Destination Management Vancouver - Research Paper Example

Research Paper “Destination Management Vancouver” Abdullah Alnaim - 3305203 8/02 Dr. Kim Lemky HTM 1103 – INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM Faculty of Business University of New Brunswick -Saint John Introduction Tourism is regarded as a worldwide phenomenon which involves a vast number of people along with the tourism destinations and acts as a significant source of economic activity. A well planned and well controlled tourism activity can generate jobs and can bring overseas exchange earnings along with creating opportunities to minimize the issue of poverty and gender discrimination to a certain extent (Jamieson, 2006). It has been noted that tourism as a major industry in the world is progressing significantly among other industries prevailing worldwide. However, along with the positive impacts that include employment and overseas exchange incomes, tourism can also lead to various risky effects regarding the costs to a local society along with its business environment (Howie, 2003). Destination management can be regarded as an incorporated model that includes the significant factors which eventually shape and influence a destination’s competitive strength as well as those factors that create an environment within which tourism can prosper in a well recognized manner (Dwyer & Kim, n.d.). The conception of destination management mainly serves towards addressing the needs of the tourists along with the economic benefits of the tourism industry, approaching tourism development in such a way that ultimately diminishes the various risky impacts, protecting local people’s business interests, heritage and environment and defending the local environment as well (Dwyer & Kim, n.d.). In the paper, a brief idea regarding destination management is taken into discussion and a particular destination has been chosen i.e., Vancouver, British Columbia. Various aspects regarding the different organizations that are responsible for managing or encouraging tourism and visitors to the destination area, their structures, their vision statements, their roles and responsibilities, varied attractions of the destination i.e., of Vancouver, destination statistics along its economic impact and the different factors that are likely to impact upon tourism of Vancouver will also be taken into concern in the discussion of this paper. In addition, the main purpose of this study is to determine the organizations that are responsible for encouraging tourism and the most significant purpose is to evaluate the statistics and financial impact upon the destination area i.e. Vancouver, British Columbia. As a whole, a full furnished financial data or information regarding the impact of tourism upon Vancouver, British Columbia is also considered as a chief concern for the study of this paper. a. The organizations which are responsible for managing or encouraging tourism along with the visitors to the destination area include a few government-funded tourist organizations such as “National Tourism Offices”, tourism agencies and “Destination Management Organizations” among others (Pedersen, 2002). Apart from these government-funded tourist organizations, the ‘tour operators’ which are also known as ‘outbound providers’, ‘tour agencies’, ‘ground operators’ known as ‘inbound providers’, ‘travel agencies’ and ‘specialty tourism firms’ are also responsible for managing or encouraging tourism along with the visitors to the destination area (Pedersen, 2002). In this connection, “National Tourism Offices” work together with different hotels along with air transporters in order to collect and gather much finance for various destination promotion programs. ‘Tour operators’ are the companies that generally deliver different tours to the customers through travel mediators. In contrast ‘specialty tourism firms’ organize trips for the clients or the customers in order to participate in any tourism specific activities (Pedersen, 2002). It has been recognized that especially the ‘tour operators’ or the ‘outbound providers’, the ‘ground operators’ or the ‘inbound providers’ and the ‘tour agencies’ are considered to be on the front-end of the tourism industry. Thus, collectively the “National Tourism Offices”, tourism agencies, “Destination Management Organizations”, ‘tour operators’, ‘tour agencies’, ‘ground operators’ and ‘specialty tourism firms’ are mainly responsible for managing or encouraging tourism along with the visitors to the destination area (Pedersen, 2002). a. i “Destination Management Organizations” execute at many levels that range from the national to the municipal and have eventually progressed over the years to respond towards the geological as well as political certainties that are linked with tourism industry. Along with presenting important information to the interested visitors’ or the tourists’, “Destination Management Organizations” also make planned efforts in order to make a particular destination striking by presenting its exclusive features and attractions (Dodds, 2010). Fundamentally, “Destination Management Organizations” promote their regions with the intention of raising tourism towards various destinations or enhancing its public image through proper execution of their tourism associated activities. It has been noted that most of the “Destination Management Organizations” are based on personal and non-profit industry associations with an independent Board of Directors (Dodds, 2010). The “Destination Management Organizations” link with various factors that are related within the tourism industry that include ‘hotels’, ‘airlines’ and ‘ground transit’, ‘attractions’, ‘tour operators’, ‘travel agents’, ‘restaurants’ and ‘retail operators’ among others. In relation with the marketing viewpoint, it has been observed that one of the critical market communication channels especially for “Destination Management Organizations” lies in the utilization of internet acting as a part of information technology that eventually has altered the tourism industry into a digital economy (Dodds, 2010). a. ii The mandate or vision statement of British Columbia’s tourism is to encourage and to support the progression and advancement particularly in the tourism industry. Moreover, the mandate or vision statements of the tourism of British Columbia also include raising the revenues along with generating employment throughout British Columbia as well as increasing the financial benefits for all the inhabitants of British Columbia (British Columbia Canada, 2012). The tourism sector of British Columbia operates closely with the tourism industry of British Columbia in order to provide greater support and develop the sector throughout the area along with ensuring future development and success of the tourism of British Columbia. In addition, the tourism of British Columbia markets British Columbia as a favorite and chosen destination area to the customers and the travel industry through a broad variety of common shared marketing and advertising operations in major markets worldwide (British Columbia Canada, 2012). a iii The various functions and duties of British Columbia’s tourism organizations include enhancing the customers visit to the destination areas of British Columbia, delivering remarkable tourism products along with the travel trade for supporting and encouraging potential visitors from around the world. Moreover, the functions and the duties of British Columbia’s tourism organizations also include maximizing the experience of the visitors and building along with significantly raising the tourism business (British Columbia Canada, 2012). In order to enhance the visit of the customers to different areas of British Columbia, the tourism organizations took the initiative of presenting many different tourism programs for determining the best suitable needs of the customers. To reach the customers in a cost-effective way, the tourism organizations use various marketing initiatives such as advertising campaigns and other promotional actions among others (British Columbia Canada, 2012). In order to maximize the experience of the visitors, it is very much necessary to maintain the quality and the standard of a visitor’s vacation experience in British Columbia. To maximize the experience of the visitors, British Columbia’s tourism operates closely with the stakeholders of the tourism industry and continues to develop the reputation of British Columbia as a presenter of high quality services and products (British Columbia Canada, 2012). b. Vancouver is considered as North America’s most under-rated tourist destinations. It is a modern and a travel friendly city possessing fashionable mix of different cultures. Magnificent mountains, shining oceans and broad variety of rainforests have made Vancouver one of the most sensational and gorgeous cities in the world (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). The main attractions of Vancouver that has made it one of the best breathtaking and beautiful cities in the world include a few ‘must-see’ attractions of the city. The ‘must-see’ attractions of Vancouver include ‘Capilano Suspension Bridge Park’ which widens around 137 meters and the ‘Capilano’ river that is 70 meters underneath, ‘Vancouver Aquarium’ that consists of over 70, 000 charming creatures ranging from the ‘Arctic’ to the ‘Amazon’, ‘Harbour Cruises & Events’ i.e. Vancouver’s one of the principal boat tourism companies and ‘Granville Island’ that represents a delightful communal marketplace that comprises various fresh products (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). Apart from the above mentioned significant attractions, the ‘must-see’ list of attractions of Vancouver also include ‘Vancouver Lookout’, ‘Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden’, ‘Vancouver Art Gallery’, ‘Science world’, ‘Chinatown’, ‘Stanley Park Seawall’, fireworks display over ‘English Bay’ and ‘Picnic at the Lighthouse’ are among the magnificent attractions of Vancouver that the visitors’ or the tourists’ often visit on a regular basis. In addition, the ‘Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show’ at ‘Vancouver Convention’ is also one of the major attractions of Vancouver (The Vancouver Sun, 2012). c. It has been identified that on the eve of “Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2010”, Vancouver recorded a significant level of visitors and eventually increased huge global awareness. In this connection, Vancouver’s Visitor Services team supported over 173,000 visitors’ along with providing several tourist information (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). The city also experienced remarkable hotel possession rate that exceeded 90% during the 17 days of the “2010 Olympic Winter Games”. Cruise passengers were increased by 15% over the year 2010. In the year 2011, “Port Metro” of Vancouver welcomed 663, 425 passengers or visitors into the city (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). Thus, it can be stated that the year 2010 was remarkable for Vancouver along with the year 2011, in which the city hosted 25 citywide conventions which ultimately increased significant amount of visitors into the city (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). According to the statistics presented by British Columbia, it has been noted that in the year 2010, the tourism industry of Canada had a noteworthy economic influence upon its economy. The tourism Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the year 2010 reached to 7,197 millions in current Dollars especially in Canada where Vancouver as a city played a major role in attaining this significant value (BC Stats, n.d.). Vancouver makes a significant contribution to its domestic financial system. From an economic development viewpoint, Vancouver as a host city of “2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games”, eventually increased the opportunity for the foreign investments along with a huge effect upon its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). The detailed tourism statistics is provided hereunder. Source: BC Stats (n.d.). d. There are various noteworthy factors that have major impacts upon the tourism of Vancouver. One of the noteworthy factors that having impact towards Vancouver’s tourism industry is the selection of Vancouver as a host city for the “2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games”. On the eve of this remarkable event, a huge number of athletes as well as spectators around the world were observed to gather in Vancouver and it ultimately raised higher amount of revenues along with the number of visitors in the city. The other crucial factor that led to a major impact upon the tourism of Vancouver is that the city offers various amenities especially to its visitors that include excellent infrastructure, superior services, spectacular settings and availability of unlimited activities such as glorious structure for shopping, outside adventures, sporting actions and theatre among others (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). In addition, Vancouver’s gateway towards adventure which includes Whistler Resort, Canadian Rockies, Victoria and Vancouver Island among other must-see list of attractions eventually have had large impacts upon the tourism of Vancouver (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). Along with the beneficial impact of the tourism of Vancouver, the factor of climate variations can be considered as a harmful impact towards the tourism of Vancouver. Weather situations along their alterations constitute an important issue in the tourism industry of Vancouver. The factor of climate or weather situation can be a harmful impact upon the tourism business of Vancouver to a certain extent (The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, 2012). The other significant negative impact to the tourism of Vancouver lies in the rising exchange rate that will likely to hit hardest towards the tourism sector of British Columbia. The expensive high rate of Dollar not only discourages the international visitors to come to British Columbia but also makes the tourism industry to gain little from lesser input prices. The tourism organizations receive fewer prices from Canadian Dollars as compared to U.S. Dollar which significantly lowers the total revenues and earnings of the tourism industry of British Columbia (Holden, 2003). Conclusion The conception or the idea of tourism embraces the actions of the persons travelling to and residing in places for the reasons of holidays and business motives or any other purposes. It has been noted that as the global world is changing, the importance of tourism along with its development have been significantly growing day- by-day. There are many organizations such as “National Tourism Offices”, “Destination Management Organizations”, ‘tour operators’, ‘ground operators’, ‘travel agencies’ and various other ‘specialty tourism organizations’ that offer and are mainly responsible for managing or encouraging tourism to any destination of the locality. The structure and the vision statements of various travel destination facilitating organizations eventually create attractiveness towards the consumers for accepting the offerings from these organizations. The roles as well as the responsibilities of various “Destination Management Organizations” linked with the tourism industry provide exclusive offerings to the customers, enhancing well managed tourism facilities with proper preparation and ultimately delivering excellent quality practices and superior value for money. The tourism of British Columbia not only has a positive effect upon the economy that includes its excellent venue for “Winter Olympic Games” and finest gateway for adventures among others but also possess certain negative effects towards the economy. The significant negative factors include especially the concern of climate along with the exchange rate issue for the Canadian Dollar against the U.S. Dollar. In lieu of this, transformation of such negative factors or effects into positive ones might increase the standard or the level of tourism in Vancouver to a certain extent. References BC Stats. (n.d.). B.C. tourism and high technology GDP and employment. Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Economy/EconomicAccounts/SatelliteAccounts.aspx British Columbia Canada. (2012). Tourism BC information. Retrieved from http://www.hellobc.com/british-columbia/about-bc/tourism-bc-information.aspx Dodds, R. (2010). Destination marketing organizations and climate change- the need for leadership and education. Sustainability 2, pp.3449-3464. Dwyer, L., & Kim, C. (n.d.). Destination competitiveness: A model and determinants. Retrieved from http://fama2.us.es:8080/turismo/turismonet1/economia%20del%20turismo/demanda%20turistica/DESTINATION%20COMPETITIVENESS%20A%20MODEL%20AND%20DETERMINANTS.PDF Holden, M. (2003). How will the rising Canadian Dollar affect economic growth? Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/EB-e/prb0321-e.pdf Howie, F. (2003). Managing the tourist destination. US: Cengage Learning EMEA. Jamieson, W. (2006). Community destination management in developing countries. UK: Routledge. Pedersen, A. (2002). Managing tourism at world heritage sites: A practical manual for world heritage sites. Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/activities/documents/activity-113-2.pdf The Vancouver Sun. (2012). Outdoor adventure & travel show. Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/destinations/north-america/canada/british-columbia/vancouver/traveloverview.html The Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau. (2012). Why Vancouver. Retrieved from http://www.tourismvancouver.com/vancouver/about-vancouver/why-vancouver/ World Tourism Organization. (2007). A practical guide to tourism destination management. Retrieved from http://www.tdmszovetseg.eu/files/_tdmsz/download_files/12/unwto_practicalguide.pdf Read More