Quintessential Queries (1)
Minding your Ps and Qs
Destinations-in-Action are on a quest to Astonish! They proceed by engaging in quintessential queries as to the contextual evolution and affective realities of tourism, and the degree to which they can ensure that tourism succeeds in satisfying the economic, social, cultural and environmental requirements desired by key stakeholders.
I had not anticipated including this topic in this series of articles - Destination Leaders, Mind Your Ps and Qs - but having just received a copy of The Tourism Area Life Cycle – Review, Relevance and Revision (Richard Butler, editor. 2024. Channel View Publications) it occurred to me that my contribution (Chapter 8, Opinions on the Reformation of TALC Studies) highlights many of the issues that destinations grapple with and attempt to resolve over time and throughout different stages of their development.
While the next four articles are from the original word file of my chapter, this one relates to the relevance of TALC for destinations. The second article will review the basics. The third will bring clarity to the various stages in the TALC cycle, while the fourth will conclude with a discussion on reformation and provide a bibliography.
Throughout the article I note the importance of undertaking ‘deep-dive’ assessments or queries that, to my mind, benefit from an appreciation for and an understanding of design thinking. A process that is fundamental if destinations want to undertake their own destination assessment…`quintessential queries`, reviewed in depth in my four-volume e-book, Astonish! Smarter Tourism by design.
If TALC sparks an interest, you might want to peruse the remaining 24 chapters in The Tourism Area Life Cycle – Review, Relevance and Revision, available from Channel View Publications. Each, in their own way, highlights individual destinations, references and discusses in greater detail vital topics important to all destinations: Over- and under-tourism, carrying capacity, choice and types of investments and development processes. Also of singular import are the impacts from internal and external forces, the quest for sustainability, and all aspects of planning and control, marketing, and a wide range of social, political, geographic and economic forces.
You will also note how TALC gives credence to the nature and characteristics of supply and demand, the effort to build capabilities and capacities, the viability and feasibility of operations, all aspects related to finance and the profitability of enterprises. Consideration is also given to visitor typologies and market behaviors, the rationale and motivation for visitation, resident and workforce predispositions and expectations.
Obviously, governmental policies, strategies and governance, competitiveness and collaborative behaviors, value creation and capture, visitor facilities and infrastructures, nature of attractions and activities, and so on, all find their way into the mix and lead to rejuvenation and the transitions to transformation.
Following this four-part series, we’ll return to examine the Ps (many noted in this series of articles) that tourism’s leaders should be taking into consideration as their destinations evolve and strive to thrive in ever-changing, competitive marketplaces.
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Relevance. Having grown up in the Caribbean, followed by numerous visits over the years, I developed an interest and fascination with tourism. I witnessed the initial phases of start-up, the lead up to evolutionary growth, followed by stabilized forms of maturity and active pursuit of rejuvenation to counter rapid disruption. Later as an avid observer and consultant, I witnessed how so many communities-as-destinations and tourism-related enterprises - through their commitments, R&D efforts, plans and strategies – were intent to inspire and aspire, not ire; to gain, not cause strain.
There is nothing delusionary about this. It simply reflects an over-riding belief cemented in the (not always realizable) economics of hope (Pleeging and Burger, 2020), not doom. As well as in the concept of dynamic capabilities as a theory of organizations (Teece, 2022), valuable as a means to help communities-as-destinations maintain their ability to progress.
Unfortunately, these worldviews regarding tourism do not jive with what some academicians debate as a ‘war over tourism’ (Butcher 2020; Higgins-Desboilles, 2021) with tourism often characterized as a commoditized, worrisome phenomenon plundering and overwhelming the commons and sliding into decline, with tourists and tourism often portrayed in derogatory or pejorative terms.
At least that’s the impression gleaned by industry insiders, many of whom are trying their utmost to uphold and balance their corporate, societal, and sustainability obligations, taking umbrage with those who choose to ignore their contributions, contextual realities and struggles associated with running all types of enterprises. Organizations and communities dedicated to serving diverse markets, providing enjoyment, pleasure (Austin, 2022) and sustenance, as best they can, for everyone.
While I have yet to meet and talk with operators or community officials who know about TALC, that’s not to say that they aren’t fully aware of tourism’s vicissitudes and downside risks. Given the nature of their fixed-capacity, financially leveraged enterprises that are highly vulnerable to the gyrations, cyclicality and seasonality of travel and tourism, they are well-versed in the trade-offs between risk-mitigation and risk-taking. Everyone seeking resilience, desperately trying to adapt to difficult realities, different mentalities, and time-based competition (Stark and Hout, 2023).
On the other hand, they instinctively know travel and tourism’s growth is not about to peter out. The constancy of demand, or the desire and need to travel, is everlasting – ‘travel and tourism for all’ (not just the privileged). That’s not to say economic growth is, or should be, their objective. Operators are savvy enough to realize that growth is simply an outcome of successful win-win performances, the offering of joyful and aesthetic, sensual and resplendent visitor experiences.
But, achieving share-of-heart in competitive marketplaces requires emphasis on earning share-of-market, requiring destinations to spend millions of dollars on marketing and place branding (the power of destinations to attract and inspire). To secure thrive-ability, however, there is growing awareness that success be inextricably tied to creative community methods designed to enhance the appeal and success of their communities as a whole…an optimistic design-oriented outlook associated with prosperity and progress in mind.
And yet, as the proverbial canaries in the gold mine, having sparked concerns about ‘over-tourism’ - the breaching of thresholds (Raworth, 2017 ) and calls for travel and tourism’s ‘de-growth’ (legitimate or not) - I am under the impression that further TALC studies must overcome their infatuation with tourism’s regress (Haywood, 2022) that’s seemingly unsympathetic to travel and tourism’s relationship-building, hospitable and delightful qualities. Of course, no one disputing that there are dark undersides to travel and tourism. The facts speak for themselves.
While it has taken time for everyone to catch up with altered realities, progress in the industry’s pursuit of sustainability is advancing. But that’s not stopping some citizenry groups from demanding a scaling-back of some types of touristic activities and events that seem purposely designed to flood the hot-spot zones in touristic (historic, recreation and entertainment) areas…a backlash against annoying behaviors, the car culture, the crush of the crowds, and the moneyed interests associated with profiteering.
Similarly, there are certain communities, trying to curtail tourism’s dominance. Conscious about its power to overwhelm, even destroy the fabric, charm, or folkloric aspects of their cultures and nature-based areas, they are promoting locally controlled, community-based tourism…recognition that tourism should address problems associated with poverty (Desmond, 2023) and cultural integrity…requiring attention to diversity, equity and integration (DEI), and a rationing or limitations to access, a stance compatible with the need to secure a sense of normalcy, survival and thrive-ability.
Based on the insights and the critiques contained in this new volume on TALC (which I did not have the opportunity to review), I don’t doubt that TALC studies have a brilliant future. But, it will be conditional on the necessity for more fulsome and deeper dive assessments so as to fully appreciate and understand the realities and rhythmic flows of touristic activities; the independent nature of (entrepreneurial) stakeholders as they grapple with the need to collaborate, co-create, and leverage their interdependencies – recognition that tourism’s ecosystem, value and supply chains have to be better integrated and managed for the benefit of all, as everyone strives for prosperity and idealized versions of progress.
Deeper dives that will provide more valuable and contextually rich knowledge; enhance everyone’s abilities to perform and prosper; assist in resource allocation decisions; create meaningful value through mitigation and innovation; improve everyone’s mental agility to improvise; adapt to the multiple rhythms of life (Walsh 2023); and, excel through adversity.
As a prelude to further comments, I feel it necessary to provide a glimpse into my initial thinking and sentiment about tourism which has shaped my beliefs regarding tourism’s socio-economic development, and what I’ve come to consider as its ‘Ps’ (beyond those commonly associated with marketing) – principled purpose and performance; pride and passion for place; desires for prosperity and progress; a need for partnerships and predictability; favorable policies to achieve an honorable presence; and, the will to persevere. As I commented at the time (Haywood 1975):
Tourism development represents a very appealing means by which regions and countries can stimulate investments, earn foreign exchange, and increase employment. Unfortunately, there is an implicit, and sometimes explicit, assumption that the ends of tourists and investors are more important than public welfare.
However, today, we are witnessing a convolution of several factors and forces, especially changes in social values as reflected in environmental sensitivities that are demanding a transcendence of traditional goals of economic life to environmental goals.
Because these environmental goals impose severe constraints on tourism development, the differences between private, public and plural goals require comprehensive planning. Therefore, if tourism development is to be both economically and socially viable, it must be intentionally planned according to performance criteria.
However, the development and use of social performance criteria (clarified in the text) represent a challenge to those involved in tourism development. Further work is required in:
· Identifying those publics or groups that experience the benefits and costs of tourism development.
· Quantifying the values and attitudes of those publics and groups toward tourism development in order to arrive at an index of social desirability.
· Interpreting all the analyses and identifying the implications for tourism policy, planning, and development.
While my evaluation of TALC over the intervening years (Haywood 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2006) has expanded on and beyond these early notions, my intent now is not to double down on what I have critiqued or contributed in the past (though the suggestions still apply), but to reveal how the worldwide studies of popularized tourism areas could be advanced and become an integral contributor to, and part of, a new science of progress (Collison and Cowen, 2019; Haywood 2023).
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Quintessential Queries (2) to follow next week.