Marketing assignment on: Tourism industry
Nowadays tourism industry is the largest in the world and is also the fastest growing at the same time. The latest tourist spot which has emerged in the eyes of the tourists is the Great Ocean Road which is 243km long and stretches along the south eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool (Brian Lawrenson 2011).
The Great Ocean Road has a good facility and well established infrastructure for the people who visit the place. But there is a problem in the availability of their proper accommodation in the form of four and five star hotels. Corangamite Shire Council has sent an application to the state government to improve the qualities and facilities required for the same because they know that the hotel facility gets improved, people will come there in a large number which in turn would yield them with a great amount of profit (K.L. Cecil 1990).
The people required for the work in hotels and other organizations are the residents of the nearby area only but are mainly working on a part time basis only. This is a matter of concern for Corangamite Shire Council because it is facing economic difficulties and is now in great need of improvement over its economy (Corangamite Shire, 2010).
If we talk about the cases study we could say that the primary stakeholders are the people or the local residents living there in that area. They have different opinions cropping up in their mind. They have a great dilemma over the present issue. On one hand they think that if facilities for the visitors or tourists will be improved, it will result in more employment for them which would improve their standard of living. And since they are in great need of having a strong economy to work for their welfare they want the authority to take measures in this regard (Kenneth Stepnell 1972).
But on the other hand they have doubts in their mind regarding the peaceful living they enjoy there. They think that more the number of tourist the more rush and congestion will crop up there and it will hamper their living. So they are a little apathetic in nature for the same issue. They are not in a proper state of mind which could help them in thinking in the right direction. Instability is prevailing over their correct decision of coming to a single answer to this question.
The role of community based consultation holds a very important place when we talk about planning and development of tourism sector. There are different types of communities when we talk about any specific tourist spot. This group works to educate and improve the social, cultural and scientific resources and values present in that spot. It works with an aim in mind to preserve the different resources available on the tourist spot. It works on the line of conserving various resources which are adequately or scarcely available in the area in concern (Tourism Australia Act 2004). The main community based consultation which is in question here in this case study is the Port Campbell. It is a group which educate, improve, protect and conserve the Port Campbell headland’s natural, cultural, social and scientific resources. Along with this, it also takes care of the Port’s long heritage as working port and access to the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park and Arches Marine Sanctuary and Heritage Shipwrecks. When any tourist goes around Great Ocean Road journey, he is supposed to stop at Port Campbell and have a look at the spectacular coastline scenery including Port Campbell National Park and the 12Apostles. It encompasses wild nature of the environment with that of a look of heaven on earth.
Since so many facilities are being provided by the community based consultation, their point of view or their acceptance on any of the topic to be discussed or any decision needed to be taken regarding the tourist spot, is of utmost importance for the regulatory authority. The community take care of the resources, their improvement and security. It enhances the beauty of the environment by taking care of the flora and fauna. It designs and creates the websites for people to gain knowledge about the tourist spots (Richard Everist, 2009).
It might be possible that the community is not happy with decision of the government to increase the accommodation of tourists in such a great amount. In their view, the proposal for a large integrated resort just on west side of the Port Campbell and a major facility at Loch Ard Gorge will overturn years of community consultation and government policy. It is of the view that the report sent to the government for increasing the land area only takes into consideration the economics of the situation but does not give proper emphasis on environmental impacts which should be more integral to the policies of the government. Tourism depends on the natural beauty of the area in concern. And since Port Campbell coastline is of national importance and consists of exceptionally high conservative value, so any decision must be made with taking care of these aspects in mind (Ether 2002).
On one side of the coin, the concern for a huge amount in approximately millions of dollars is required by the government to take up the repairing work required on the Great Ocean Road, whereas on the other side there will be a noticeable increase in the numbers of tourists with a proper requirement of all the facilities required for the same.
Since tourism has a great impact on the environment and people, both, so the awareness of the need for tourism needs to be sustainable. If the host community accepts the proposed tourism development it would have a wider implications as far as sustainability is concerned because of various reasons. (Rodney Hyett 2007). Sustainable tourism deals with making optimal use environmental resources such as managing of important ecological processes and also helping in the conservation of natural heritage and biodiversity, which is an important element in tourism development. It offers proper respect to the socio cultural authenticity of host communities, takes care of their living cultural heritage and traditional values. It also contributes efforts towards the inter-cultural understanding and tolerance of host communities.
Sustainable tourism also provides long term economic and socio economic facilities to all the stakeholders in terms of the employment and earning opportunities and providing social services to the host communities which helps in the eradication of poverty. By improving these various kinds of services, tourist satisfaction also increases to a noticeable extent and they enjoy their experience in a meaningful way. It also makes them aware and educates them about the sustainable tourism practices.
Adopting good practices in tourism contributes towards the three pillars of sustainability. Namely, these are – social, environmental and economic advantages or benefits. Taking care of these three pillars, help in achieving the overall sustainability of the development of tourism. (Australian Privacy Act 1998). An effective community based tourism can take care of the social needs of the host community can contribute towards building up of a sustainable environment which in turn could be commercially viable as well. It helps in the economic development of the local people by the diversification of employment. It encourages the people to offer a certain level of participation by the local community. It encompasses a good management practice along with a safe and quality filled experience for all the individuals who are directly or indirectly involved in the process undertaken.
As far as the case is concerned, only if these very facilities are provided to the host community or if they feel that they are being taken care of by the various authorities, then only they would be happy and give positive feelings about the improvement and development of the tourist facilities which in turn would greatly affect the level of sustainability. Because of these reasons only, the consultation of the primary stakeholder, here, host community, is considered of a great importance. This situation is very difficult to be discussed about as both the parties have their own mind-set regarding the issue of improvement in the accommodation facilities of the tourist coming there.
A consensus is supposed to be developed among all the parties – the host community, i.e. the local residents living in that region, Corangamite Shire Council and the state government. There has to be a proper process for the negotiation and discussion in order to reach towards a certain result for all the stakeholders. But since every stakeholder has a view point of its own so the negotiating process could sometime become problematic because of their conflicting priorities and objectives (Victorian Electoral Publication 2004).
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