What is modern 21st century tourism?

According to UNWTO, tourism means people travelling to a

destination from their homes for a variety of temporary purposes. This encompasses much more than a holiday including:
Business, conferences, exhibitions, meetings etc; Socialising, from visiting friends and family to clubbing;

Culture and entertainment, watching and participating in

sports, concerts etc; Shopping, including out-of-town malls; Health, treatments and indulgence; Education, courses and self-improvement.
Tourism includes both overnight stays and day-trips.

Why should local governments invest in tourism?

Tourism earns almost US$ 367.8 Million p.a. (2011) in foreign exchange.

Although currently, it contributes 0.3% of total GDP, yet it has a potential of contribution up to 5-10% of GDP.
Tourism directly employs almost 700,000 people but it has a potential

to employ over 2 mn people in Pakistan.

Therefore, the support and development of Tourism should be an

integral part of many local governments economic development aspirations.

Wider than that, tourism contributes to the social, economic and

environmental well-being of an area.

Tourism Offers following benefits:

A significant catalyst for economic growth and employment. Brings expenditure from external sources into the local market. Supports and helps to maintain local services. Helps to diversify over-specialised economies. Provides re-skilling, training and employment opportunities at a variety of levels. Provides supplementary incomes to those seeking second jobs, part-time hours, unsocial hours. Leads to the creation and maintenance of local amenities. Supports a programme of events, arts, sports and other culture. Encourages residents to stay and spend leisure time. Helps to build distinctive communities, thus increasing local pride and selfconfidence. Provides opportunities for social inclusion. Encourages cultural diversity. Encourages upgrading and re-use of derelict land and buildings. Protects and provides a source of income for natural and built heritage. Enhances the image of an area, turning a location into a commodity, attracting commercial investment outside the tourism industry as well, by demonstrating to potential investors that the place is good to locate to.

Tourism can bring following difficulties

A fragmented sector so co-ordination is complex and ongoing. Tourism spending is dependent on economic, social and other factors.

International and local inflation level may reduce the numbers of and spending power of foreign (and Pakistani) visitors and encourages Pakistanis to travel overseas (to cheaper destinations). Requires all weather facilities and activities. Is very competitive and increasingly sophisticated. Demand can be seasonal and variable over a weekly cycle, which impacts particularly on employment. Places strain on transport infrastructure, particularly roads. Can be an unattractive sector for people entering the labour market. Requires ongoing investment from the local government. Can place additional pressure on sensitive local environments and therefore needs effective visitor management.

Local governments have greater responsibilities

Essentially it is the job of a local government/authority to

strategically manage tourism, to ensure that its net local benefits outweigh its disadvantages this is the key to long-term sustainability.
The significance of tourism to the economy of an area,

depends on factors such as history and geography, and determines the scale upon which a local government/ authority needs to invest in and support local tourism.

What is the principle role of a local government in tourism?

Competing budgetary pressures are placing considerable

strain on the ability of local authorities to participate in non-statutory services such as tourism.
Therefore, it is essential that local governments tackle

priority tourism issues and functions that can be fulfilled by no other agency.

Only a local government can:

Provide a strategic and operational role in maintaining a

high quality physical environment;

Provide links and continuity of policy between the services,

such as planning, environmental health and highways, that are essential to a sustainable tourism destination;
Ensure that the needs of the whole destination, including

residents, businesses, and the environment, are represented and considered in the management of tourism.

Providing a high quality physical infrastructure

Street cleansing Street lighting Accessibility Parks and gardens Leisure and arts facilities Coastal protection and beach cleanliness Water safety Conservation of the natural environment Preservation of historic buildings Building and planning control Environmental health Public conveniences Footpath maintenance and development Car parks and park and ride schemes Security Signage

Ensuring tourism is a corporate consideration

Sustainable tourism relies upon the successful delivery

of a wide range of council services, across the full range of council departments.
Only a local government can combine the delivery,

coordination and promotion of tourism in one body and in order to make the most of this, a council needs to ensure tourism is a corporate consideration and responsibility.

Ensuring continuity of tourism policy

Continuity of tourism policy across a local government

/authority can be achieved by addressing tourism in the following local authority plans:

Local Plan Unitary Development Plan Community Plan Local Transport Plan Local Cultural Strategy Local Agenda Plan.

Representing the needs of the destination

Local governments, with their democratic basis, offer impartial

decision-making that places the wider good of an area above commercial considerations, in a way that membership organisations, like Regional/Provincial/Federal Tourist Boards, cannot.
In representing the destination in its totality, local bodies are the

guardians of local distinctiveness, championing local culture, people, products and environment.
With this remit, it is the role of the local government to develop a long-

term, strategic direction for the destination, bringing together and balancing the needs of different interests. This is best achieved through a clear understanding of the volume, value and impact of tourism upon the locality.

Representing the needs of the destination

A tourism strategy should be achieved through cooperation

between key players in order to establish shared goals, local ownership, individual responsibilities, the basis for pooling resources and a platform for further partnership initiatives.
As the representative of the destination local authorities

play an important role in linking into provincial and national initiatives, particularly ensuring the needs of the local tourism industry are understood by Provincial Tourist Boards, Provincial Development Agencies, Small Business Service, Learning and Skills Councils, Government Offices and Provincial Assemblies.

The catalyst for partnerships

Tourism is a fragmented industry, forcing together diverse players,

from international corporations to castles to conference centres to canals. Therefore, partnership is both an obvious and necessary way of working; combining expertise, perspectives and priorities across the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Local governments/authorities, with their honest broker role, are

crucial to bringing together and directing these partnerships. Partnerships vary in composition, size and targets but should share a common goal - the strategic and wise management of tourism.
Partnerships can be used to tackle a range of different issues from

visitor management to regeneration to raising quality standards. With the increasing pressure on local governments budgets, partnerships should be used by councils to identify and address their own local tourism priorities, as demonstrated by the case studies below.

Marketing, promotion and information provision

Effective tourism promotion requires high levels of skill to respond to increasingly sophisticated market needs. Not all local government can justify the level of investment necessary to acquire such skills. Tourism marketing and promotion is therefore a function worth considering for outsourcing or undertaking via a partnership. Joint working can also help minimise duplication of promotional activity - the ripple effect of promotion at the town, then district and county level. To outsource tourism promotions requires a (financially) strong base of partners, who can influence the direction of joint promotions. Too many micro players can lead to design by committee and unsatisfactory, but timeconsuming, results. Tourists do not recognise local government boundaries. In many instances, the tourism product exists across several authorities. Therefore, many local governments have to join together with other authorities and partners from the private sector to pool resources and promote a brand which relates to the needs of customers as opposed to administrative boundaries.

Marketing, promotion and information provision

Good information provision can generate additional income, longer

stays, return business and new visitors. Tourists have information needs that should be met prior, during and after their visits. and essential tools for the industry, which local authorities are finding increasingly difficult to fund alone. Their development is a national priority, which needs national, provincial and local collaboration.

Tourist Information Centres (TICs) and the Internet are both powerful

At present, the lack of national TIC network funding means there is a

lack of standardisation across TICs. These are more parochial and are moving away from the original objectives of networked TICs, which was to cross-promote.

Conclusion
With increasing pressure on budgets and non-statutory

services, Local Governments need to ensure that their involvement in tourism is cost-effective and focused upon local priorities.

There are many contributors to tourism and therefore

much scope for duplication of effort.

Local authorities can play a unique and valuable role in the

industry for the benefit of visitors, residents, businesses and the environment alike. help local authorities to focus upon its fulfilment.

Best Value should demonstrate the validity of this role and