing
a plan o strategy must also have a feedback
mechanism and a tool to audit results.
Encouraging investments is one key
technique for increasing tourism activity
development.
Investors in Tourism Enterprise Zones (TEZs) are
offered incentives to encourage them to participate in
Tourism development. These include the following:
Income Tax Holiday
5% Gross income Taxation rate
Tax and duty free importation of capital investment
and equipment
Tax and duty free importation of transportation
equipment and spare parts
Tax and dutyv free importation of gods and
services
Net loss carry over
In addition, there are non-fiscal incentives such as:
Employment of foreign nationals
Special investors' resident visa
Foreign currency transactions
Exemption from requisition of investment
Lease and ownership of land
MONITORING AND
EVALUATION (M&E)
Assessment enables stakeholders to monitor
their progress, review the efficiency and
effectivity of their programs, evaluate
solutions to gaps in service and value delivery.
The department of Tourism (2017) defines
these concepts as fllws:
Monitoring is the continuous tracking/measurement of progress and
performance against what was planned (schedules, outputs, resource
use, cost); and evaluation is the systematic measurement of
performance at the level of tourism goals and objectives
Para (2009) recmmends the following factors to be reviewed during the monitoring
and evaluation phase:
Result (goals, objectives, outputs)
Success Indicatrs to measure progress towards results
explicit targets per result
Data source to assess performance
Collection methods
Frequency at which measurements will be made
Roles and responsibilities
