Role of Stakeholders in Developing Sustainable Tourism - Essay Example

ROLE OF VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM College Role of Various Stakeholders in Developing Sustainable Tourism In the recent past, the concept of sustainable tourism has emerged as part of the effort to streamline tourism operations. Sustainable tourism refers to a tourism management style that seeks to optimize the benefits of tourism for all stakeholders in this business. The stakeholders of tourism include the tourism firms, employees, the government, tourists, the local communities as well as the environment. Sustainable tourism is a term that emerged the same time as the concept of ecotourism that refer to developing environment friendly methods of tourism management (Forsyte Research, 2000). The success of tourism industry depends on the ability of the management to take care of the welfare of all stakeholders and to ensure that they all benefit from the business investment. Each stakeholder has a role to play if the business of tourism has to flourish, especially in the current century when competition and regulations are threatening tourism. Friction among stakeholder is inevitable as they will often disagree on various matters affecting. This essay identifies the role of various stakeholders of tourism, the tensions that exist among them and viable strategies that can be used to avoid these constraints for business success. In sustainable tourism business, all the stakeholders shape the operations of the organizations. The government is one of the major stakeholders in tourism and influences how the management runs their operations. Anuar et al (2012) identifies the role of the government as designing the regulations and policies that any tourism organization must comply to. The government sets up tax systems, environmental laws and regulations that the investors must comply to. For instance, the government, through environmental law, requires that the tourism firms employ environmental friendly strategies to conserve the environment. On this note, the government may impact the tourism industry either positively or negatively. For instance, if the government sets low tax rates for tourists, the investors will benefit from a higher inflow of tourists within the country. On the other hand, if there is political instability within the government, tourist will avoid visiting the country and the tourism business is bound to fail. Therefore, there exists a mutual relationship between the government and tourism investors that needs to be sustained for effective performance (Phillips et al, 2013). As the organizations strive to comply with the laid regulations, the government reciprocates by design fair policies to attract tourists within the business environment. Another major stakeholder of tourism within this industry is the environment. Sustainable tourism is part of the ecotourism strategy that aims to maintain friendly tourism that is responsible for the environment. Tourism industry is dependent on the environment and the future of this business lies in the ability of investor to conserve it. The investors have a responsibility of taking care of the natural environment, and improving it to ensure that they do not pose danger to the environment. The tourists are attracted by the natural species that exist in the environment and endangering them would be limiting business in the competitive 21st century. The governments in many countries have noted that many species of animals and plants are in danger of extinction raising questions about the future of tourism. Miller (2013) states sustainable tourism must use strategies that focus on the long term plan of the tourism industry. For long term sustainability, investors must focus on environment friendly approaches to business investment. For instance, they should identify endangered species such as trees, fishes, and other organisms and seek strategies to conserve them. This strategy will ensure that the organization survive both in the short and long term. The local community is another stake holder that plays a great role in shaping the nature of tourism business. The success of the business organization depends on the ability of the managers to relate well with the local community. Sanjay and Jiayung (2009) state that the local community and tourism investors must form a mutual relationship for this business to remain profitable. The local community has the right to benefit from the investment of the tourism industries since they exist in the immediate environment. If the local communities do not gain from tourism business, they may see not benefit in it and might frustrate the operations. For instance, the locals may contribute to the destruction of the environment, an act that will have direct impact on the tourism business. Secondly, they may frustrate the tourists, discouraging them from visiting the sites. As a result, the organization will experience fewer visits and hence a significant profit reduction. Hence, the managers in tourism industry have a role to take care of the welfare of the community to avoid consequential losses that may arise within the industry. One of the factors that have suppressed tourism in the contemporary tourism industry is the conflict and tensions that exist between stakeholders. Friction between the government and tourism firms has limited the potential of the tourism industry in many countries. One of the reasons why conflicts emerge is due to high government tax rates that the government imposes on the tourism firms. High tax rates have a direct impact on the financial aspects of the business industry. When the government in a country imposes high tax on business investors, their profit is reduced making the business unrewarding. As a result, the management in these firms is forced to raise their cost of goods and services, which in turn affects the inflow of tourists (Polonsky, 2004). In the competitive tourism industry, raising the cost of services to counter the effects of the tax systems will discourage the tourists from visiting the country and hence reduce the profits of these firms. On this note, tension between the government and the tourism firms has a negative impact on the profitability of the industry. On the other hand, when the tourism investor fail to comply with government regulations there exists tension between them. Notably, tension between the government and the tourism firms reduce the efficiency of the tourism industry. Another common conflict ensues between the tourism firms and the local communities. Since tourism invades in the natural life of the community, the community has the absolute right to benefits from such investment plans. Saftic et al (2011) state that community is an important stakeholder that sustainable tourism must satisfy. The government in many countries provides regulations that compel tourism firms to contribute to the development of the immediate community. Conflict between tourism firms and the local community attracts hostility from this section of the population (Dwyer and Edwards, 2010). The local communities feel that tourism business denies them of the freedom of utilizing land and its resources, which makes them hostile. Therefore, they may destroy the environment either intentionally or unintentionally which will frustrate the long term survival of the tourism business. In worse cases, the local community may be hostile to the tourists, stealing from them or mistreating them, which discourages them from visiting such regions (Petric, 2007) The existence of tension between the firms and the local community results to a decline in business performance. Sustainable tourism seeks to develop a stakeholder approach to reduce the tension that exists among stakeholders that threaten the performance of the industry. Saftic et al (2011) states that the stakeholder approach recognizes that tourism industry is dependent on smooth relationships between various stakeholders. On this note, to avoid tension between the government and the tourism investors, it is crucial to create a strategic approach to establish a healthy relationship between the two individuals. In sustainable approach, the investors should comply to all government regulations regarding the environment and the community, which strengthens their relationship with the government. As a result, the government will commit itself to promote tourism by imposing fair tax rates for the organization and the visitors as well. On the other hand, the tension between tourism firms and the local community can be streamlined by getting them on board the investment plan (Li, 2006). For instance, the investment companies should incorporate the local community in designing the business plan, provide employment and improve their standards of living. This will ensure that the local community benefit from the investment plans and are aligned to the organizations operations. Healthy relationships between stakeholders and the tourism firms will ensure long term sustainability of the business. In conclusion, sustainable tourism seeks to streamline its relationship with other stakeholders that shape this business industry. As competition hits this business industry, firms have a role to strategize for their short term and long term profitability. Tourism organizations must form mutual relationships with the government, the environment as well as the local community. Since tensions between the major stakeholders in this business are inevitable, managers must find the best approaches to avoid tension and to resolve them before they cause losses to the organizations. Forming a mutual relationship with the government and developing strategies to get the local community on board the investment strategy will ensure that tensions are less likely to occur. The strength of the relationship between the stakeholders and the organization determines the profitability of the organization both in the short and long term investment plans. Bibliography Anuar, A., et al, 2012. Understanding the Role of Stakeholders in the Formation of Tourist Friendly Destination Concept. Journal of Management and Sustainability, 2(2), Pp. 1-6. Dwyer, L., and Edwards, D., 2010, Sustainable Tourism Planning. Oxford: Good fellow Publishers. Forsyte Research, 2000. New Zealand Domestic Tourism Survey. In Hall, C. M., & Page, S. J. (Eds.), The geography of tourism and recreation. Environment, place and space (pp. 87). London and New York: Routledge. Li, W., 2006, Community Decision-making: Participation in Development, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 33, No. 1, 132-143. Miller, G., 2013, The Development of Indicators For Sustainable Tourism. Available at; < http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/634820/3/Miller_the%20development.pdf > Petric, L., 2007, Empowerment of communities for sustainable tourism development: Case of Croatia, Tourism, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 431-443. Phillips, R., Freeman, R. E., Wicks, A. C., 2003, What stakeholder theory is not, Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 4, 479-502. Polonsky, M. J., 2004, A stakeholder theory approach to designing environmental Marketing strategy, Journal of Business & Industrial marketing, Vol. 10, No. 3, 99. 29-46. Saftic, D. et al, 2011, Stakeholder approach in Tourism Management: Implication in Croatian Tourism. Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Croatia. Sanjay, N. and Jiaying, L., 2009. Sustainable Tourism Research: An Analysis of Papers Published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(1), Pp. 5-16. Read More