2 minute read
THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF TOURISM
TIM O’DONOGHUE
Most communities that are travel destinations have seen their tourism economies grow organically and tourism industry collaboration and oversight evolve reactively. At the start, pioneering and influential tourism businesses often assume leadership roles. Collaboration generally starts occurring after a critical mass of tourism operators realize that it makes sense to pool resources for more efficient and effective destination marketing. If that is successful, it is often only in reaction to the stresses that overcrowding and congestion puts on environmental, community, cultural, and commercial resources that collaboration starts to focus on destination management.
A host community’s values must direct tourism, not vice versa, and preferably from the start rather than as an emergency response. In order for tourism to be embraced and supported by the community, local stakeholders and residents must drive the planning process; establish a tourism vision, create tourism policy, develop tourism strategies, and set goals, actions, and performance measures. A destination stewardship council comprised of representatives of all segments of the community is necessary to ensure that the implementation of tourism management and development plans are consistent with the ethos and diversity of the community.
While highly desirable, the democratization of local tourism development is not without its challenges. There are many. Here are two:
Community leaders must recognize that change can be hard on people. Successful tourism businesses, for example, may be resistant to change due to perceived costs, and may work to block policies that prioritize environmental stewardship and social responsibility. To this day, despite abundant research to the contrary, there exists an old paradigm perception that economic health is at odds with the environment, culture, and community of a place. A key responsibility of community leaders is to educate all stakeholders on the economic benefits of environmental and social sustainability, as well as the importance of financial sustainability.
Frances Conner
However, once such engagement has begun, it must itself be sustainable; it must be consistently delivered, continuously updated, rigorous, and well-funded. An effective democracy cannot exist without unbiased sources of information and trusted media and educators.
Tourism industry officials should be prepared to receive feedback that is hard to hear, especially from places experiencing the negative impacts of overtourism. Development and management plans that are legitimate expressions of community values and priorities must have credible mechanisms for soliciting, tracking, and responding to feedback. Such mechanisms include surveys, webinars and workshops, and other forums that are facilitated by trusted, experienced, and wellorganized professionals. Hopefully, tourism planners who seek community input do so out of sincere civic responsibility, not out of desperation or as a box-ticking exercise.
Jackson Hole is shifting from driving tourism to managing it. As part of our sustainable tourism and destination management efforts, local government has approved a set of overarching sustainability policies and more rigorously incorporated the principles and policies of sustainability in the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan. The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board has embarked on the development of a Sustainable Destination Management Plan. These actions are promising steps in developing a more comprehensive set of social, environmental, and economic sustainability performance measures that better reflect our community and its future as a tourism destination.
