TOURISM DRIVERS: SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR SHAPING YOUR VISITOR ECONOMY
By Sasha Lennon
In the economic development space, destination management planning is‘ core business’. Councils, as place-makers, have a critical role to play in supporting the vibrancy of their visitor economies to help drive positive economic development outcomes by taking a leadership role. In fact, the visitor economy is one of the few sectors that councils get directly involved in through their role in providing visitor information services, destination branding and promotion, infrastructure and service provision, land use planning, regulation and destination management.
In the post-Covid era, the expectations of travellers and the experiences they seek are changing, with global tourism trends presenting a strong case for investment in place-based approaches to destination management planning anchored around‘ experience tourism’. Evolving visitor preferences and visitation trends are influencing the prospects for tourism development and the ways in which places, as visitor destinations, can respond.
DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT A destination management plan( DMP) is a statement of intent to manage a visitor destination. Typically, a DMP will articulate a vision and a plan of action to grow the visitor economy and its contribution to economic development. The visitor economy is broader than that which people normally regard as ' tourism’. It is an‘ ecosystem’ that covers both the demandside, that is, people who are traveling for holidays, for education or business and those visiting friends and relatives, as well as the supply-side.
The supply-side includes the tourism operators who provide the destination’ s products, services and experiences, as well as the destination’ s planners, promoters and enablers. This includes councils, local and regional tourism organisations, business chambers, industry associations, regional development bodies, key state and federal government agencies, education and training providers, cultural institutions and First Nations representative bodies.
A PLACE-BASED APPROACH Typically, a destination management plan will present a clear, measurable and achievable strategy to guide the development of the local visitor economy, including enhancing and promoting visitor attractions; growing visitor numbers; extending visitors’ length of stay; and maximising visitors’ spend in the destination concerned.
VOL 18 NO 3 2025 28 www. edaustralia. com. au