Organizing Resources for Tourism Development in Rural Areas
Presented by
Center for Sustainable Tourism
East Carolina University
www.sustainabletourism.org
www.renewabletourism.com
i
Acknowledgment
This version of Organizing Resources for Tourism Development In Rural Areas was
originally prepared for distribution at the 1993 National Rural Tourism Conference in Rapid
City, South Dakota. Since that time we have presented the concepts put forth in this document in
numerous small and large group settings. The feedback on the applicability of the planning
concepts and methods has been useful and most positive. It is our intent that the usefulness of
the planning techniques and concepts proposed herein continue to be field tested and evaluated.
We encourage community leaders and professionals who incorporate these ideas in their tourism
development efforts to contact us and let us know what works (and what doesn't!).
In addition to the input of community leaders and professionals who work with
communities in the area of tourism development, we have also sought the opinion of several
planners and community development specialists as to the effectiveness of the processes we're
proposing. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank John Whiteman, Integrated
Tourism Strategies, Inc., John Sem, Western Entrepreneurial Network, Scott Kieselbach,
Community First, Inc., Glenn Weaver, University of Missouri, Gale Trussell, Tennessee Valley
Authority, Bill McLaughlin, University of Idaho and Dr. David Edgell, Past Undersecretary,
United States Travel and Tourism Administration and now Research Scholar and Full Professor,
Center for Sustainable Tourism, East Carolina University, for their contribution of ideas and
edits relative to the concepts outlined in this document.
Jonelle Nuckolls and Patrick Long
Center for Sustainable Tourism
East Carolina University
ii
Preface
Sustaining rural America is one of today's pressing issues.
With the decline of family
operated farms and ranches and the move away from traditional extraction industries, word about
the benefits of developing tourism in rural communities and regions is quickly spreading. This
increased interest in tourism as a way to diversify the rural economy has also led to widespread
interest and need by local community leaders and governments for information on how to
organize resources and systematically implement strategies for tourism development. To the
benefit of many, a number of excellent resources specifically geared to assisting rural
communities with tourism development have recently been prepared for public distribution (Sem
et al. 1992; Richardson 1991; Weaver et al. 1991; Heatherington 1988, Long & Nuckolls 1992;
1994). These resources provide important information and general ideas about local
involvement, marketing, selecting attractions, and funding tourism initiatives.
This document complements these valuable resources by providing a results-oriented
process that clearly demonstrates the relationship of planning to key tourism development
functions such as organization and community involvement, tourism product development, and
tourism product marketing. Employing this hands-on, step-by-step approach to organizing
resources for tourism development and marketing in a rural setting will enable local leaders to
piece together the various elements for a workable and realistic tourism plan. Local communities
that choose to incorporate this process into their tourism development effort will be able to more
effectively and efficiently plan and implement a sustainable tourism industry. Specific benefits
to applying this process for organizing resources include: (1) the ability to develop and
implement a plan for tourism that integrates organizational development, community
involvement, and tourism product development, marketing, and management; (2) a clearer
understanding of both the positive and negative impacts of tourism on community quality of life;
and (3) the ability to make more effective decisions concerning allocation of resources for
tourism product development and marketing.
Prior to undertaking a rural tourism initiative, it is important to recognize each of the
main components that make up the tourism industry. Part I of this paper provides a model and
brief description of these components. Successfully developing and managing these components
requires leadership, planning and technical assistance. The ingredients for organizing resources
for tourism development are reviewed in Part II. Finally, Part III outlines a hands-on, userfriendly process communities can follow that integrates leadership, planning, and technical
assistance and produces realistic actions and strategies for tourism development, marketing, and
management.
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Part I.
Components of the Tourism Industry
What does rural tourism mean to
you? For many in the industry,
tourism translates into brochures with
multi-color separations and quarter
page ads publicizing the services and
recreation opportunities available to
the vacationing and business traveler.
recreational attractions and amenities,
as well as interpretive, educational,
and recreational programs and special
events that are managed specifically
for use by various publics. Traveler
services provide the visitor with
accommodations, food and beverage,
Considered part of traveler services,
these promotional elements are critical
modes of transportation (bus, taxi,
train, aircraft, boat, bicycle), shopping,
to the success of tourism; however,
they comprise only a part of the total
picture. To be successful, a
community or region must
also be able to capture and
maintain the interest of
potential visitors, provide
access to emergency care, information
about the area, and friendly and
knowledgeable assistance.
reasonable access and basic
human services, meet needs
for safety and security, and
demonstrate relatively
intense levels of hospitality.
Thus, to develop a tourism
industry that will be both successful
and sustainable requires careful
consideration of 5 main components.
These components include: (1)
tourism resources, (2) traveler
services, (3) infrastructure, (4) tourist
markets, and (5) the host community
or region (Figure 1).
Tourism resources may be defined
as natural and man-made, scenic,
scientific, cultural, historic, and
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
Infrastructure relates to suitable
utilities (water, sewer, and electric),
communication, and transportation
access such as roads, airports,
railways, and waterways. Tourist
markets are the consumers (and users)
of the tourism product. Understanding
who the potential visitors are, where
they come from, what they are
interested in seeing and doing, and
how much they are willing to pay for
these experiences are important visitor
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 1
characteristics that are often
addition, the quality of the host-guest
overlooked. Knowledge of existing
and potential tourist markets will
greatly improve an area's chances for
success. Finally, and most important,
is the host community or region.
Developing a tourism industry directly
and indirectly affects the entire
community. Both tourism and nontourism businesses as well as the local
citizenry all have the potential of being
relationship plays a major part in
determining the overall quality of the
visitor's travel experience and his or
her perception of the community. In
rural areas, for tourism to succeed,
efforts must be made to contribute to,
rather than disrupt, the local quality of
life. Taking all 5 of these components
into account is essential when
developing tourism in rural areas in
positively or negatively impacted as a
result of tourism, and thus play a key
role in the industry's success. In
order to ensure a successful and
sustainable tourism industry.
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 2
Part II. Organizing Resources for Tourism Development
Requires: Leadership, Planning, and Technical
Assistance
Successful development and
management of a tourism industry
requires three main ingredients: (1)
leadership, (2) a planning process, and
affected by decisions related to tourism
development or expansion. This
balanced representation may be
reflected in a variety of ways, two of
(3) technical assistance. If a
community is lacking in any one of
these, the chances for long term
success and sustainability of the
tourism effort will be diminished. As
the tourism development effort
progresses, communities that are able
to systematically and strategically plan
for tourism are most likely to realize
which include: (1) the composition of
the tourism development group and (2)
the benefits associated with the
integration of these three key
ingredients.
development effort along.
Characterized by their energy,
motivation, knowledge of some facet
of the tourism industry, and respect
among peers, these individuals often
evolve as the catalyst for the tourism
initiative. Rural communities need
someone who can commit the time and
expertise necessary to administer and
manage the tourism development
demonstrated community involvement
during critical planning activities.
Committed can take on a number of
derivations. For those communities
enjoying the greatest progress, there is
often one individual who tends to be
the driving force moving the tourism
Leadership
Effective leadership requires a
well-balanced group consisting of
individuals who are committed to the
long term development and
management of tourism in their
community or region. The key words
here are balanced and committed.
Balanced suggests that a mechanism is
in place to ensure representation of
both tourism and non-tourism business
and resident interests who may be
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
effort. But, this person, paid or
volunteer, cannot be expected to
handle the task alone. Thus, at some
point early in the tourism development
process, a diverse and representative
group of individuals interested in
tourism must be brought together to
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 3
pool their ideas, interests, concerns,
and resources. Figure 2 suggests three
main sectors: private, public, and
quasi-public1 from which tourism
group representatives should be
recruited.
Who makes up this diverse group
involved in community tourism
development? Who should be
represented?
Private Sector - business
owners/operators; downtown
merchants' associations; chamber/
resort associations and hotel, motel,
restaurant associations; lending
institutions; and landscape
architects/resort planners.
Public Sector - city, county, regional,
federal government officials; planning
boards or staff; economic, community,
or regional development organizations;
local and state parks and recreation
agencies; historical societies, and
interested citizens.
Quasi Public Sector - convention and
visitor bureaus (CVB's); municipal,
county, regional, or state tourism
boards, councils or promotional
organizations; and special event
sponsors or producers.
Figure 2. Sectors from which to
recruit tourism group
representatives.
1
"Quasi-public" sector may be defined as
organizations that are supported in part or
whole by public funds and who support both
public and private interests.
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
Once these individuals are brought
together, some type of organizational
structure will be needed. The degree
and type of organization will vary
depending on the individual situation
of each community or region. Those
communities with great capacity and
substantial resources for tourism
development will require a much
greater degree of organization than
those that are developing a single
attraction. Whatever the case,
developing some type of governing
board, coordinating with groups both
in the community and across the
region, and establishing committees to
carry out the organization's goals, are
important group functions. Funding
for staff such as an administrative
assistant, executive director, or private
consultant, whose sole focus is to
coordinate the local tourism effort may
not be available. Eventually, however,
if the tourism industry is to be
sustained over time, a paid
professional who is able to devote at
least 50% time to the tourism
development, marketing, and
management effort will be needed.
Lack of funds, however, should not
deter the tourism group from locating
an individual who is knowledgeable
about group process and the tourism
industry, is willing to lead the group,
and provide documentation of the
progress. This individual may be a
public or private technical assistance
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 4
provider from outside the community
concerns and opportunities about
or a respected leader from within the
community. Identifying this individual
is essential in order to develop and
implement a plan for tourism.
existing or proposed tourism activity,
(3) expressing opinions and voting on
Public Involvement
Deciding when the time is
appropriate to involve the general
public in planning for tourism
development is a matter of individual
circumstance. However, as a general
guideline, both tourism and nontourism business and resident interests
should be invited to participate
How do you involve tourism and nontourism community interests?
Initial involvement should be to inform
and educate. To accomplish this:
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3
3
3
3
hold public meetings
place ads and articles in the newspaper
develop an information brochure or
fact sheet
make presentations to community
organizations
meet one-on-one with key stakeholders
Involve tourism and nontourism community interests
when:
As the project progresses, more emphasis
is placed on active public involvement.
Activities at this stage might include:
1. There is potential to affect the
quality of life within the
community
3
3
2. These individuals or
organizations stand to gain or
lose economically or socially,
and
3
3
3. Local physical environment and
resources (natural or manmade) are threatened or will be
changed.
whenever the tourism development
group is: (1) articulating ideas and
hopes for the future physical
development, size, and population of
their community, (2) identifying
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
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3
focus group sessions with
representatives from all parts of the
community
an invitation to the public to participate
in preliminary planning workshops
administration of a formal or informal
survey to solicit public opinion and
attitudes
public hearings to debate proposed
tourism development goals and
policies
meetings with key stakeholders to
solicit their opinions and ideas for
proposed tourism development
activities
an invitation for the public to become
actively involved in various projects
related to tourism development
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 5
proposed tourism development and
or marketing, the process is the same.
marketing goals; and (4) evaluating
how well the tourism initiative is
working.
What changes is the content, and this
is contingent on the function being
pursued.
In general, communities interested
in developing a tourism industry can
expect to be involved with four main
functions:
Planning
Planning often conjures up images
of thick documents collecting dust on
the shelves of government agencies or
theoretical models too complicated to
1. organizational development
apply in real life situations.
Unfortunately, in many cases these
2. community involvement
3. tourism product development
4 tourism product marketing
images are reality! Nonetheless, to be
successful, communities must employ
some degree of action and resultsoriented planning for tourism
development, marketing, and
management. The degree of planning
required is directly related to the stage
of development of the tourism group
To be successful over the long-term
requires planning relative to each of
these areas. In the early stages of
tourism development, planning
activities are employed to help the
tourism development group get
organized, recognized, and funded -organizational development, and build
interest and support from local
residents and affected interests-community involvement. The content
of the plan then begins to shift to
decisions about the type and degree of
tourism desired -- tourism product
and existing tourism initiatives,
opportunities, and threats. Perhaps the
one most important fact to recognize as
the tourism development process is
initiated is that planning is planning!
Whether the focus be organizational
development, attraction development,
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development and who should be
targeted to consume (experience) what
the local tourism industry has to offer - tourism product marketing.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 6
Figure 3 illustrates a simple model
particularly those related to
for tourism planning. Note that
although a starting point is implied, a
community will, depending on its stage
of development, most likely be
simultaneously involved in one or
more planning activities. In addition, a
number of planning activities,
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
determining community values and
vision, developing a mission, and
identifying major concerns and
opportunities, need only be completed
once, and will serve as the foundation
for future tourism development and
marketing decisions.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 7
Technical Assistance
clearly defined and promoted so that
Each tourism development group
requires access to some degree of
technical assistance. This assistance,
usually in the form of expertise and/or
resources (human, physical, and
financial), can be found both within
the community as well as externally
(See Figure 4 - Technical Assistance
Matrix). Assistance from within the
potential users can evaluate and
incorporate it into their plans. The
good news is there's a lot of help out
there for rural America. The bad news
is that the quality and usefulness of
this assistance is not always easy to
discern. Unfortunately, community
leaders can't wait for the various
technical assistance providers to: (1)
realize the contribution they can make
community may come from a local
government entity, a private business,
or an organization who's sole purpose
is to provide community development
assistance. External to the community,
assistance can be found from a variety
of state and federal agencies,
universities, private consultants, and
nonprofit organizations. The
availability, applicability, and
usefulness of this assistance must be
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
with a little creative thinking, and (2)
get coordinated to the point that rural
areas can receive maximum benefits.
Thus, the burden is placed back on the
shoulders of community leaders to first
determine what type of assistance they
need and second, begin to identify
possible sources of assistance within
and outside of their respective
communities.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 8
Part III. Planning Activities
A process proposed by the authors
for organizing resources for rural
tourism development results in the
integration of leadership, planning,
and technical assistance by working
through ten planning activities (see
Figure 3). These activities which can
be grouped under the well known
step combines the familiar resource
inventory, environmental scan, and
market analyses, into one step.
Thus, communities are encouraged
to view the broad picture from the
onset as they inventory and assess
(1) the physical resources, services,
strategic planning questions require
groups to: (1) assess their current
situation, (2) define where they want to
go in the future, (3) determine how
they will get there, and (4) evaluate
their progress along the way. Table 1
provides an outline of the four strategic
planning questions and the associated
and infrastructure that are optimal
for tourism and recreation
development; (2) local interest in,
and support for, tourism and the
human resources available to
manage the effort, and (3) the
potential markets to consume the
products and experiences provided
by the local tourism industry.
planning activities relative to the
functions of (1) organizational
development, (2) community
involvement, (3) tourism product
development, and (4) tourism product
marketing. A brief description of these
activities is provided below.
This information gathering exercise,
when completed, should paint a
picture of the community's strengths
and weaknesses and overall
suitability/capability to develop a
tourism industry.
a. Where Are We Today? - Answering
this question requires work on the
information gathering step. It is
important to note that information
gathering should not be limited to
an inventory of the community's
physical resources, infrastructure,
and traveler services. Rather, this
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
b. Where Do We Want To Go?
Answering this question requires
work on the planning activities that
include identifying values, creating
a vision, identifying critical
concerns and opportunities,
developing a mission, and
formulating broad goals. These
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 9
activities help the tourism
agenda is prepared. After creative
development group and community
determine what's really important in
terms of quality of life; articulate
their desires for the future; identify
pressing issues and unique
circumstances; summarize their
purpose for existing, who they are
serving, and the focus and scope of
their efforts; and begin to establish a
general direction for tourism
energy has been exhausted, the
objectives and actions are evaluated
based on importance and feasibility,
resources, timelines, and measures
of success. Technical assistance
and funding strategies come into
play at this stage as community
leaders attempt to identify sources
of in-kind and financial assistance
to help them achieve their goals.
development.
Gathering the information needed
to complete this step will enable
the tourism group and residents to
honestly determine what they want
their community to look, feel, and
be like, now, and in the future. In
addition, each community will be
better equipped with information
on which to base tourism
development, marketing, and
management decisions.
c. How Are We Going To Get There?
Answering this question will result
in the development of objectives
and actions. The activities at this
stage help to translate the tourism
group's vision and goals into action.
After the tourism group has
brainstormed general ways to
accomplish their goals, an action
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
d. How Did We Do? By answering
this final planning question, the
tourism group becomes involved in
evaluation and modification
activities. The tourism group now
determines how well the various
tourism development and marketing
strategies worked, if the
community's values and vision were
maintained, and if the critical
concerns were addressed. At this
point, the process loops the group
back to the beginning as they
identify new opportunities and
concerns and modify their strategies
as required. Evaluation activities
also remind the group of the
importance of follow-up and
objectively reviewing their
strategies and accomplishments.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 10
Table 1. Tourism Planning: An Integrated Approach
PLANNING
ACTIVITY
ORGANIZATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
TOURISM PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM PRODUCT
MARKETING
ê
Where Are We Today?
Gather Information
1.
Evaluate existing group
composition. Identify
potential representatives that
could or should be involved.
Identify both tourism and
non-tourism interests that
may be affected by the
proposed tourism
development. Determine key
issues and concerns of the
various stake-holders.
Conduct an inventory and
assessment of the area's
tourism resources, services,
and infrastructure. Estimate
existing levels of use and
carrying capacity.
Profile the existing markets in
terms of geographic origin,
demographics, family lifecycle, spending patterns,
needs, and interests.
Where Do We Want To Go?
Identify Community
Values
2.
Create A Vision
3.
Identify Concerns
and Opportunities
4.
Develop A Mission
5.
Tourism organization
members express community
values by answering
questions related to quality of
life now and in the future.
Community representatives
express their values by
answering questions related
to quality of life now and in
the future.
Values expressed by the
tourism organization and
community representatives
begin to form the foundation
upon which future tourism
development and resource
allocation decisions will be
based.
Values expressed by the
tourism organization and
community representatives
begin to form the foundation
upon which future tourism
marketing decisions will be
based.
Tourism organization
members create an image of
how the community should
look, feel, and be, now and in
the future.
Community representatives
create an image of how the
community should look, feel,
and be, now and in the future.
The descriptive "story" about
future development and
quality of life in the
community further
strengthens the foundation
and guides tourism
development and resource
allocation decisions.
The descriptive "story" about
future development and
quality of life in the
community further
strengthens the foundation
and guides tourism marketing
decisions.
Tourism organization
members brainstorm a list of
concerns and opportunities
that the group or community
may be facing. Similar ideas
are combined and narrowed
down to reflect those: (1)
related to tourism and (2) the
tourism organization should
handle.
Community representatives
brainstorm a list of concerns
and opportunities the
community may be facing.
Similar ideas are combined
and narrowed down to reflect:
(1) those related to tourism
and (2) those that can be
addressed by the tourism
organization or through
tourism initiatives.
The major concerns and
opportunities will provide
direction for tourism
development initiatives.
Ideas expressed should be
revisited as more concrete
plans for developing or
enhancing tourism
attractions, services, and
infrastructure are being
considered.
The major concerns and
opportunities will provide
direction for tourism
development initiatives.
Ideas expressed should be
revisited as more concrete
plans for marketing tourism
resources and services are
being considered.
Tourism organization
members articulate their
purpose for existing and
determine who they are
serving. It is important to
recognize not only the visitor,
but also community needs
during this activity.
The tourism organization's
mission serves as a vehicle to
inform the community about
the group's purpose for
existing.
The mission, along with the
values, vision, concerns, and
opportunities helps guide the
tourism development effort.
The mission, along with the
values, vision, concerns, and
opportunities helps guide the
tourism marketing effort.
Nuckolls and Long - 1997
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 11
PLANNING
ACTIVITY
ORGANIZATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
TOURISM PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
TOURISM PRODUCT
MARKETING
ê
Where Do We Want To Go?
Develop Goals
6.
Based on the tourism
organization's values, vision,
concerns, opportunities, and
mission, goals relative to the
structure and administration
of the organization are
developed.
Goals related to community
education and involvement in
the tourism development
effort are developed. Most
likely, goals will center on
ways to involve the public in
the planning process.
Based on the expressed
values, vision, concerns,
opportunities, and mission,
goals for the physical
development and/or
enhancement tourism
resources, traveler services,
and infrastructure are
developed.
Based on the plans for
tourism product development
and/or enhancement, goals
for tourism marketing are
developed.
How Are We Going To Get There?
Develop Objectives
7.
Develop Actions
8.
Tourism organization
members develop actionoriented statements that
propose how to achieve each
organizational goal. The
number of objectives for each
goal will vary depending on
the group's stage of
development and available
human, physical, and
financial resources.
Tourism organization
members develop actionoriented statements that
propose how to achieve each
community education and
involvement goal. The
number of objectives for each
goal will vary depending on
the community's level of
interest and involvement in
the tourism initiatives, and
the available human,
physical, and financial
resources.
Tourism organization
members develop actionoriented statements that
propose how to achieve each
tourism product development
goal. The number of
objectives for each goal will
vary depending on the
community's stage of
development, the quantity
and quality of existing
tourism resources, services,
and infrastructure, and
available human, physical,
and financial resources.
Tourism organization
members develop actionoriented statements that
propose how to achieve each
tourism product marketing
goal. The number of
objectives for each goal will
vary depending on the
quantity and quality of
existing tourism marketing
activities and available
human, physical, and
financial resources.
Tourism organization
members define strategies
and tactics which outline
specifically how each
organizational development
objective will be achieved.
This includes exploring
funding and technical
assistance alternatives,
identifying timelines, and
assigning tasks.
Tourism organization
members define strategies
and tactics which outline
specifically how each
community education and
involvement objective will be
achieved. This includes
exploring funding and
technical assistance
alternatives, identifying
timelines, and assigning
tasks.
Tourism organization
members define strategies
and tactics which outline
specifically how each tourism
product development
objective will be achieved.
This includes exploring
funding and technical
assistance alternatives,
identifying timelines, and
assigning tasks.
Tourism organization
members define strategies
and tactics which outline
specifically how each tourism
marketing objective will be
achieved. This includes
exploring funding and
technical assistance
alternatives, identifying
timelines, and assigning
tasks.
Organization members
conduct a periodic review of
tourism product development
and implementation activities
and progress. A report is
written and copies submitted
to appropriate governing
bodies, funding agencies, and
the general public.
Organization members
conduct a periodic review of
tourism product marketing
activities and progress. A
report is written and copies
submitted to appropriate
governing bodies, funding
agencies, and the general
public.
How Did We Do?
Evaluate Progress
9.
Organization members
conduct a periodic review of
the organization's activities
and progress. A report is
written and copies submitted
to appropriate governing
bodies, funding agencies, and
the general public.
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
Organization members
conduct a periodic review of
key public involvement
activities. A report is written
and copies submitted to
appropriate governing bodies,
funding agencies, and the
general public.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 12
Update and Modify
Plan
10.
Based on new information or
changing circumstances,
revisions to the organizational
development plan are made.
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
Based on new information or
changing circumstances,
revisions to the plan for
community involvement are
made.
Based on new information or
changing circumstances,
revisions to the plan for
tourism product development
are made.
Based on new information or
changing circumstances,
revisions to the plan for
tourism marketing are made.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 12
Summary
Successful and sustainable tourism
development that ensures economic
prosperity while still maintaining
community values and quality of life
requires leadership, planning, and
technical assistance. Regardless of the
level of tourism development your
community is pursuing, a thorough
understanding of the interrelationship
of the five main components of the
tourism industry: (1) tourism
resources, (2) traveler services, (3)
infrastructure, (4) tourist markets,
and (5) the host community or region,
is absolutely essential if long-term
stability is to be achieved.
Tourism development must go
beyond the brochure! To achieve this
requires conscious involvement in an
action-driven, results-oriented
planning process that includes the
integration of four main functions: (1)
organizational development, (2)
community involvement, (3) tourism
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
product development, and (4) tourism
product marketing. Planning activities
such as determining values, creating a
vision, and identifying concerns and
opportunities provide the foundation
upon which major tourism
development and marketing decisions
are made.
In the most ideal situation, a
tourism organization would work
through the planning process described
herein and come up with a plan that is
acceptable to the majority of interests.
In reality, this is not likely to occur.
Nonetheless, communities that
incorporate sound planning principles
and a systematic approach to tourism
development can expect a tourism
industry that contributes to the local
economy, enhances local community
attractions, services, and amenities;
and impacts, in a positive way, local
community quality of life.
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 14
References
Heatherington, Arlene. (1988) Rural Tourism: Marketing Small Communities. Copies
available from Meta-Link, Box 11349, Bainbridge, WA 98110 (206)842-9575.
Long, Patrick. & Nuckolls, Jonelle. (1992). Rural Tourism Development: Balancing Benefits
and Costs, Western Wildlands, Vol 18(3), pp. 9-13.
Long, Patrick. & Nuckolls, Jonelle. (1994) Organising Resources for Rural Tourism
Development: The Importance of Leadership, Planning and Technical Assistance,
Journal of Tourism Recreation Research, Vol. XlX(2), pp 19-34.
Richardson, Sarah. (1991) Colorado Community Tourism Action Guide. University of
Colorado at Denver and Boulder. Contact the Center for Community Development.
(303) 556-2816.
Sem, John, Koth, B., and Kreag, G. (1991). Rural Tourism Development. Minnesota
Extension Service, University of Minnesota. (612)625-8173.
Weaver, Glenn, Project Director. (1991). Tourism USA. Contact United States Travel and
Tourism Administration, Department of Commerce, Room 1510, 14th and Constitution
Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 10030.
Nuckolls and Long - 2009
Organizing Resources for Rural Tourism - 15