![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Developing a Tourism Action PlanA tourism action plan defines the who, what, where, when and how of making tourism happen. It provides a framework for businesses, local government and other organizations to analyse tourism resources and concerns, and to encourage development and promotion within your community. It covers the five key components of tourism:
ELEMENTS OF A TOURISM ACTION PLAN
TOURISM ACTION STEP WORK SHEET GOAL: To improve tourism promotion OBJECTIVE: TO ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY THEME CONCERN(S) ADDRESSED:No community theme JUSTIFICATION: What are we known for? What is our main claim to fame? Tourists will be moreRANK NO. 1inclined to visit if we portray a single interesting theme. MARKETS IMPLICATED: Ecotourism. Campers. Visiting friends and relatives. TIME FRAME: Less than a year EXPENSE: $500.00 ACTION STEPS BY WHOM WHEN RESULTS 1. Develop a proposal to come up with a community theme including: - what criteria should be used in deciding upon it; - who should make the final decision; - how to get residents interested and involved; and - how the theme can be portrayed to visitors. 2. Seek assistance for the proposal from the First Nations Council and local businesses (businesses may be willing to provide prizes for the winning theme in a contest). 3. Decide on the theme. 4. Determine how best to portray the theme. 5. Institute other ways to support and promote the theme. At this point, your committee can assign responsibility and realistic deadlines for the completion of each step. Individuals and local organizations should be encouraged to participate, but the assigned committee member is the supervisor who manages the process and reports on activities. Throughout the process, your committee is the lead player. Involve Your Band Council and Community Your draft tourism action plan is now ready for submission to the band council and then to the community. The draft gives both groups the opportunity to review and discuss the plan before the committee seeks input from parties outside the community. The resulting additions or changes can be incorporated into a second draft and resubmitted to the council. Community Input After the band council approves the draft plan in principle, your committee can seek input from entrepreneurs, local tourism associations and government departments outside the community. The band council may have advice on when, where and how to obtain public feedback. There are various ways, including open house meetings and workshops, an open band council meeting, and presentations to local interest groups with follow-up discussion and a questionnaire. The plan can also be mailed to designated individuals with a request for feedback or can be published in the local newspaper with a request for comments or date of a public meeting. Committee members can also hold one-on-one discussions with others in the community. Those most likely to be affected by the plan should be included at this stage. For example, if it recommends improving highway directional signs, ask the provincial highway department for comments. If key people fail to respond, have committee members visit them to explain the plan and obtain feedback. Implement the Action Plan The plan can be implemented only after it has received support from the band council, the community and outside private and public agencies. During this process, regular committee meetings will allow members to:
If you apply for advice or financial support from outside organizations, attach a copy of the plan. It will lend substance and credibility to your application. Outside Expertise There are three major sources of outside expertise: consultants, published material and private tourism associations. Use consultants only for those tasks you cannot do yourselves. Your committee is certainly in a better position to initiate the project by doing the early legwork of gathering and reviewing available information. Not only is it cheaper, but the knowledge and contacts will remain in your community. If you do go outside your community for expertise, government tourism consultants should be able to provide sound initial advice. When hiring consultants, be as explicit as possible in detailing the requirements. Your tourism action plan process is a good information tool for the consultant and saves briefing time. Books are available on how to select and use consultants; how to start and run tourism businesses; and how to execute business functions, such as preparation of business plans, accounting and marketing. These books contain excellent advice at a fraction of the cost of consultants. Private hotel and restaurant associations as well as provincial, territorial and regional tourism associations provide services to tourism businesses. Through them you can develop a network of association members who have dealt with problems similar to your own. Monitor the Results The procedures for monitoring the success or failure of your plan should be in place before implementation begins. Base these procedures on specific action steps and objectives. For example, your community stages an annual powwow and you plan to promote it. Monitoring procedures need to be in place well before the event. If your objective is to attract more visitors through direct-mail promotion, newspaper and radio advertising, or a combination of these and other promotional activities, try to gauge the success of these efforts by comparing attendance figures for previous powwows with attendance figures after advertising was introduced. Such monitoring could come in the form of sampling. Committee members or volunteers could survey a sampling of people attending the powwow with a checklist of questions, such as how they heard about the powwow, whether they have friends or relatives in the community, and where they are staying. The more people questioned, the better the sample. Encourage people to take the time to answer questions by offering such incentives as free tickets, discount coupons, pins or balloons. Other sampling activities include questionnaires by mail and telephone interviews, but for these, you will need information on who attended and how to reach them. Monitoring could include a status report once every six months from the committee member responsible for each objective. The report _ _ no more than one or two pages long _ _ could describe:
After the committee reviews all the reports, they can be compiled as one document for presentation to the First Nation Council. It is also a good idea to schedule a detailed annual review to evaluate objectives. The findings of this review can be presented to the First Nation Council for consideration and endorsement. Your community should be made aware of your committee's successes. Toot your own horn because it's a safe bet no one else will. For instance, an annual tourism night with guest speakers, films and presentations would give your chairperson an opportunity to report on achievements, to discuss what is still to be accomplished and where help is needed. |
||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Last Updated: 2004-04-23 | ![]() |
Important Notices |