There is widespread recognition that tourism, one of one of the world's largest and
fastest growing industries, must move towards sustainability by embracing a more balanced
planning approach. This is especially true in developing countries where tourism is being
aggressively promoted, often with limited attention given to the overarching socioeconomic,
institutional and biophysical parameters. This thesis uses an innovative and promising approach
for sustainable tourism planning based on multiple objective decision analysis (MODA). After
reviewing contemporary challenges in tourism planning and identifying MODA's potential
contributions, practical application of MOD A is tested in a case study of The Philippine
Cooperative Farm Tourism Project: The Guimaras Pilot Project.
MODA is a planning and decision method that draws from many disciplines including
economics, psychology, operations research, negotiation theory and statistical decision theory. It
is based on six fundamental steps: (1) defining the decision problem effectively; (2) establishing
the planning context; (3) identifying relevant stakeholders; (4) eliciting and structuring a
comprehensive set of objectives; (5) creating alternatives to achieve the stated objectives; and, (6)
evaluating the alternatives against the objectives. This 'people based' approach seeks to clarify
inherent value tradeoffs while promoting the development of alternatives that are more likely to
appeal to stakeholder interests. The insight gained from the MODA process allows decision
makers to make better informed and more defensible choices — choices that can responsibly
address the difficult issues of sustainable tourism and are more likely to result in successful
project implementation. Sub-methods are easily couched in the conceptual structure provided by MODA. One
technique used extensively during field research in the Philippines was the elicitation and
organization of objectives into a hierarchy, ranging from national policy to local values. By
focusing on objectives, the analysis was able to identify, and begin to address, critical gaps in
available information (i.e., local market conditions were established using market research
techniques and capture rate theory). Field work was also supported by interviews (semistructured,
open and informal) and participatory observation. These efforts laid the foundation
for a 'farm tourism' planning workshop.
The workshop participants, representing key stakeholder groups, infused critical local
knowledge into the process and helped establish realistic planning constraints. Using the
objectives hierarchy, the participants also undertook a qualitative and quantitative examination
of objectives that provided a chance to reflect on community values and direct the focus of the
Guimaras Farm Tourism Pilot Project (fortified later by statistical analysis). The insights
gained were then used by the workshop participants to create and clarify a range of alternatives
that culminated in a grassroots vision of 'farm tourism'.
MODA systematically promoted an open, participatory process and established a
framework for multi-sectoral integration; The resulting group-efforts overcame entrenched
positions (e.g., the farm estate concept) while nurturing a sense of commitment necessary for
effective project implementation. A five year period would allow for a staggered phasing of
three alternatives: (1) Excursion Farm Tourism; (2) Barangay (Village) Farm Tourism; and, (2)
Estate Farm Tourism. These alternatives would all be based on education, interpretation and
host/guest interaction. All of the alternatives would benefit from the creation of exhibits, events,
tours and festivals. These activities would be immediately initiated and evolve over the life of the project. Close monitoring and ongoing evaluation would be needed to adjust the project to
changing needs of local communities.
Although some of MODA's more technical aspects (e.g., statistical analysis of
objectives) will probably not become a planning standard on Guimaras, many of MODA's core
principals (e.g., relevant stakeholder inclusion) will continue to be an important part of the
Guimaras Farm Tourism planning process. The success of this planning and decision making
method on the rural island of Guimaras suggests that it is widely applicable, and therefore
capable of contributing to sustainable tourism initiates in many planning contexts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/4339 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Trousdale, William James |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
Page generated in 0.0106 seconds