Shaping the Future of Sustainable Tourism Through Destination Management

 
 
 
Shaping the Future of sustainable tourism with destination management

Tourism is essential for economic development and is one of the tools to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. However, the concept of destination management is a great strategy to attract tourists, businesses and students. The term Destination Management (DM) is a process that involves coordinated actions among the different stakeholders that aim to control the economic, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions of a tourist destination.

The tourism industry can potentially contribute to Pakistan’s GDP. The idea of destination management will influence the demand for tourism and its impact on the economy. Also, it brings together various stakeholders who want to achieve a common goal of developing a sustainable visitor destination that is well-managed. It involves managing all aspects that contribute to a visitor’s experience. Moreover, it includes the needs, expectations and perspectives of visitors, businessmen, the tourism industry, the real estate industry, residents and the government.

Impacts of Destination Management
Impacts of Destination Management

The quality and type of real estate in any location define its culture, especially when it comes to tourism. The area needs a diverse range of properties to attract tourists and travellers. Any tourist destination must have an infrastructure that includes a wide range of residential or commercial properties. Destination management can be a very successful and effective real estate strategy for the growth of tourism and that location.

Promoting tourism helps in employment generation while adding vibrancy and diversity to communities. By adopting the destination management approach, the communities will respond to changing conditions and explore the different recreational sites. All places have different types of tourism activities and ambience. Thus there is no ‘one shoe fits all approach to destination management. This approach helps organisations in the travel, real estate and tourism industry by delighting the travellers to their destination, building a sustainable plan and increasing revenue.

A destination can be a country, region, city, park, museum or neighbourhood. By shaping the destination’s development, the quality of accommodation and transportation can be improved. It will impact the social, natural and economic environment. If the destinations are not managed well, they can be over-exploited or destroyed. Moreover, independent tourism companies or people planning private trips do not consider their plans’ positive or negative externalities. Hence, centralised management of an inclusive destination can develop a plan with a vision and strategy. The resources can be efficiently used that align with the real estate industry.

Recommendations

The real estate sector can play a critical role in destination management. Most tourists prefer to spend their quality time and money at places with the best accommodation and food. International standard hotels can be developed in the central areas so that surrounding areas are also easily accessible. Almost all tourist destinations in Pakistan are unplanned, sometimes leading to heavy losses due to natural disasters or economic instability. Once the areas are planned to keep the vision and environment in mind, there will be a sustainable future for the tourism industry. The government or tourism bodies spend more resources on marketing the destination rather than managing it, which needs to change.

On the other hand, tourists need safety while visiting new places. The destination management approach is the solution that can help take safety measures for locals and foreigners so that more people are encouraged to visit more often and boost tourism. When the market becomes larger because of more visitors, various businesses will be interested in working in that area. The sponsors and investors will be attracted, resulting in the expansion of businesses and sources of income for the locals. Since destination management adds value to a destination, the country itself will continue to reap the benefits in the foreseeable future, making it easier to achieve a sustainable future of tourism in Pakistan.

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IMARAT Institute of Policy Studies

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