Tourism Tourism looks set to replace oil as the most important global industry as countries capitalise on the high returns it offers, often at the expense of the environment, communities and individuals. James Elliott explores the ways in which governments of both developed and developing countries manage this diverse and volatile industry. Using case studies from the UK, Australia, Vietnam and Thailand, and referring to the USA, this wide-ranging book covers key aspects of tourism management at all levels of government. Topics include: • tourism organisations • policy making and planning • central and local government involvement • public and private sector management • environmental control and sustainable development. Accessible information boxes and excerpts from official documents, combined with historical and economic overviews, are employed to provide a framework from which to evaluate and analyse why and how governments are involved in managing this complex and highly competitive sector. James Elliott is a Senior Lecturer in Public Administration at the University of Queensland, Australia. Tourism Politics and public sector management James Elliott London and New York First published 1997 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1997 James Elliott James Elliott has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Elliott, James Tourism: politics and public sector management/James Elliott. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Tourist trade—Government policy. I. Title. G155.A1E427 1997 338.4´791–dc21 96–52245 ISBN 0-203-41613-9 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-72437-2 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-07157-7 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-07158-5 (pbk) Contents Series editor’s preface viii List of illustrations x Preface xii Acknowledgements xiii Acronyms and abbreviations xiv 1 Introduction 1 The framework of why, who, how and what 2 Why governments are involved in tourism 2 Who is involved in tourism management? 8 How managers manage 10 What results? practice and performance 12 A comparative approach 15 Five countries 15 Summary 17 Suggested reading 18 2 Why tourism? 20 Definitions 20 Historical reasons for government involvement in tourism 21 Economic reasons for government involvement in tourism 29 Summary 35 Suggested reading 36 3 Public sector management and tourism 37 Why: political environment and principles 38 Who: multiplicity and diversity 44 How: formal, informal and changes 45 Summary 51 Suggested reading 51 vi Contents 4 Management from the centre: formulation 53 Why: responsibilities, ideology and objectives 54 Who: leaders, ministries and organisations 58 How: process and initiatives, formal and informal 75 What results? practice and performance, United Kingdom 84 Summary 95 Suggested reading 96 5 Management from the centre: implementation 97 Why: implementation and difficulties 97 Who: federal, state and statutory organisations 101 How: power, finance, functions, problems and planning 107 What results? Thailand 118 Summary 133 Suggested reading 134 6 Management at the local level 136 Why: representation, responsibilities, ideology and objectives 136 Who: representatives, managers and industry 143 How: leadership, community, power and principles 146 What results? England, Australia, Thailand 152 Summary 174 Suggested reading 175 7 Public management and the private sector 176 Why: responsibility, mutual importance 176 Who: the industry, government business enterprises 184 How: politics, freedom, dependency, regional boards 193 What results? air travel, incentive travel 198 Summary 210 Suggested reading 211 8 Management of tourism control 213 Why control? principles 215 Who is involved? 218 How to control: formal and informal 221 What results? Vietnam, environment 225 Summary 254 Suggested reading 255 9 Conclusions…and the future? 256 Principles and practice 256 How managers manage 257 The results 259 Contents vii Practice 259 Performance 260 The future of tourism 261 The future of the PSM of tourism 263 Bibliography 265 Index 272 Authors cited 280 Series editor’s preface Public Sector Management series Tourism, as Professor Elliott explains, is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Governments in countries at all stages of development are increasingly dependent on it, but it is of special significance in countries intent on achieving sustainable development. This leads to general questions about the role of governments in various countries, questions about what governments conceive to be their particular responsibilities in relation to tourism, and questions about the relationship of tourism to public sector management. In the longer term there are also questions about the consequences of the development of tourism for citizens. It is increasingly apparent that people at all levels of society and in all occupations are affected in one way or another by this fast growing and important industry. Consequently, Professor Elliott’s book, which examines all levels of government in relation to tourism, is timely and welcome. Because tourism is such a relatively new sphere for public sector management, the problems associated with it are only just becoming apparent. At one extreme, the development of tourism may be associated with the growth of the mass media and international marketing, which contribute to its vigorous growth. However, at the other extreme, issues of crime, drug use and sexual disease, including AIDS, may be seen in a new light because in some areas their growth has been associated with the expansion of tourism. Both these relationships are considered in this book, which is concerned with what tourism is and how tourism relates to other phenomena and responsibilities in both the public and private sectors of the economy. The scholarly literature in this field is still in its infancy and Professor Elliott’s monograph is an original and significant contribution to it. There can be few other scholars who can match his breadth of experience and depth of study, reflecting the many years he has devoted to this aspect of public sector management. His wide-ranging Series editor’s preface ix knowledge is well illustrated in the comparative material contained in his book, which focuses on the United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. However, the book also draws attention to the experience and sometimes the peculiarities of managing the tourist industry in other countries. This study is therefore a particularly welcome addition to the Public Sector Management series because it looks at some of the global contexts and applications of public sector management in relation to the new and fast growing tourist industry. Richard A.Chapman Professor of Politics, Durham University Illustrations FIGURES 2.1 Development of international tourism arrivals and receipts world-wide, 1950–93 30 3.1 Tourism: the political, administrative and industrial environment 39 3.2 Five general principles 41 4.1 Britain: The Department of National Heritage 62 5.1 English Tourist Board management structure 112 5.2 Organisational structure of the Canadian Tourism Commission 113 5.3 Tourism Authority of Thailand organisation chart 130 8.1 Vietnam tourism: public sector control community 229 TABLES 1.1 The world’s top 40 tourism destinations 5 2.1 The world’s top 40 tourism spenders 31 2.2 The world’s top 40 tourism earners 32 2.3 International departures, Asia 33 BOXES 1.1 Public sector management and tourism: framework for analysis 3 1.2 Who is involved in tourism management? 9 1.3 Check-list for the accountability and evaluation of the public sector management of tourism 13/14 2.1 Definition of ‘tourism’, ‘visitors’, and ‘tourists’ 21 3.1 The Weberian ideal type: characteristics or principles 46 Illustrations xi 3.2 Guide to the practice of the public sector management of tourism 49/50 4.1 US National Tourism Policy Act 1981 59 4.2 Committee powers 70 4.3 British Tourist Authority board members and BTA management 72/74 4.4 Formal responsibilities of senior public sector management 81 5.1 Advantages of the statutory organisations 103 5.2 Essential functions of a CEO 111 5.3 Tourism challenges, England 117 5.4 Tourism management objectives, Thailand 119 5.5 Main tourism objectives of the sixth plan, Thailand 119 6.1 Local government/authority roles 137 6.2 The main problems caused by tourism, Cambridge, England 139 6.3 Advantages of tourism 153 7.1 The need for national policies, and essential national tasks, Britain 179/80 7.2 Travel agents’ main purposes, Britain 188 7.3 Australian Tourism Industries Association Board 190 7.4 Tourist and partial tourist organisations, Britain 191 7.5 England’s regional tourist boards 197/98 7.6 Regional tourist boards 199 8.1 Control and accountability 214 8.2 Definition of ‘sustainable development’ 239 8.3 Check-list for the public sector management of environmental and sustainable development 252/53 9.1 Declaration by the World Conference of Tourism Ministers, 1994 264 Preface This book is about how governments manage tourism, one of the fastest- growing industries in the world, which, by the turn of the century, will have replaced oil as the largest industry in the world. It is about politics, policies, different kinds of governments and their organisations; it is about how governments manage their relations with industry. There can be conflict between the industry and local people and conservationists about tourism development, the destruction of the environment and the use of power.