Tourism

Politics and Public Sector Management

James Elliott

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780415071581
• eBook ISBN: 9781000158731
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

Tourism looks set to replace oil as the most important global industry. James Elliot explores the ways in which governments of both developed and developing countries manage this increasingly diverse and volatile industry, providing a historic and economic overview as well as the reasons why and how governments are involved in tourism management.
Using case studies from the UK, Australia and the Third World this wide ranging book covers: policy-making and planning; local governments; airlines and airports; and environmental control and sustainable development. Detailed information boxes and excerpts of official documents illustrate government management of the tourism system and provide critieria for evaluation

1 Introduction

This chapter explains the basic methodology of the book, covering:

• why governments are involved in tourism;

• who are the most important participants in tourism management;

• how public sector management (PSM) operates in practice;

• what are the results and impacts of the PSM of tourism; and

• the comparative nature of tourism and PSM.

This book is about how governments manage and mismanage tourism. It is about politics; that is, the use of power by public organisations in their management of tourism. The main instrument used by governments is public sector management (PSM) which includes all types of public organisations ranging from national government departments to small tourism units managed by local governments. The processes of management are also analysed, from the formulation of policy by political leaders to its impact on local communities. Management in this book always refers to PSM unless otherwise stated.

There are two main concerns underlying the approach of this book to the PSM of tourism. One is termed principles, the other practice. Principles are the justification for the use of power by governments. They give legitimacy to the actions of managers, and citizens have expectations that the principles will be followed. The second main concern, on which the book concentrates, is the actual practice of management, how public managers and their organisations behave at the different levels of government from federal and national to local. Attention is given to formal values, attitudes, objectives, roles and relations between governments and tourism and its industry, but also to informal practices.

THE FRAMEWORK OF WHY, WHO, HOW AND WHAT

Governments and tourism are large and complex areas to study and, in order to help in the identification, analysis and evaluation of the most significant factors, a framework is used based upon four main questions: why, who, how and what.

Why are governments so important to tourism? Why do governments get involved in tourism management? Why does tourism have to be managed? It is suggested that governments have responsibilities which require them to get involved in policy areas such as tourism. There are principles which managers should follow and there are objectives which governments wish to achieve for political, economic and moral reasons. Some issues and problems can only be managed by governments.

Who are the main participants in the tourism policy system? Who are the significant policy makers, public sector managers and power holders in the public sector and industry? Which are the most important organisations?

How is management actually carried out, how do managers manage? How do participants operate and behave, how does the system work in practice, how is policy formulated, implemented and managed, how are objectives achieved and by what means? How does PSM manage in political and power systems of great complexity at both the formal and informal level?

What are the impacts of tourism? What are the results of management in practice and performance? Has there been success or failure? What have been the most significant issues? Have principles been followed, objectives achieved? What are the lessons for tourism PSM?

WHY GOVERNMENTS ARE INVOLVED IN TOURISM

The importance of governments

Governments are a fact in tourism and in the modern world. The industry could not survive without them. It is only governments which have the power to provide the political stability, security and the legal and financial framework which tourism requires. They provide essential services and basic infrastructure. It is only national governments which can negotiate and make agreements with other governments on issues such as immigration procedures or flying over and landing on national territory. Governments have power, but how they use this will depend upon many factors including political culture, the political and economic power holders and their perception of the tourism industry. There are different types of government, including national, state and local, and they can be either active or passive in tourism management and in the use of their powers. Governments can assist tourism by the provision of services; they can also control the industry and its activities in order to ensure that activities and safety standards are maintained in the public interest. These are all legitimate functions of governments which they are expected to perform for the public good. How these functions are performed and the success or otherwise of government depends upon the quality of its public sector management (PSM). Governments perform their functions through PSM. PSM includes all managers in all governments and public organisations whose duties affect tourism in some way. The public services provided, such as immigration or clean public beaches, are part of the total tourism product and can either add or detract from its attractiveness.

Box 1.1 Public sector management and touris...

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Series editor’s preface
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Acronyms and abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Why tourism?
• 3 Public sector management and tourism
• 4 Management from the centre: formulation
• 5 Management from the centre: implementation
• 6 Management at the local level
• 7 Public management and the private sector
• 8 Management of tourism control
• 9 Conclusions…and the future?
• Bibliography
• Index
• Authors cited