Factors that hinder development of sustainable tourism

3.2 Analyze factors that may prevent/hinder sustainable tourism development.

Factors that hinder or boom tourism, as there are different destinations so there are as many different types of travelers and as well different individual experiences.

Travelling should be affordable however, cost is the primary factor that can affect the industry both local and international travelers. Cost do not limited to the ticket alone but the general price travelers will meet in the country of choice.

Crime and violence within the society are significant barriers to the achievement of sustainable development, as it affects not only social well being but also economic development. Jamaica’s high incidence of crime has resulted in loss of investments, in addition to direct effects on sectors such as tourism from which the country obtains most of its foreign exchange earnings. Although the overall number of crimes reported decreased marginally in 2001 compared with previous years, there were increases in major crimes in the island. Of growing concern has been the fact that most recent incidents of violence have been interpersonal in nature and this makes it harder to control.

Another factor is safety. This is a primary concern of travelers of all types. Safety becomes particularly important when traveling abroad and to under develop countries. Widespread political unrest can cause even the most adventurous tourist to avoid visiting unstable countries. Outbreak of communicable diseases can also hinder tourism industries, especially because returning to home countries can be difficult during outbreaks. For instance, swine flu and H1N1 stopped many people from traveling abroad. Domestically, the crime rate of tourist areas, specifically traffic safety and incidents of petty theft, negatively affect the tourism industry. For theme parks, the safety record can also be a negative factor.

Though every traveler arrives at their destination with an expectation of different types of amenities, the lack of certain amenities could deter even the most adventurous traveler. For instance, easily attained transportation is a major concern for both the budget and the luxury traveler. If public transportation is difficult to understand, unreliable or dangerous, budget tourists traveling abroad may be deterred from visiting your country. The same thing goes with private transportation for luxury travelers. Other amenities that affect tourism include clean water, affordable food and housing, easy visa processes and access to reliable medical care.

The changes in global climatic conditions will result in increased temperatures, rainfall and sea level rise and more frequent hurricanes, droughts, and so forth. Weather plays an important role in the tourism industry. As most travelers to West Africa seek warm or mild temperatures with little rain while on vacation, areas that are prone to wet or cold weather do not thrive in the tourism economy. Climate change will impact not only on biodiversity and natural resources but on social development. The impact of sea level rise on the tourism industry could be profound if it results in increased beach erosion. The island’s two major international al airports are at sea level. Weather plays an important role in the tourism industry. As most travelers seek warm or mild temperatures with little rain while on vacation, areas that are prone to wet or cold weather do not thrive in the tourism economy. Rainy and cold seasons see decreased amounts of visitors throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America. Similarly, incidences of extreme weather and national disasters prevent many travelers from visiting certain areas, as safety becomes a primary concern during these times.

Jamaica is vulnerable to several natural hazards e.g. hurricane, tropical storms, flooding and landslides due to its geographical location. Flooding and landslides are the most recurring hazards. Priority actions must be geared toward disaster mitigation and rehabilitation, and reconstruction in light of the October to November 2001 flood damage in the parishes of Portland and St. Mary. The magnitude of the damage in these two parishes has highlighted the need for proper land use planning and zoning regulations and enforcement. These entire factors can prevent sustainable tourism in Jamaica as well as other countries.

3.3 Analyze different stages in planning for sustainability

Bringing sustainability into action not only requires a solid communication and coordination framework, but it also requires the ability to balance dynamic tensions between environmental, economic and social dimensions (Gunn, 2002). The challenge lies in developing approaches that integrate and address these issues throughout public policy and planning processes (Gunn, 2002).With a wide variety of stakeholders, it will be ever more imperative for planners and decision-makers to balance these diverse challenges and needs and translate these elements into effective policy decisions. Population growth, increased automobile dependency, energy usage and supply, air quality, education access, affordable housing, water scarcity are just a short list of the numerous issues that need to be addressed through leadership and stewardship (Gunn, 2002). By developing sustainably-conscious planning processes we can begin to mitigate the impact of current issues and challenges and place ourselves in a better position to be proactive towards new challenges in the future.

To truly embody sustainability practices and ensure thoughtful implementation there needs to be an understanding of what needs to be done at each stage of the planning process (Gunn, 2002). Due to the complexity of sustainability, different processes and applications will have different effects on other areas or stages within the process. It is important to understand not only what needs to be done at each stage, but also understand how these processes and applications affect and relate to knowledge accumulation, vision, action and evaluation. Generally, the planning process is comprised of the following stages:

Stages in the planning of tourism process:

1.Define the goals and objectivesbasically, objectives for tourism should be a sub-set of the overall objectives (either implicit or document) for the nation, its economy, people and the social structure within an area. There are, however, no hard or set rules as to what the objectives should be (Gunn, 2002). In general, however, tourism objectives should deal with growth leading to increased standard of living, employment levels, and opportunities for intellectual growth, enhancement of the investment potential in an area or country. Cumulatively, tourism objective should describe the set of conditions under which a favorable decision should be made (Gunn, 2002).If the data indicate that reasonable objectives for tourism development can be met, this will generally lead to a decision to proceed with a conceptual planning study. As a first step towards preparation of conceptual plan for tourism development, a market study begins with a determination of the type of tourism business which exists and can be expected.

2.Identify the tourism systemand carry out a survey- this stages deals with which clients you expect to have, what you need to do(Gunn, 2002).. Carry out the survey on social and cultural patterns such as the carrying capacity and settlement patterns, on the cultural and heritage attraction within the area, wildlife, vegetation, coastal and marinas and also carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the location to find out the negative and positive impact of the area (Gunn, 2002).

3.Evaluate alternatives of the analysis– in this stage the information collected from the survey is analyze (Gunn, 2002).

4.Select and implement–this is the stage where the information collected from the survey is analyze and the put policies and plan in place to help develop the process (Gunn, 2002).

5. Provide recommendations- recommendation should be made to improve progress

6.Monitor and evaluate– Monitoring the progress periodically is very crucial to get the best results. Preparation of a plan document is not an end in itself (Gunn, 2002). The task of the planner does not end when a plan for three years, five years of seven years has been prepared. A system of constant revision and monitoring of the plan progress should be a part of the exercise of the planning (Gunn, 2002).

Successful tourism planning and development means, serving both tourists and local residents, tourism should serve the community first and the tourist second, tourism development must be compatible with other activities in the area and be supported by the local population, the tourism plan should be closely coordinated with other local and regional planning efforts, if not an integral part of them (Gunn, 2002).