Sustainable
Destination Management
Objectives
- Prepare graduates for professional positions with
destination-focused tourism organizations at the national, regional,
state and local levels. While most of these organizations are
concerned mainly with destination marketing, there appears to be an
emerging interest in cultural heritage tourism and ecotourism
capacity building at the local levels in recent years.
- Instruct students in basic concepts of sustainable development of
tourism products and services.
- Assist students in developing destination management competencies
in cooperative marketing, development finance, policy analysis, and
how to apply good practices at the community level (sustainable
development, public/private partnerships and organizational models,
collaborative stakeholder planning, and impact analysis/mitigation
techniques)
- Provide students with opportunities to gain practical experience
through career portfolio development and formal internship programs
Trend Toward Destination Management Organizations (DMOs)
According to the WTO Business Council, the current trend in almost
all regions of the world is towards semi-public but autonomous tourism
organizations involving a partnership with both private sector and
regional and/ or local authorities. Over the last decade, as far as
travel and tourism is concerned, the roles and responsibilities of
governments as well private sector and society in general have
significantly changed from the situation where the state had the key
responsibility for tourism development and promotion to a world where
the public sector is obliged to reinvent itself by relinquishing of
its traditional responsibilities and activities in favor of both
provincial/ state and local authorities indicating the growing
influence on the behavior of governments and business in general.
The trend towards decentralization of tourism management and
promotion as well as towards public-private sector partnership,
according to the WTO Business Council, have raised the need for new,
flexible and multi-disciplinary approaches to destination management.
In terms of definitions, a destination is geographical space (a
cluster) in which the entire tourism experience takes place. Although
national policies normally encourage tourism competitiveness, an
efficient collaborative partnership involving key stakeholders is
needed to enhance a destination’s attractiveness, marketability,
sustainability and service quality.
Required Courses
| 260 |
Tourism Development (3) |
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Relationship of economic theory and
planning principles to tourism development; application of
pre-feasibility analysis to tourism projects. (Spring) |
| 261 |
Tourism Planning (3) |
|
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Integrated planning for tourism
organizations; development of comprehensive tourism projects;
consideration of basic concepts, approaches, and models. (Spring) |
| 262 |
Tourism Policy Analysis (3) |
|
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Components of tourism policy,
including development of tools for tourism policy analysis and
description of tourism organizations in the government and private
sector. (Spring) |
| 263 |
Tourism Marketing (3) |
|
| |
Concepts and techniques employed in
marketing travel industry products and services, including its
public- and private-sector components. Assessment of the tourism
product, development of marketing strategy, preparation of
marketing plan, and analysis of promotional programs. (Fall) |
Elective Courses
Using nine semester hours of elective courses, students may pursue
an individualized series of courses leading to the award of the
Tourism Destination Management and Marketing Certificate, go to
<http://www.gwu.edu/~iits/certificate/roadmap_dmp.html>
and may also choose a focal area related to a specific career goal, in
areas such as:
Ecotourism
The IUCN definition of ecotourism is “environmentally responsible
travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in
order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural
features - both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low
negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active
socio-economic involvement of local populations”.
Ecotourism is a specialty segment of nature tourism. Nature
tourism has been increasing at an annual rate between 10-30 percent a
year. Specifically, areas within ecotourism that students might focus
on include:
·
Creating direct links between the economic benefits of
ecotourism and the protection of biodiversity, so that local
residents who earn their living from ecotourism are more likely to
protect their natural resources and support conservation efforts.
·
Integration of ecotourism policies into sustainable
development plans and frameworks, land use planning, use of
natural parks and protected areas, balance between development and
conservation objectives in policies, development agency programs
on ecotourism and their role in funding major pipeline investments
related to ecotourism, plans for human resource development in
ecotourism.
Career opportunities are in an early stage of development in this
field, including positions with conservation organizations (e.g.
Conservation International, RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, The
Nature Conservancy), protected area management (national parks, nature
preserves, marine parks, among others), ecolodge operations,
ecotourism and adventure travel tour operators, consulting firms,
multilateral/bilateral donor agencies and specialized niche marketing
positions with destination management organizations (DMOs).
Courses: TSTD 290 Tourism and Hospitality Management Techniques to
access destination management courses in Ecotourism Management, Marine
Ecotourism, Environmental Management Systems, Ecolodge Development;
GEOG 230 Environmental Issues in Development or GEOG 222 Resources and
the Environment, BiSi 243 Ecology Seminar, PiPol 201 Public/Private
Policy and Management Processes, Mgt. 216 Cross Cultural Management,
Mgt. 265 International Development for Project Managers.
Cultural Heritage Tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a special form of tourism that takes
place in numerous venues including tours, festivals, cruises,
reenactments, theme parks and the like. Cultural tourism
includes museums, art galleries, concerts, and plays, whereas
heritage tourism embraces the culture of an ethnic groups-whether
it is Native American, Euro-American, African-American, or any of the
myriad other ethnic backgrounds present in a region or destination.
Cultural heritage tourism professionals frequently work with
communities, helping them interpret, express and preserve their
special history for visitors. These professionals may be involved in
developing cultural heritage sites as well as planning and
implementing interpretative programs. Cultural heritage tourism
professionals may work with public agencies or non-profit
organizations, such as museums and foundations that are interested in
promoting cultural heritage preservation through domestic and
international tourism. As such, it is important for cultural heritage
tourism professionals to have knowledge and skills related to the
historic preservation field as well as the business environment, with
particular emphasis on marketing. There are also non-profit
organizations in communities throughout the world, and particularly
museums, who look to specialists in cultural heritage tourism to
better manage and market their products and services. Large travel
companies as well as non-profits in travel, also have a need for
expertise in cultural heritage experts to develop and market cultural
heritage tours programs.
Courses: TSTD 290 Tourism and Hospitality Management Techniques
to access Historical Events, Cultural Heritage Tourism or Tour
Guiding; TSTD 277 Event Management, American Studies 277-78 Historic
Preservation: Principles and Methods; American Studies 276: Politics
of Historic Preservation; American Studies; or 275: Economics of
Preservation.
Marketing
This area focuses on discerning market segments, communicating
with these target markets, and satisfying customers’ needs to achieve
organizational objectives. Emphasis is placed on marketing research
and use of interactive information technologies in marketing
communications. These courses prepare graduates for careers in
marketing in airlines, hospitality, attractions, destination
management organizations, and other components of the tourism and
hospitality industries.
Courses: TSTD 290 Tourism and Hospitality Management Techniques
to access destination management courses in Tourism Assessment,
Applied Tourism Market Research, Electronic Marketing, or Event
Marketing; TSTD 264 Sport Marketing, or MKTG 252 E-Marketing and
Commerce
Environmental Policy and Management
Environmental policy and management encompasses a broad area of
inquiry and
practice that involves businesses, governments, and non-profit
organizations in their efforts to protect and promote environmental
values, attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and outcomes. As one reviews
trends toward the “greening” of businesses and organizations,
environmental management explores global, national, and local
environmental public policy processes, challenges, and outcomes,
including global climate change, international trade and environmental
agreements, environmental security, air and water quality,
bio-diversity, and land use issues. Other focal points of the
concentration include:
·
An exploration, analysis, and synthesis of the
multiple perspectives on sustainability, at multiple levels,
within multiple systems (societies, businesses, governments, NGOs,
communities, households, and individuals), including This
sustainable marketing practices.
·
The identification, investigation, and evaluation of
how environment, energy, and technology are inter-related, and how
these interactions influence societal policy formulation,
implementation, and evaluation at the international, regional,
national, industrial, and organizational levels.
Career opportunities are highly varied both in sector and level of
responsibility, and range from mid- to upper-level environmental
policy-makers and managers through entry-level environmental
researchers and analysts to environmental entrepreneurs interested in
starting or joining emerging environment-oriented businesses or other
organizations.
Courses: AMPP 210 Strategic Environmental Management; SMPP 290
Sustainability Values and Strategies; PPOL 207 Environment, Energy,
Technology, or Society; SMPP 290/PAd 266 Environmental Policy.
