2013 Maryland Tourism Plan - Report Example

Analysis of Maryland Tourism Plan Background of the Plan The Maryland Tourism Plan had the common objective of increasing the total expenditure of the tourists towards the state. The action plan that was developed was aligned with the concept of involving as many staffs possible so that a sustainable approach can be incorporated in the system to take care about the future aspect as well not cause any such diverse impact on the present scenario. The goals and objectives of the plan were diverse and there were a total of four goals that was incorporated in the system. The first goal of the plan was to improve the quality of jobs and also provide measures for a more sustainable job in the tourism industry. The major objective of this particular goal was to facilitate more of continuous leadership and at the same time provide education and generate a brief study on the revenue and the number of jobs that are generated by the tourism sector. The second goal of the plan was to improve on and even to sustain the overall economic impact that is generated by the tourism sector. The action plan that was incorporated for achieving the goal was to maximize the total number of sales in the coming years in the tourism industry and enhance the promotional techniques so as to spread more awareness about the tourism spot through international as well national operators. The third goal of the plan was to further improve on the perception of people toward Maryland and spread more of awareness amongst the population so that the major objective of the plan can be sustained. This goal was well supported by the deliverables that comprised of adding interactive map to visit Maryland and adding some of the core business in the tourism sector that is of sporting venues and lodging. The other idea behind this goal was to change the overall perception to such a degree that Maryland can be considered to be a green destination and doubling the number of partners associated with the project so that such an initiative can be effectively supported. The fourth goal of the plan was to leverage the total investments towards the project of Maryland so as to enhance the life assets of the region which possessed a unique quality. The focus of the plan was to minimize the total expenditure that was associated with the marketing of the destination and to maximize the overall expenditure of customers at Maryland. The plan had the common objective to work collaboratively with all of the tourism partners in the industry so as to drive a positive change through increasing employment, tax revenues and tourism expenditures. The vision of the plan is to increase the visitor’s spending or tourism expenditure towards the state in the coming years. The major path that needs to be followed to achieve such a vision is by increasing promotion of the visitor’s services, attractions and accommodations at Maryland, positioning the place across worldwide as one of the most competitive destination, and provide the required information to out of the state visitors and residents so as to ensure that their trip experience at Maryland is one of the most memorable and positive one. The goal such that investment leverage and that of improving on the total spending of customers has been stated in the plan but the path to succeed towards them has not been highlighted. The major challenges that the plan faces is that adaption of the best marketing tools that can spread more of awareness across the globe and also at the same time minimize the cost. The target audience of the destination does not belong to the mass media but would be more affected through international or domestic promotion programs. This is the major reason behind the net decrease in the overall growth of Maryland as tourist destination. In the past two years the state level growth for this particular destination has increased but there is no such growth that has been witnessed in the national or state level in relation to the destination. Thus the major challenges still remain in the segment of marketing and promoting activities that needs to be addressed properly by the management of this segment so that the overall revenue from the tourism sector can be maximized and the best strategies can be adopted to minimize the cost. Strength The internal strengths of the plan are in the areas of its future strategies and goals that are to achieve a sustainable development. The plan focuses on being precise in nature and at the same time it incorporates the best of measures that needs to be implemented so that the destination gains more of tourist attraction. The approach that is being used in the Maryland Tourism Plan is of sustainable development. The strength of the plan is that it encompasses utilizing the resources that are available so as to meet the demand of tourism sector. The focus of the plan is to maximize the visitor’s spending and in order to do so the set plans aims at providing the best quality services and facilities to the tourist. The mechanism that has been adopted in the plan is to enhance the economic development of the destination. The positive aspect of the plan is that it aims at not only increasing on the revenues but also adopts the strategies so as to increase the employment opportunities and even to facilitate tax revenue. The issue that economic development of the particular destination would encompass adopting land that belongs to environmental sensitive areas has been addressed in certain parts of the plan. The plan states that the promotion of destination would be as a green destination so all possible measures would be considered that makes the land environmentally sustain for longer period of time (Baloglu & McCleary, 2010).However the plan would have gained more of strength if the issue regarding the environmental factor was more properly addressed by the board of directors and Chairman in the plan. This plan does make a lot of sense for the destination as it is been able to address various issues regarding the tourism industry and at the same time it even states the various approaches related to marketing and development programs that needs to be adopted so that more of awareness can be spread amongst the population in regard of the exceptional services that is offered by the destination. The plan was more focused on environmental issues that are a major concern area of the tourism industry. Though the plan is not properly framed in terms of environmental sustainability but all possible measures are adopted so as to reduce the effect that is caused on the environment. The plan takes into account sustainability issues so that exceptional service is delivered to the visitors along with maintaining proper protection towards the environment. The other strength of this tourism plan is that it follows proper tourism development program that comprises of analysis of the market and the customer’s demand in relation to the tourism sector, setting up of goals and objectives, gathering more of background information in relation to the history, culture and the geographical description of the location, and incorporating the best of tourist attractions, services and facilities so that more number of tourist can be attracted towards the destination (Lam & Hsu, 2006). The other specific strength of the plan is its realistic goals and objectives that are specific as well as measurable. The plan comprises of proper set path for achieving the goals and even the key deliverables that would enable adoption of appropriate strategies to reach the goal. The other factor of the plan is that it clearly sets the key partners in such an initiative and the various modes of investment that would facilitate the growth and development of Maryland tourist destination. Weakness The plan makes sense in the areas such as growth in employment opportunities, tourist spending and tax revenues but there are certain factors that need to be considered so that the plan can gain more of importance. The most important area that needs to be further highlighted is that of the proper approaches that needs to be implemented so that awareness can be spread at the minimum cost possible so as to maximize the overall revenue. The marketing and promotional technique that has been used in this plan is based more on mass media. However there are certain section of the population who cannot be affected much by the approach of mass media and this in turn would not support the plan in terms of increasing the overall revenue. The factor of involving above the line marketing approaches would increase the cost and would lower down the revenue generated through tourist spending. The other weakness is that there are no such facts and figures regarding the various activities and other attractive facilities that are being incorporated in the destination so that it turns to be more attractive for the tourists. The tourists would majorly be attracted not only through promotions but by the additional services and facilities that the destination offers to the tourists. This is where the plan lacks and even it makes no sense as it is not been able to compare between the existing facilities and the initiatives for the future so as to improve upon the overall experience of the tourists. The plan does not consider well the environmental frameworks that are adopted by organizations so as to maintain appropriate environmental conditions. Often it is noticed that tourism development is associated with causing harm towards the land which is essential for this sector. The plan should have focused on strategies so as to take active measures in terms of protecting land and achieve sustainability. The plan needs to encompass the method that would facilitate leveraging investments and at the same time help to reduce the overall investment that it incorporates so as to spread more of awareness. This needs a further market research and survey so as to achieve clarity on the areas where the plan needs further development and what are the changing demand trends amongst the tourists that needs to be properly met through the plan (Govers, Go & Kumar, 2007). The other weakness of the plan is that it gives no importance to the tour operators who play a major role in promoting such destination. In order to meet the specified goals the plan should encompass proper marketing tools, focus more on national and regional customers, adopt cost effective tools and techniques, and link the entire objective of the plan with that of environmental issues and concern. The plan needs to give importance to all the dimensions so that it is able to achieve its goals and objectives successfully. Opportunities The Maryland Tourism Plan is an initiative that is undertaken so as to bring about certain changes in the tourism sector. The plan comprises of wide range of elements that form its strength but there are certain factors that can be incorporated in the plan so that it can achieve success on a global scale. The most important of all is to form partnerships with government of the state so that more of funds can be acquired that would be able to support such a sustainable initiative. The funds acquiring phenomenon can also be considered as rowing and steering approach in which the government would be best at steering at the tourism plan and the private sector would be rowing the plan so as to reach its goals and objectives. There are two basis forms in this approach one is that of being a mission driven government and the other is that of catalytic government. The catalytic government would help in driving the plan towards the goal through various forms of strategies and the mission driven government would resemble that the government remains focused more on the mission of the plan rather than that of rules and regulations. This would help the plan to get the support of government in terms of generating fund and in return the government would also benefit in terms of increased expenditure from the customer end at this destination. The plan encompasses all the specific goals that would make tourism in the destination a sustainable one for future growth and development. In order to promote sustainability in Maryland the plan also encompasses education program in the destination so that staff can be well educated regarding the importance of sustainability and development of a tourist destination. The sustainability feature of the plan is also reflected through extensive research so as to identify the demand of the tourists and incorporate the best of services and facilities in the destination (Pike, 2002). The main objective of the plan was to increase the total expenditure from the tourist and to achieve sustainability the destination includes all the adventure activities and best dining facilities so that it keeps on attracting more of tourists to the Maryland. The plan even comprise of certain scope for the future through which more of promotional measures can be adopted and even the government can be involved in the most efficient form so that more funds can be acquired for making the destination environmental friendly and also at the same time it would be attractive for all the tourists. The other form of opportunities that is created through this plan is to reduce the rate of unemployment and promote education to al the staff involved in this project. The opportunity of associating destination with environmental protection initiative, outsourcing activities that would motivate tourists and transforming destination to a sustainable one are the core opportunities of the plan. The plan explores the available opportunities to the fullest in the form of market projection and proper allocation of funds to specific tourism activities. Tourism is one of the major revenue generation sources for the government and this idea forms the basis of the tourism plan for Maryland. Threat The threats are the external forces that has an impact on the plan and which cannot be controlled internally. The external conditions comprises of changing global trends and environmental conditions that greatly affects the tourism sector. The government often does not support such an initiative simply because of the funds required and long term commitment to maintain such a plan. The tourism plan has certain weaknesses that hinders the plan and would be prove to be a major disadvantage for long run. The external sources can be of varied forms that would have a negative impact on the implementation of the plan. The first major threat that the plan would be witnessing will be in the form of active participation from the government that may give a new direction to the idea. However this would facilitate more of catalyst behavior of the government and not the usual regulation bounded behavior. The other threat would be the lack of availability of funds to support such an initiative which would pose many limitations for the accomplishment of goals and objectives of the plan. The threat that needs to be catered is the appropriate sources of investment that would be supporting the growth and development of the tourism plan. The other form of threat is the increasing concern towards environmental issues and concern. The land that needs to be acquired for the plan so as to seek sustainable development may involve many of the environmental issues and these factors may affect greatly the progress of plan (DeLacy, Jiang, Lipman & Vorster, 2014). In such a scenario it is highly essential that eco-friendly measures are incorporated in the system but at the same time such measures cannot be easily adapted or they may not suit the objectivity of the plan. The other such factors may be the changing perception of the customers towards the tourism industry or they may not be aligned with the concept of such tourism plan. Even at times the best of facilities and services may not attract tourists to a great extent and even if they are been attracted they may not be influenced to spend to a great extent which is the major aim of the plan. In order that the plan reaches its goal it is very critical that the investment that is incorporated in the plan should be lower than that of the expected return on behalf of the increased percentage of tourist in the destination. The major support that the plan would be getting is in the form of its tourism partners who play a vital role in the designing as well implementation of the plan. The support would be even extended to that of funds generated by active participation of the government. The support for the plan would even comprise of help from the well trained staff who possess the will to acquire sufficient knowledge through the education program on sustainable growth and development that forms a major part of the plan. Though the market and research team employed for the plan provides the best support for the plan but the staffs are the key drivers of the plan. The major opportunity that this plan encompasses is in the form of promoting green environment of their destination though its nearby region located in the same nation promotes the same concept through their attractive destinations. This would be another threat for the plan in terms of increased rate of competition. The competition would be in the form of incorporation of similar concept that is eco-tourism in all of the tourism plans in the nearby regions. In terms of green destination the other form of threat would be tourist may misinterpret this initiative and would opt for other destinations that offer them best facilities in comparison to Maryland. Recommendations The Maryland Tourism Plan 2013 has been able to set clear strategies and objectives so as to meet the vision of the plan. The major gap in the plan remains in terms of improper adoption of plan so as to meet the probable threats. The plan has a very narrow focus on the objective that is to increase the overall revenue of the tourism sector and even to enhance the employment opportunities in this sector. The gaps between the positive aspect of the plan and the negative aspect of the plan have not been well addressed. The positive factors of the plan extend to the degree of promoting sustainable development and that of the concept of green environment. On the contrary the negative factors comprise of not a well planned strategy so as to mitigate all the weaknesses of the plan and also prove to be more effective in terms of increased competition in the particular sector. The major improvements of the plan should be in areas such as that of keeping a supportive plan that could encounter all the possible threats of the plan. The plan needs to have a tipping point effect that is to reach a mass target audience then to be focused on a specific segment. It is observed that small changes often are unnoticed but when it comes to making a change by affecting the mass the impact that is caused is more effective. The other improvement can be in the form of incorporating the best of measures or rather additional services so that it is more pleasing to all the tourists. In order to attract more number of tourists the plan encompasses the best of market and development tools but the strategic change that is needed in the plan is promoting the destination through tour operators both in the regional as well as national level. The plan should be related with the concept of green destination that would influence more number of tourists to visit such destination. The green program can be promoted using various marketing communication techniques so that proper message is conveyed to the tourists. References Baloglu, S. & McCleary, K. W. (2010). A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 26(4). DeLacy, T., Jiang, M., Lipman, G., & Vorster, S. (2014). Travel, Tourism and Green Growth: Concept, Policy and Practice for Sustainable Tourism. New York: Routledge. Govers, R., Go, F. M. & Kumar, K. (2007). Promoting tourism destination image. Journal of Travel Research. Vol. 46(5). Lam, T. & Hsu, C. H. C. (2006). Predicting behavioral intention of choosing a travel destination. Tourism Management. Vol. 27(4). Pike, S. (2002). Destination image analysis – a review of 142 papers from 1973 to 2000. Tourism Management. Vol. 23(2). Read More