Key Strategies and Considerations of Sterling Bay Tourism - Assignment Example

Sterling Bay Tourism Plan Introduction This plan intends to make tourism the Sterling Bay’s engine of development and the vehicle for rural socio-economic development. This paper suggests a sustainable all-time as well as holiday park. This park should be affordable and of high quality – one that will give tourists a high quality experience as well as contribute to the development of Sterling Bay. Key Strategies and Considerations 1. To construct a park that makes positive contribution to the Sterling community and the local fishing business. At the same time this tourism venture should ensure sustainability of the nearby forest and other resources. 2. Strike an appropriate balance between responsible land management and profit outcomes from tourism businesses that will be established in Sterling Bay. 3. Build comprehensive and well organized tourism park that will satisfy the needs of tourists while ensuring that the economic returns are used to benefit the local community as well as contribute towards the maintenance of the wider system. 4. The roads in the area will be developed to make the area accessible from other areas of the country. Development of these roads will enhance public transport as well as private transport. This will be done in consideration of the environments so that it may not have negative impact on the immediate environment. 5. The beaches, parks and surrounding areas will be beautified to make the area attractive to the users. Towards this goal, the local government can employ qualified and renowned urban designers. 6. The developments will be done with respect to the immediate environment such that they will complement rather than detract it. They should be designed in a manner that they will have positive impact upon the landscape, the historical setting and upon ecology. Tourism Products Sterling Bay’s tourism product should include activities in which tourists can participate, good infrastructure, tourists’ security, and other services. All these are attainable because the natural environment is appealing, the local community is friendly and has a well developed culture, and has a stable political environment. These are the success factors that are key to easy implementation and development of tourism in the area. Sterling Bay has nature attraction sites which include underground caves and marine parks. To complement these, this plan suggests a range of other facilities which include a golf course and arenas for beach volleyball. For the tourists who enjoy special qualities of the landscape, Sterling Bay has a hill, a forest, and limestone caves. Game Fishing Clean water is ideal for recreation and tourism industry because it accentuates aquatic ecosystems such as coral reef and limestone caves such as the ones along Sterling Bay beach, and beautiful beaches. Water has a powerful attraction to human beings such that when they are planning for vacations and holiday getaways, they have a tendency to head towards the areas with water resources. Water is one of the most important resources in Sterling beach. Water-based recreation activities are ideal for Sterling Bay tourism. Since fishing is the main activity in the area, game fishing can serve as one of the tourists’ attraction activities. Game fish that are likely to be found in this area are larger than those that are found in fresh water and they can weigh as heavy as 70 kg (sailfish and tarpon) or even 225 kg (marlin). Others include bonefish, snappers, and tuna. Fishing expenditures are becoming popular among tourists and the participation is outpacing population growth. Accommodation Tourism accommodation in Sterling Bay may take many different forms. It may include guest houses, self-catering, caravans, camping, and hotels. All these are capable of bringing economic benefits to Sterling Bay. The government should seek to provide quality accommodation facilities such as on-site accommodation as well as provide space for small campers. Through excellent accommodation facilities, Sterling Bay can make tourism product a total vacation experience. Accommodation product should be diversified both in terms of quality and quantity to include an accommodation complement of approximately 10,000 hotel beds, many restaurants and other food and beverage facilities. Most tourists like sea foods which is readily available in the area. The town is well known for its fresh and tasty seafood. The main concern that may arise and the one that may be received negatively by the local community is the significant loss of land to tourism accommodation. Budget Hotels, Motels, and Travel Lodges In order to cater for long-staying tourists as well as short-staying ones, the government can build budget hotels or allow private developers to establish these facilities along the Bay. Location of these hotels should be planned in a manner that will enable visitors to easily access all the parts of the town including attraction sites. Sterling Beach Village The local government should build a Beach Village with more than 500 rooms to cater for daily accommodations for the tourists who may not to spend the nights outside the town. The facility should include a 500-room ultra modern hotel, 5 swimming pools, 3 tennis courts, and a 9-hole and two 18-hole golf courses. The growth of sports tourism in the area especially to include tennis, beach volleyball, and golf can make Sterling Bay to host future golf, beach volleyball, and tennis championships. Geographically, the land is flat and it can be ideal for these facilities. Infrastructure According to Jimoh (2011) in a Barcelona field study, tourism has the ability to stimulate new infrastructure as well as improve the already existing one. He further adds that improved infrastructure enhances education and professionalism, improved basic amenities, and a healthy population. There is absence of pedestrian paths in the area. In its master plan, the government should develop a pedestrian path system linking the built up area with the beach where the main activities will be taking place. The two roads serving Sterling Bay should be developed further because they are the key to entry and exit from the town. These roads should be developed and linked to the new highway that is being built. It will be easy to develop these roads and probably built an additional road because the land is flat. Environmental Responsibility Informal access to the forest should be managed to prevent destruction of the forest. Economic Development This section defines and measures how tourism investments will provide the town with economic benefits as well as disadvantages that will accrue due to tourism. This section will document several factors including community cohesion, job creation, infrastructure development, and rise in property value. There are two factors that are likely to provide direct income to the local government treasury. These factors include additional property tax revenue from the residential as well as the hotels that are going to be established in the area, and the sales tax receipts from the tourists spending who will be visiting Sterling Beach. Net income will be obtained from sports and adventure. There are several attributes of Sterling Bay that will provide the town with measurable economic benefits. 1. Hedonic Value Previous research has demonstrated that beaches positively impacts the nearby residential property values. People have a tendency to settle near the areas which have nice parks. Economists refer this value as “hedonic value.” Development of tourism in Sterling Bay will increase the value of land as well the prices of products thus adding value to the lives of local residents. 2. Tourism Value Sterling Bay recreational sites and parks are likely to attract residents as well as people from other areas. The primary feature that will attract visitors to Sterling Bay is the beaches. Other factors that are likely to generate significant revenue are sports-based tourism and adventure (hiking in the nearby forest and recreational boating) that has been proposed above. 3. Community Cohesion Value Parks and beach activities provide social gathering places thus promoting a sense of community. Parks and social gathering pales promote the formation of human web referred to as ‘social capital’ and asserted that it can be strengthened by parks and other social gathering places. Parks that will be constructed in Sterling Bay will offer opportunities to the local people as well as the out-of-towners to interact, communicate, learn, and grow. Antisocial problems will be prevented and as a result security maintenance costs will be minimized. Economic Advantages One cannot underestimate the advantages that will accrue to Sterling Bay economy after venturing in tourism. The money that will be generated by tourism will be used in developing the local community. The best way to ensure that the immediate local community benefits from this plan will be to actively involve the local community in management and ownership. In turn, the local community will embrace the tourism activities in the area. Sterling Bay has heavily been dependent on fishing and tourism is expected to contribute positively to the area’s economic prosperity, physical development, and social development. Tourism will be advantageous to the local community especially to women who are highly skilled in weaving. Tourism will provide an excellent opportunity to sell their wares. Tourism venture will tap resources from the other parts of the country which are diversifying and modernizing their scope of economic activity. The land in Sterling Bay is not fertile for agriculture; therefore, the local community cannot benefit from providing the other parts of the country with food produce. The best option for Sterling Bay will be to attract tourists who will be visiting the country either for business or leisure to their area. Further beautification of beaches, hills, and forest around Sterling Bay can serve as one of the attraction factor. Disadvantages There are adverse impacts on the society that may arise if there is failure to manage and develop tourism in a manner that is in agreement with the surroundings and the local community. Issues that may arise include overcrowding and management of water resources. These issues may bring adverse effects on the environment; therefore, they are of paramount importance and the Sterling Bay’s local government should incorporate them in their equation during planning. A previous study by Jimoh (2011) found out that over-dependence on income generated by tourism may make the local population to neglect their local products. This study further established that the visiting/temporary community competes with the local community for available job opportunities, services, facilities and other recreation opportunities. Socio-cultural Advantages and Disadvantages The residents of Sterling Bay are not very exposed to tourism activities. Tourism activities involve people from different parts, cultures, religions, and backgrounds. Therefore, tourism involves exchange of beliefs, cultures, ideas and many other factors. Social Exchange Theory has been extensively used by tourism researchers over a long period of time (Emerson (1962). This theory suggests that an exchange occurs if the exchange process creates valuable rewards and offers more benefits than costs. Ap (1992) explained the changes that occur in the host environment in response to tourism. This factor will be the key to success of tourism in Sterling Bay because the local community seems to be involved in only two activities – fishing and weaving. The government will therefore have to establish whether the introduction of another economic activity such as tourism will be received we;; by the local community. As the theory suggests, all the stakeholders will have to decide the exchanges after they weigh the benefits and costs of tourism in Sterling Bay. For tourism to be successful in Sterling Bay, the benefits have to be great. The socio-cultural impacts of tourism to Sterling Bay may be less strong and less positive than the socio-economic impacts. Socio-cultural advantages 1. The improvements in labor market. 2. Changes in community structure which comprises of characteristics such as increase in land’s value, stimulation of social and cultural life, income from tourism especially for the fishermen and weaving artists, infrastructure development, and improvement of Sterling Bay’s image. 3. Tourism will also positively impact on individual and family level by increasing social mobility, improvement in leisure opportunities, changes in housing conditions, and improvement in quality of life. 4. Tourism will also positively impact on cultural and natural resources. This includes revival of local arts, crafts, and cultural events, protection of natural features of outstanding beauty such as limestone caves, forests, hills, and beaches. Socio-cultural disadvantages 1. The fishing industry has been under the control of local community. The local community relies on fishing alone because the land around the town is not fertile for farming. Therefore, the presence of other parties who may become interested in these resources will not be positively welcomed by the local people. This may bring a conflict between the local people and other interested parties. According to Nash (2007) tourism can cause disruption to both the structural and functional foundations of host communities. An increase in money inflow into an area has been known to increase social conflicts thus contributing to the decline of many traditional institutions. 2. Urbanization of the population. 3. Another key disadvantage is the increase in economic inequality. 4. Disadvantages associated with changes in community structure include conflicts with second home owners, loss of cultural identity, overdependence on tourism, and congestion. 5. Tourism will also impact negatively on individual and family level because it might bring changes in the rhythm of life; disrupt the social networks of the local community, xenophobia, increased sexual permissiveness, and transformation of behavior. Jimoh (2011) study found out that tourism can impact negatively on individual behavior and family relationship because the tourists’ lifestyles and ideas may conflict with the host community values. 6. Tourism may also negatively impact on cultural and natural resources because the activities in Sterling Bay may pollute the nearby forest, and water body. It may also bring about disappearance of local traditions and habits, and culture commercialization. References Ap, J. (1992). Understanding host-residents’ perception of the impacts of tourism through social exchange theory. Ph.D. dissertation. Texas A+M University, College Station. Emerson, R. (1962). Power-dependence relations. Annals Review of Sociology. Vol. 27, pp. 314. Jimoh J. (2011). Community Perception of the Socio-Economic Benefits of Tourism in Erin-Ijesha. Journal of Research in Tourism. Vol 3, pp. 71-82 Nash, D. (2007). The Study of Tourism: Anthropological and Sociological Beginnings. Oxford: Elsevier. TTPL (2011). The Economic Benefits of the Park and Recreation System of Virginia Beach, Virginia: A Report by the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence. Retrieved from http://cloud.tpl.org/pubs/ccpe-va-beach-park-analysis-report.pdf Read More