Concept of Sustainability in Tourism Development of Qatar Assignment Sample

A Comparative Exploration of Sustainable Tourism in Qatar and Nepal 

In today’s day and age, the demand for a sustainable lifestyle has embarked on the need for eco-tourism in the world. Tourism is an emerging sector in almost every country. It is full of job opportunities and it generates revenue for the nations. In this report, various approaches implemented in the development and planning of the tourism sector in Qatar have been discussed. The stakeholders’ participation in the planning process has been elaborated in here. In addition to this, major benefits and limitations of developing the public-private partnership in the tourism sector are also enlisted. Moreover, the effect of tourism development planning at different stages have been analysed. Along with it, the different tourism development processes and planning systems have also been explained in this report. Before concluding the discussion, a small dialogue has been written on the integration of sustainability in the tourism sector.

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LO1: Understand the rationale for planning in the travel and tourism industry

1.1 Discuss how stakeholders can benefit from planning of tourism developments with reference to Qatar.

LO2: Understand different approaches to tourism planning and development

Introduction

When planning and developing the strategies for the travel and tourism sector, it is the most basic requirement to identify various levels of the tourism sector. One should study the organisations briefly before initiating planning process. The purpose of this report is to discuss different approaches to plan and develop the travel and tourism industry of Qatar. Also, a part of the report is based on the analysis of uniqueness of tourism development plan along with various methods that are being used in order to measure the impact of rising tourist influx in Qatar.

2.1 Analyse features of tourism development planning at different levels with reference to the Qatar.

The term ‘planning’ in context of tourism sector can be defined as the process of fulfilling the needs of tourists with the help of available resources, programs, and activities. Planning the travel and tourism sector is necessary to satisfy every stakeholder, such as tourists, local residents, business organisations. It is essential to understand that the plans created for a particular level must only focus on that level only (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2012). Tourism planning can be done at various levels, such as national, international, regional, sub-regional, etc.

International Level: At international level, Qatar is improving its global presence. It has taken crucial steps in order to improve its transportation system, especially the cross-border. Qatar is in top 100 emerging destinations of the world and with the help of international level planning, it could succeed in its goals. Special international packages are being promoted via international media channels to increase the global tourism.

National Level: At national level, government starts making investments plan, allocating funds, formulating different tourism policies, development plans, investment plans, establishing road network, etc.

Regional Level: The objectives of this level is to develop or reconstruct road networks, saving energy, delineating funds to local governments at regional level, and developing the marketing plans.

Sub-regional Level: This level only looks around to meet the basic tourism needs and requirement. This covers the aspects, such as reasonable accommodation, sanitation facilities for tourists, etc.

2.2 Evaluation of the significance of interactive planning systems and processes in tourism developments in Qatar

Tourism sector is facing numerous problems due to weak policies and governance. The major challenges that the Qatar tourism sector is facing are overcrowding, development stress on the local government, traffic congestions, and bottlenecking of roads. To cater such issues, the interactive system plays a crucial role as it can reduce such complexities and assists in the planning process. It is a well-known fact that planning is a goal-oriented process which is driven by market conditions. This can help the government of Qatar to make use of it in figuring out the anticipated risks and its alternatives. It’s no shocking fact that most of the countries have developed their strategies and plans, but majority of them are still struggling to implement them due to lack of interactive planning system.

The key features of interactive planning are many. It assists in the development and designing of the relevant services and products for a particular section of the market. It increases the accessibility and availability of services by creating an effective distribution strategy. Previous planning systems were vague, irrelevant, and designed to follow the defined only. They were too uneconomical. Talking about the interactive planning, this system is designed on inclusive approaches that aim to bring the collaboration, integration, and cooperation to ensure the 100% participation of the stakeholders. Moreover, the local communities’ interest is also given weightage in this type of system.

2.3 Evaluate different methods available to measure tourist impact

The planning process is an instrument to measure whether targets and objectives are accomplished or not. This can be measured natural, economic, and social effects during the implementation of planning process.

Environmental Measures: Development process consumes natural resources. Therefore, Qatar has enacted the policies regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Along with it, studies are being done to measure the economic impact of rising tourism on the Qatar. These impact assessment methods give Qatar’s government to analyse the effects of a development activities and assist in formulating the framework policies for the same.

Social Measures: According to many researchers, there is no direct method to assess the socio-economic impacts of tourism. So two indirect ways can serve the purpose in here. First one is the questionnaire method and other is referring to the government records (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2012).

Economic Measures: Examining the economic impacts of tourism on a region can be an effective way of measuring the monetary success. For this purpose, business receipts, income, taxes, average spending of tourist, total share in GDP, etc., is analysed critically.

Conclusion

In this report, the different approaches to plan and develop the travel and tourism industry of Qatar were elaborated. Also, a part of the report talked about the analysis of uniqueness of tourism development plan. Later part discussed various methods that could be used in order to measure the impact of rising tourist influx in Qatar.

LO3: Understand the need for planning for sustainable tourism

3.1 Justify the introduction of the concept of sustainability in tourism development

In this section, the concept of sustainability has been elaborated along with factors that hinder the growth of sustainable tourism. In addition to this, different planning stages for sustainable development in Qatar have been elaborated.

The application of the sustainability concept is very crucial in all the sectors. It makes the optimised use of both man-made and natural resources that are limited and costly. This also assists in ecosystem management.

In simple words, sustainable tourism is the most efficient way of managing resources in order to satisfy the economic, social, and aesthetic needs of tourists. Sustainability preserves the cultural & ecological processes, biological diversity, and other life-essential systems.

The Triple Bottom Line sustainability concept helps in the improvisation of environmental, economic, and social performance. All of these performances can be measured by measuring the literacy rate, quality of life, level of health facilities, etc.

The first bottom line consists of environmental factors, namely minimizing the use of energy, use of green energy, pollution level, air quality, pollution level, etc.

Second bottom line comprises social factors, such as culture, reference groups, age, race, religion, etc.

Third bottom line contains economic dimensions, such as hotel rent, disposable income, taxes, flight rate, employment rate, business climate of Qatar.

3.2 Analyse factors that may prevent/hinder sustainable tourism development

There are innumerable factors that could affect the sustainability of tourism sector of Qatar, such as pollution level, energy consumption, poverty, unemployment, health and wellness issues. In addition, the low literacy rate also has an adverse impact the social growth of Qatar.

Apart from the aforementioned factors, tax and charges, security, wastage of natural resources etc., also affect the development of tourism sector.

3.3 Analyse different stages in planning for sustainability

Planning for sustainability is a stage-wise process in which each and every stage is crucial in order to make planning effective and efficient. There are six stages in the planning for sustainability.

The first stage of planning is all about setting up the development goals and defining the deadlines. The second involves identifying the stakeholder’s interest. Third stage is to develop the plans and data analysis. Forth stage is all about identification of the issues affecting the sustainability of tourism sector. Fifth stage involves analysis of issues and implementation of strategies in the plan. Last stage is the review stage where plans and strategies are under scrutiny.

This presentation was based on the concept of sustainability. Social, environment, and economic elements of sustainability development were also explained. Factors affecting the planning process of sustainability in tourism were enlisted. Before concluding, different stages of planning for sustainability in tourism sector of Qatar were also elaborated.

LO4- Understand current issues related to tourism development planning

P4.1 Evaluate methods of resolving a conflict of interests to ensure the future wellbeing of a developing tourism destination such as Qatar

P4.2 Analyse the implications of balancing supply and demand with reference to Qatar.

P4.3 Evaluate the moral and ethical issues of enclave tourism in Qatar

Understanding the current issues affecting the tourism development planning in Qatar

Date: June 30, 2018

In this section, the main focus on the tourism development planning in Qatar is placed. Further, the challenges in the development process are also emphasized. There are many issues that are hindering the growth of the tourism sector. Out of it, there are 3 primary challenges in tourism sector: a) Meeting the needs of the customers b) Ensuring sustainability principles c) Implementing the development plan. This article explains different methods of resolving the conflicts to ensure that the future of Qatar is on the right track. In addition, the need and implications of balancing the demand and supply in tourism sector of Qatar have been enlisted and analysed. Later on, an evaluation of moral issues of enclave tourism in Qatar have been done. Methods to Resolve Conflicts of Interests Conflicts of interest arise due to different needs and objectives of stakeholders. It is the duty of the government of Qatar to resolve these issues. To attend these conflicts both long and short-term planning including the planning for sustainability. To serve the purpose, there are various methods that can help in resolving the conflicts of interest:- Negotiation Approach:  This approach promotes direct interaction and communication between two or more stakeholders. It makes sure that the final verdict should be a win-win situation. Host-Guest Relationship: Developing: The host-guest relationship is major factor that affects the socio-cultural aspects of tourism. It is very crucial in establishing a relationship of trust. Promoting healthy relationships among stakeholders: Promoting stakeholder relationship management is difficult but important from the organization’s point of view. It is cost saving as unmanaged relationships takes investment from the company. Implications of balancing supply and demand The tourism industry of Qatar operates between the varying demand and supply. The demand is the function of tourist place characteristics and attraction. The growth of tourism sector depends on the quality of amenities and tourist facilities in a country. On the other hand, the supply is characterised by aspects, such as products, services, schemes, and assets that occasion-specific. Government of Qatar is playing its role in attending the demand and supply of this sector and maintaining a balance between the two. The equilibrium between the two gets disturbed by the factors like climatic conditions, seasonal variations, government restrictions, shortage of resources, etc. There are numerous reason behind balancing the demand and supply of the tourism sector. First, it improves the coordination between the government and other stakeholders. Government are not only taking initiatives to cater the demand and supply issues but it is also setting up departments at all level to manage the tourism sector efficiently. One of the best techniques use in the method of forecasting the demand is Delphi technique. Ethical & Moral issues faced by the enclave tourism One of the main issues with the growth of the tourism sector in Qatar is the promotion of enclave tourism. Enclave tourism is also referred as internal colonialism is the type of tourism development that usually concentrates in the remote places. Mostly, these projects are sponsored by the foreign companies to cater the needs of foreign tourists. In Qatar, the demand of remote lodges, camps, and hotels is emerging. Enclave tourism has both benefits and losses. Talking about the downside of the enclave tourism, it puts the extra burden on the government as it has to provide the necessary road infrastructure and other facilities. Further, it brings the dominance of foreign investors in the tourism sector and severely affect the local industries. In addition to this, the natural resources and ecosystem are also affected adversely by these types of tourism development. Enclave tourism development requires large chunks of land and that too in the remote places that are eco-sensitive. This affects the livelihood of communities living in those areas and the flora & fauna. It has an impact on the employment of people associated with small local businesses. Qatar is a developing country and therefore, it lacks in numerous areas, such as technological reforms, unemployment, poverty, land shortage, lack of road and transportation infrastructure. Therefore, these challenges make the ‘enclave tourism’ in Qatar a serious debating topics. Companies who are offering the enclave tourism barely contribute to the development of society. Therefore, government of Qatar should direct those organisations to implement the CSR policies (Becken & Wilson, 2013). Before concluding the article, it is suggested that the government of Qatar should implement the principles of sustainability in the tourism development of Qatar. This will also help in resolving the conflict of interests efficiently.

LO5. Understand the socio-cultural, environmental and economic impacts of tourism in developing countries and emerging destinations

Introduction

Nations have different culture, socio-cultural environment, and traditions and Qatar as an emerging destination is no exception. The impacts of rising tourism can be measured with the help of socio-cultural, environmental, and economic factors. This report discusses the impacts of tourism on Qatar along with the recommendations for the future wellbeing of the tourism sector of Qatar. Furthermore, a comparison has also been drawn between the emerging destinations like Qatar and the Nepal.

5.1 Compare current issues associated with tourism development in a developing country and an emerging destination where the impacts of tourism are different

Comparing the growth of the tourism sector of a developed country and developing country is quite vague because one can tell the difference. On the other hand, comparing down two developing countries makes some sense. In this section, Nepal and Qatar the two famous destination have many differences and similarities in context of tourism sector. Being the developing country, both of them face problems like economic crisis that puts a dent in the growth of the tourism sector. Financial crisis reduces the disposable income of people due to which they start avoiding travelling. Tour and travel sector of Nepal is hugely affected in winters when the snowfall blocks the road network, which is not the case in Qatar.

Qatar is hosting the FIFA world cup 2022. Therefore, it has developed its infrastructure with maximum quality, whereas Nepal’s infrastructure lacks that. Another issue is the linguistic barriers. Both countries are non-English speaking nations. This creates a lot of problem for international tourists. Formulating the relevant policies for promoting the tourism sector is another challenge. Nepal lacks the institutional capabilities and that further leads to poor implementations of schemes and policies. Major issues that tourism industry of Qatar is facing are economic crisis, security concerns, high taxes and rents, expensive flights, weak advertising campaign, and terrorism. On the other hand, the government of Qatar is working hard to promote the tourism industry of its country. For that purpose, it is diversifying the projects of all scales associated with FIFA world cup 2022. Both countries are providing a hassle-free process of attaining the visas to all nationalities and that too through online process.

5.2 Evaluate with recommendations, the future development of tourism in these chosen destinations.

Qatar travel and tourism sector is anticipating a rise of nearly 3 million in tourist influx by the end of 2023. This increment would directly contribute 4% in the GDP from 3.5% in 2017. Since the country is hosting the FIFA world cup 2022, the expected rise in hotel occupancy is nearly 15% from current 65%. With its multi-pronged strategies, the government of Qatar is trying to boom the influx of international tourist (Becken & Wilson, 2013). As given in the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, the anticipated increment in the tourist by 2030 is 7 million. The report also discusses the strategies for increasing the revenue.

Recommendations for Qatar’s Tourism Sector:-

• Qatar should grow its global presence with some effective global media campaigns
• The government should promote the tourism sector by formulating some relevant policies similar to the visa waiver policy. This would increase the average stopover period of the travellers.
• Promoting its cruise tourism by developing its ports.
• It should maintain its international recognition.

Nepal’s tourism sector has achieved many landmarks in the past. Currently, the nation is building strategic and diplomatic relations with many countries, such as India, China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, etc. It is also a part of the World Tourism Organization (WTO). People from different parts of the world visit this country for mountaineering which has publicised the country automatically.

Recommendations for Nepal tourism sectors are given below:-

• Promoting the public-private partnership in the tourism sector, especially in promotional activities and infrastructure development.
• Nepal's government should formulate strategic plans and policies that focus on increasing the global traveller influx.
• Allow the private sector to provide the visa to the travellers.

Conclusion

This report elaborated the issues and major challenges that the travel and tourism industry an emerging destination like Qatar and the developing country like Nepal face. A comparison between the tourism sector of Nepal and Qatar had been drawn. The comparison highlights the issues of the two countries. It is a well-known fact that impacts of tourism vary from nations to nations. Moreover, the future development plans and the recommendations for the future were evaluated.

In today’s day and age, the principles of sustainability in tourism sector is crucial. In this report, the concept of sustainable tourism was discussed in context of Qatar. Firstly, the report explained the reasons for planning and developing the tourism industry of Qatar. The discussion ended after mentioning the advantages and disadvantages public private partnership (PPP) in Qatar’s tourism industry. Secondly, distinct features of planning at various levels of tourism industry was done. Further, an evaluation of types of models to measure the effects of tourism was done. Moreover, the concept of planning for sustainability in tourism was discussed. To justify it, the triple bottom line theory was elucidated and the factors hindering or creating issues for sustainability in Qatar were mentioned. In the end, the tourism industries of Qatar and Nepal were compared. Furthermore, the recommendations for the tourism sector’s future were enlisted in this report.

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