Destination Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Destination Management - Assignment Example This is done with the aim of improving the wealth of the experience for both tourists and locals as well as ensures sustainability of the environment and activities that promote tourism. When the content of this discussion are considered in line with the definition of sustainable tourism, it is evident that development is core in achieving the latter. According to the WTO (1981), sustainable tourism development has to do with meeting the desires and expectants of visitors and the host regions but also protecting the areas and the culture for posterity (p.89).Tourism should ideally be carried through careful resource management in such a way that aesthetic needs are met while cultural integrity and biological diversity are preserved. Stage of development According to Butler (1980), there are seven stages of tourism development â€Å"lifecycle †(1980, p. 6)and they will be discussed herein in relation to the city of Venice in an effort to understand its growth and changes in reg ard to the tourism industry. The first stages are exploitation then involve of locals in providing facilities which results in the place becoming a popular destination (Garay & Ca`noves, 2010). Venice being one of the oldest cities in the world underwent these centuries ago and kept rising and falling depending on prevailing regional political stability. In the last few decades, Italy recognized the potential of Venice as a tourist destination and made efforts to advertise it, the world has recognized it as such too and millions of visitors flood there every year. However, due to the high number of tourists, they have destabilized the lives of the locals by making the city crowded and making it so expensive that many venetians are driven to live elsewhere. This is the fourth stage currently most dominantly manifested by the city today. Tourism facilities may also likely start to fade, as indeed they are due to the impact of too heavy a flow and if no action is taken to restore the o ld Venice tourism in the region will likely stagnate. The tourism managers in Venice have clearly noticed this and much effort has been put in restoration especially after the flood of 1968, this is the sixth stage of restoration, it has to a large extent been successful thanks to the combined efforts of the stakeholders. Should restoration fail, Venice would decline and ultimate previously tourist supported systems would fail. Approach to destination management A workshop on report produced by UNESCO on tourism in Venice asserted on the need for a diversified and sustainable cultural tourism and improved tourism management so as to effectively prioritize the needs of the host community. The need for better destination management stems from, among others, the fact that despite hosting over 22 million guests, only about 4 million spend the night, ergo, this makes tourism in the city more of a free ride than a cultural experience (UNESCO, 2011). The former is however neither sustainab le nor healthy for the industry since â€Å"free riders† will rarely appreciate the sights and experiences enough to contribute to their growth by coming back An major managerial challenge facing the municipality of Venice ensuring a regular flow of visitors all year round to increase productivity as well as reduce the high costs of short