The Tourism Department of France - Essay Example

? DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT The paper juxtaposes destination development and the Paris tourism milieu. The advent of destination development and why the city of Paris needs to integrate destination development tenets in order to foster sustainable tourism development; is described in the paper as well. Finally, aspects such as destination management approaches, governance, tourism policy, stakeholders and destination marketing are detailed to enable a better evaluation of tourism constraints and opportunities in Paris, also to suggest processes for overcoming those constraints. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 4 2. Emergence of Destination Development 4 3. Concepts & Approaches 5 a. Stage of Development 6 b. Approach to Destination Management 7 c. System of Governance 7 d. Research Undertakings/Application of Research 8 e. Tourism Policy & Planning 9 f. Stakeholders 9 g. Forms of Tourism 10 h. Application of Sustainability Indicators 11 i. Competition And Collaboration 12 j. Destination Marketing 12 k. Tourism Trends 12 4. Findings 13 5. Conclusion 13 6. References 15 1. Introduction The recent surveys by the tourism department of France have clarified the fact that Paris is one of the most preferred travel destinations in the world. The city receives about 27 million visitors every year. Among them 17 million are international visitors. If the visitors in the surrounding regions are included then the number would read 44 million (Staab et al, 2002). There are about 3800 historical monuments in Paris and the surrounding areas along with four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Furthermore, there are several famous attractions available in Paris, which include Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame de Paris, the Louvre, Basilique du Sacre-C?ur, Pompidou Centre, Arc de Triomphe and Musee d'Orsay. In Paris, many forms of public transportation are available, which include metro, bus and boats (Heath, 2002). Though there is evidence of Paris receiving the lowest level of rainfall in France, there are chances that tourists can experience some unexpected rainfall throughout the year. Hence, it’s evident that destination development pertaining to Paris will go a long way in making Paris even more tourist-friendly and popular in the coming years. 2. Emergence of Destination Development It is not possible for a destination to promote experiences and products that are not available. Destination development is a continuous process in which development and coordination of products, services, facilities and amenities take place (Poon, 1993). The continuous development helps enhancing the quality of experience of the tourists and visitors. Destination development is an important process in order to implement tourism management. In this process, the destination managers and stakeholders play an important role in prioritizing the strategies and plans which were developed during the destination planning process. It is important to inform the destination development process by the process of situation analysis and in the process planning phase (Crouch & Ritchie, 1999). The destination performance process needs to be monitored against the KPI’s that are clearly depicted and the tourism industry in Paris also follows the same (Staab et al, 2002). Beech and Chadwick (2006, p. 23) state ‘An important factor to take into account is the spatial dimensions of tourism. Any basic understanding of tourism shows a requirement for travel and, hence, consumption away from home where goods and services are usually purchased and used. Leiper’s (1979) landmark work usefully explains this difference by proposing three different ‘geographies’ or spatial components: (i) tourism in the generating or home region of the traveler; (ii) tourism at the destination region; and (iii) the transit routes – the ‘area’ or supply of travel and transport facilities between the two regions. While all three are naturally highly interconnected in terms of an individual’s trip, each of these ‘areas’ possesses different supply and demand characteristics. Resorts such as Blackpool and Benidorm or cities such as Paris all cater for tourists but possess different market conditions in terms of consumer and supplier conduct. The important steps and phases that Paris tourism industry successfully implemented for destination development are as follows (Middleton, 1998): The biggest leap in creating a sustainable tourism development in Paris is to have a right plan in place. The tourism industry in Paris has created an effective destination management structure, which is collaborative in nature. This process makes the stakeholders engaged and an open communication helps to guide the development. Engagement of both public and private bodies in investment. Identification of the challenges and be proactive to resolve the issues. 3. Concepts & Approaches When talking about the tourism industry in Paris and other parts of the world, there are few concepts and terms that always connects with the industry. The boundaries of the destination are ultimately decided by the influence of the market along with the marketing strategies blended with physical and cultural limits. In the tourism industry, the term site is generally overlapping with the term destination. For example, in a single destination we have many sites incorporated. In tourism literature, the term attraction refers to the place, person, object or concept that draws attention of people. a. Stage of Development In the global marketplace, Paris tourism industry has to maintain, protect or strengthen their competitive position. Their prominence of destination management has become a challenge for the tourism industry. Due to the interest in destination competitiveness, there have been a number of research studies being implemented (Ahmed & Krohn 1990). There are basically four stages of development, which are as follows (Allee and Kotler 2011): 1. Research: In this stage, the study of contemporary visitor preferences is studied. The current image of the destination compared with that of the competitors, is one of the key processes in this stage. Ultimately, the core values and experiences of the destination are established. 2. Positioning & personality identification: In this stage, one requires defining what the most significant attraction of the city is. For example, Paris represents historical monuments and museums. Look for the ways by which the attractions can be translated into a brand personality, which generates an emotional relationship and interacts with the target market. It is necessary to create a brand essence that will represent the identity of the destination based on its cultures and values. Positioning the brand identity of Paris tourism to the outside world is important and this goal can be achieved by creating a tagline. 3. Implementation of the brand: It is necessary to use various available media channels like internet, events, direct marketing, interactive media and advertising to communicate the brand to the broader audience. 4. Brand maintenance: It is necessary for the brand to retain its personality for the long term. Through regular research, consistent positioning and long-term planning, the values of the brand can be refined and modified. b. Approach to Destination Management Conceptual models for destination competitiveness have been implemented in the past. There have been various determinant attributes of destination development and competitiveness implemented based on these conceptual models. In order to implement the approach, the conceptual model of Crouch and Ritchie (Crouch & Ritchie 1999; Ritchie & Crouch 2003) was employed. The extensive articulation and exploring of the Ritchie and Crouch (2003) conceptual model has given the most agreeable model to implement by the tourism industry all over the world including the one in Paris. From this conceptual model, there have been two potential approaches that are conceivable. One of the approaches is to collect a huge amount of information and data that covers all the measures or indicators of all the 36 attributes with further data in one form or another. However, the practicality of this approach is doubtful. The second approach is somewhat adoptable, in which the data was being collected from the experience, knowledge and insights of the tourism managers, researchers and others who have spent quite some time in the industry. This approach gives more accurate data as it is directly related to the experience and knowledge of the real people (Griffiths, Hill & Judge 1993). c. System of Governance The big tour operators in Paris such as Context Paris Tour and Eurostars Panorama Paris follow a structured system of governance. It is necessary for the tour operators to have a structured system of governance, which help them sustain their competitive advantage in the tourism market. The term sustainable tourism has a set of policies, management methods and principles. These principles and policies help the tourism industry in Paris to sustain and also plays a role in protecting the environment as well (Lane, 1994). The mass operators in Paris tourism industry have the monopoly power in the business. These operators offer standardize tour packages, which are large in all aspects (Poon, 1993). There are many tour operators who look for the short-term outlook. These operators have small margins and also they offer undifferentiated travel products. While carrying out their operations, the tour operators look forward to various types of support systems, which basically provide the foundation to their system of governance. Those supporting factors consist of – infrastructure, accessibility, resource facilitation, hospitality, entrepreneurial talent of the destination, support from the political leaders and government. These are few factors that play a vital role in maintaining the sustainability of the destination development. d. Research Undertakings/Application of Research In the recent past, there have been a number of researches being conducted because of the interest in the destination competitiveness. The undertaking of the research has been done in various aspects of the destination development and competitiveness. These researches were focused on various aspect of destination competitiveness like positioning of the destination (Chacko 1998), management systems of the destination (Baker, Hayzelden & Sussmann 1996), marketing of the destination (Buhalis 2000) and price competitiveness (Dwyer, Forsyth & Rao 2000). Apart from the aforementioned aspects, there has been other aspects as well on which researches have been conducted, which include quality and environment management, nature-based tourism, strategic management and package tours. There have been researches conducted on the destination competitiveness, which helped in creating certain models and theories pertaining to destination competitiveness. In the year 1992, it was Ritchie and Crouch who began the study of the structure and nature of destination competitiveness (Crouch & Ritchie 1994, 1995, 1999). The aim of the study was to develop a conceptual model based on theories of competitive and comparative advantage. The conceptual model of Crouch and Ritchie has been widely accepted by the tourism industry and it depicts the characteristics of destination competition. e. Tourism Policy & Planning In order to make the destination development and tourism sustainable, it is important to have planning and policies in place. These policies generally focus on the win-win situation for both the parties – the operator and the tourist. It is necessary for the tourism industry to practice sustainable development so that the environment does not get degraded or destroyed (Coccossis and Nijkamp, 1995). The organizations and tour operators in Paris are readily involved in practicing their social responsibility as a part from their business interest (Forsyth, 1996). Tourism destination policy, planning and development are one of the five key factors affecting destination competitiveness. This factor also has equal importance like that of the other factors like destination management, resource an support, attractions, amplifying and qualifying determinants. Planning is the key factor in order to operate a tour for the tourists visiting a place from outside. It is seen that without proper planning, a tour cannot be operated properly and it also contribute to the degradation of the environment (Eber, 1992). It is important see the whole scenario and the consequences, so that at the tour operator can maintain the sustainability in order to remain competitive in the market. Beech and Chadwick (2006, p. 31) state ‘ Tourism markets are complex systems where a variety of demands for non-routine travel are met by a large number of for-profit and non-commercial organizations, based in the home and destination regions, which possess different orientations, including travel between the regions, and degrees of financial reliance on these types of demand.’ f. Stakeholders Stakeholders play an important role in the tourism policy and planning. In the first place, the stakeholders decide, agree or define the necessity of developing the strategy and policy. In other words, the stakeholders play the role in creating the framework of governing. The stakeholders do this by understanding the definition of tourism destination system. The stakeholders in the Paris tourism industry play an important role in identifying their priorities. They consider all the aspects of the policy-driven destination development framework. The stakeholders while creating the policy and planning for the destination development, keep few aspects in mind. They think of making the economic condition better for the community along with creating jobs for the younger generation. In the way of policy and planning, the stakeholders address social, economic, political and environmental goals through tourism development and thereby give a meaningful shape to the policy framework. Like other cities of Europe, the stakeholders in the Paris tourism industry have a major role to play in enhancing the competitiveness of the tourism business in the city. Destination management organization or DMO is the body that plays the role of an advocate in order to promote the historical tourism places (Buhalis, 2000). In the quest for development and sustainability, the stakeholders need to have open communications and play a role in developing the environment that is more robust for both tourists and the operators (Gold, 1996). Stakeholders are key part of any tour operating agency. Their active involvement in the development and destination competitiveness is highly necessary (Carey et al., 1997). The stakeholders have an important role to play in planning and prioritizing of the plan that are developed at the time of process of destination planning. The collaborative nature of destination management structure in Paris tourism industry engages the stakeholders in open communication, which allows transparency. In today’s time, it is necessary to communicate openly so that the challenges faced can be overcome by some or the other creative ideas that may come from the mind of the stakeholders (Jones et al., 1997). g. Forms of Tourism Different people go on a tour for different purpose in Paris. Hence depending upon the type of visit of the tourists the forms of tourism can be classified as follows (Pearce, 1998): Leisure Tourism – In this type of tourism, tourists mainly go on a vacation for change of climate or taking a break from the regular schedule. Cultural Tourism – In this type, the tourists visit a particular place to know the culture of the place, mostly during the festival season of the place. Religious Tourism – This is also known as spiritual or pilgrimage tourism, in which tourists visits the famous religious places of the city or country. Family Tourism – As the name suggests, it is tour that involves the family members in various activities while on a tour. Health Tourism – This involves the betterment of the health, especially during any kind of illness. Sports Tourism – This type of tour involves viewing or participation in any type of sporting event. Educational Tourism – This involves the students and teachers go in an excursion, which help them to learn and gain more knowledge outside the classroom environment. Business Tourism – As the name suggests, this tourism involves work. The tourist visits a place for the purpose of work or business. h. Application of Sustainability Indicators (Social, Economic, & Environmental) The application of various sustainability indicators is seen in the conceptual model created by Ritchie and Crouch (2003: 258-264). Among all the 36 sustainability indicators, three major indicators -- social, economic and environmental indicators, have a greater role in measuring the competitiveness (Griffiths, Hill & Judge 1993). The application of indicators helps to achieve a set of goals. It also helps in addressing a broader social, economic and environmental outcome. IREST Green Map Paris is one of the torchbearers of destination development in Paris, as they will enable the Paris tourism stakeholders to create a thematic framework, allowing the stakeholders to establish a region-wise processing of research-to-marketplace. i. Competition And Collaboration Competition is one of the key factors for the tourism industry to sustain in the market (Heath, 2002). The tour operators in Paris assess their strength and opportunity areas as well as their popularity in the market through competition with their competitors. Not only competition, but also collaboration too has an important role in destination development and competitiveness. The collaborative effort of the tour operators in Paris helps taking the tourism industry to the next higher level (Huybers & Bennett, 2003). The destination management organizations or DMO represents the tourism industry collaboration. j. Destination Marketing The process of destination marketing is very important in order to create an awareness of tourism among people both in Paris and other parts of the world (Pearce, 1999). Destination management organizations or DMO takes care of all the destination marketing activities. The process of destination marketing generates the understanding of various factors such as audience, requirements of the audience or type of promotion required. Destination marketing also helps in comparing the current destination with that of other places (Kim, Crompton & Botha, 2000). k. Tourism Trends The tourism trend is an important measure for tourism industry. Through this data, the tourism industry can know more about the preferences of the visitors and what they like the most, along with what can the tour operator do better for giving the visitors better experience (Kozak, 2003). The tour operators in the city of Paris mostly gather the visitors’ data through questionnaires, which the visitors fill up at the end of their tour. The set of questionnaires generally contain the questions regarding the destination, their experience about the tour and any suggestion for improvement. 4. Findings From the above discussion about various factors of destination competitiveness in the tourism industry of Paris, it’s clear that there are few factors or attributes that are most important. Those attributes can be categorized as: climate and physiography, ties in the market, history and culture of the city, tourism infrastructure, security and safety of the place, cost of the tour, accessibility, image of the place and location. These are the few identifiers that have a relatively greater role to play in the destination competitiveness of the place. Among these factors, there are few that constitute the core resource or attractors. That means we are again funneling down our findings to see the core and important attributes that have the most contribution towards creating a sustainable destination development in the city of Paris (Pearce, 1999). Culture and history of the place is the most important factor for the tourists when they are visiting the place followed by the climate and tourism infrastructure. The tourism infrastructure constitutes the quality and quantity of theme parks, museums, art galleries, recreation facilities, restaurants or accommodation facilities. Hence, it’s evident that the study has a significance, which helped in understanding the fundamentally important elements for destination development and destination competitiveness in Paris. 5. Conclusion From the above study, it can be concluded that management of destination development and competitiveness is complex in nature. Though there are complexities, tourism destinations do not hesitate to compete with each other and the trend of competition is an increasing trend. As there is global mobility among the tourists, there have been emergences of new competitors, not only locally but globally as well (Lane, 1994). Thus the destinations cannot escape the competitive challenges by giving the justification that competition is difficult to handle. In order to attain sustainability in the market, the destinations in Paris need to continuously face the challenge of competition. 6. References Allee, J. & N. Kotler (2011) Strategic Tourism Marketing Workbook. Tourism Destination Management and Marketing Program, Washington, DC: The George Washington University Baker, M., C. Hayzelden and S. Sussmann (1996). ‘Can Destination Management Systems Provide Competitive Advantage? 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